The West Coast's largest hardware-focused hackathon.

Applications are closed.

For the seventh time, UCLA IEEE and the UCLA Chapter of Theta Tau are pleased to present IDEA Hacks, one of the few college hackathons that provides an emphasis in hardware and the largest of its kind on the West Coast. IDEA Hacks is a platform for you to experiment, collaborate, and develop tangible products from scratch in 36 hours. Due to concerns over COVID-19, IDEA Hacks will be running remotely this year.

This year, our theme is “Home Applications”. This means you will be challenged to create something that focuses on enhancing our own daily routines at home in these challenging times, whether that means increased sustainability, comfort, productivity, or something else entirely. Spend the weekend innovating. We are excited to see what you can create.

View full rules

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$1,850 in prizes

Oculus VR Headset (3)

JBL Charge 4 (3)

Waterproof Bluetooth Portable Speaker

Fitbit Charge 4 (3)

Fitbit Charge 4

AUKEY Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Instant Camera

Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Instant Camera

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Requirements

Project submissions must integrate at least two hardware components for submission.

Projects should be submitted before 8:59 AM (PST) on Sunday, January 17th, 2021. A submission includes a Devpost submission to IDEA Hacks and a demonstration to judges on Sunday, January 17, 2021.

Don't forget a short description of your project, a list of components used, your team number, and the names of your team members (if you have any)!

Judges

Ted Akiyama

Ted Akiyama

Derrick Benson

Derrick Benson

Calvin Cam

Calvin Cam

Allison Doami

Allison Doami

Anny Lin

Anny Lin

Kristen MacCartney

Kristen MacCartney

Melony Mahaarachchi

Melony Mahaarachchi

Suhyun Oh

Suhyun Oh

Cullen Quine

Cullen Quine

Clayton Schoeny

Clayton Schoeny

Leo Szeto

Leo Szeto

Judging Criteria

  • Relevance
    Our theme this year is "Home Applications". The hack focuses on students' daily routines at home, creating smart applications that will enhance their lifestyles and habits given a set of parts. Is the hack relevant to the theme?
  • Innovation/Creativity
    Is the hack a creative solution to an existing problem? Does it contribute something entirely new?
  • Technological Achievement
    Is the implementation of the technologies clever or complex? The team/individual should demonstrate a developed understanding of the technologies utilized in their hack.
  • Product Potential
    We love it when the hack is aesthetically pleasing and novel, but we also look for practicality. Is the hack generally functional and bug-free? How feasible is the hack as a real-life application?
  • Strength of Pitch
    Is the approach of your hack well-defined? Why is the hack something people should care about? The team should deliver their pitch with confidence in a thorough and concise manner.

themes

  • IoT
  • Productivity
  • Lifehacks