Share our hackathon journey!
In this blog post, Team Obsidian from one of the winning teams in the hackathon shares his perspective from the day.
On October 8th, I had the privilege of participating in the very first Sandvik Hackathon.a truly impressive event that brought together 183 participants across 42 teams worldwide. From the start, it was clear that this wasn’t just any hackathon. The scale was massive, with cloud infrastructures deployed, online training sessions available, and a well-organized process that encouraged innovation and collaboration.
The date had been marked on our calendars for months, and we had already brainstormed many potential project ideas. But during one of the final prep meetings, an organizer shared a simple yet powerful reminder: “Ask yourself - what’s the added value for the customer? And above all, have fun.”
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That moment sparked a shift in our thinking. Instead of sticking to our initial ideas, we decided to explore something more intuitive and engaging: a gesture-based control system for our metrology software, Metrolog X4. The concept was straightforward—enable users to interact with the software using hand movements, making the experience more fluid, accessible, and futuristic.
In just a few hours, Florian had built a working prototype. It was cool, visual, dynamic, and instantly engaging. Vincent grabbed the camera, Nicolas took charge of the editing, and Fabien and I refined the pitch, guided by Alon's insightful questions. Everyone naturally found their role, and the synergy was palpable.
The project had to be presented through a 5-minute video, and we chose to create a silent short film with a calming soundtrack, truly staging the application scenario: helping operators save kilometers of walking while performing measurements with a laser tracker. It stood out from the more technical or academic presentations, and that contrast worked in our favor. All the teams came up with incredible ideas.
I’m sure the jury had a tough time making their decision. That’s why I felt truly honored that our team was among those rewarded. Once again, it’s striking how collaboration brings people together. Working side by side, driven by a shared goal and a spirit of creativity, we not only built something cool.we strengthened our bonds as a team.
It was an inspiring experience, and I’m already looking forward to the next one.