38 teams with over 180 students developed innovative solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) at Germany’s first IoT hackathon. They impressively demonstrated how simple and accessible the technology is when it is part of a sustainable overall package. The basis for the IoT Hackathon is the IoT.OCTOPUS, an all-in-one kit that can be ideally integrated into everyday school life. Not only the pupils and their teachers were enthusiastic about its possibilities, but also numerous political representatives. The overall concept was developed by the “M2M/Internet of Things” expert group of the “Intelligent Networking” Working Group of the National IT Summit.
At the end of the IoT hackathon, which took place in parallel at htw saar and the Environmental Campus Birkenfeld as part of the IT Summit, the teams presented numerous innovative applications that they had implemented in just one day. From the intelligent clothespin that recognizes the degree of dryness of the laundry to a system that warns of black ice and an irrigation system that automatically evaluates the weather data and waters the houseplants. All of this is proof that creativity and fun fall on fertile ground when a variable tool is combined with a sensible concept. In addition to the IoT.OCTOPUS, a team from the M2M/Internet of Things expert group provided a customized open source development environment, prepared application examples as a blueprint and held the IoT hackathon as a kick-off and proof of concept for the tenth IT summit.
The concept and technology of the IoT.OCTOPUS are made in Germany and were tested together with students and in practical operation at universities. The focus was on ease of use. This is because current figures show that the majority of teachers at schools have to administer or maintain digital technology themselves (73% according to the D21 Education Study 2016).
In addition to numerous sponsors and partners from business, science and administration, there was great interest and approval from the political side in particular: the Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer, took over the patronage of the initial IoT hackathon. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Minister-President of Saarland, Science Minister Prof. Dr. Konrad Wolf and Parliamentary State Secretary Brigitte Zypries attended the individual events and expressed their enthusiasm.
With this success behind them, the initial IoT hackathon will be followed by further implementation. In addition to further development and improvement of the kit, a test phase at schools and a nationwide roll-out are planned. This will enable interested schools to easily bring the Internet of Things into the classroom in the future.
You can find visual impressions under the “Pictures” tab.
Dear Sir or Madam,
Dear participants of the Hackathon,
Hardly any other technological development in recent decades has influenced our society as much as the internet. Fast and convenient access to information, the visualization of complex issues, the possibilities of global communication and social networks have changed our lives forever.
Up to now, the development of internet technologies has focused on connecting people. The next step is to merge the Internet with the real things in our environment in order to solve various challenges in our everyday lives. With the Internet of Things, we are opening up new comfort functions in the private sphere that seemed impossible just a few years ago. For example, the smart home can be controlled via smartphone, the refrigerator sends a message when one of the foods stored in it reaches its expiry date or clothing equipped with sensors helps to maintain physical fitness.
In a highly industrialized nation like Germany, the industrial sector in particular is benefiting from the networking of production and logistics processes. In view of this groundbreaking development, we are talking about the fourth industrial revolution and are observing the merging of physical products with the digital world. Traditional industries such as automotive manufacturing and construction are being digitized. The modern working world increasingly requires skills in algorithmic thinking and the networking of distributed systems. This is a development that should also be taken into account in education 30 years after the invention of the internet. The Internet of Things as a synonym for Industry 4.0 must be addressed in schools in the future.
The state government has been committed to this for some time and welcomes the activities of the “Intelligent Networking” Working Group, which are supported by industry, and the organization of the hackathon at the Birkenfeld Environmental Campus. As the host of the National IT Summit 2017, our federal state will continue to give high priority to the task of digital education at schools and universities in the future.
I wish all those involved in Birkenfeld and Saarbrücken a successful event and much pleasure in dealing with this exciting topic, which is so important for the development of our country.
Malu Dreyer
Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate
Picture credits: Paula G. Vidal for mc-quadrat
Picture credits: Paula G. Vidal for mc-quadrat
Picture credits: Paula G. Vidal for mc-quadrat
The digital transformation will fundamentally change our economy and society in the coming decades. The natural use of sensors and communication modules, but also their programming through to cloud applications, is a prerequisite for new application ideas and business models. This hackathon offers you the opportunity to try out the use of this technology and its possibilities. The hackathon format, with its compact implementation, focus on creative ideas and their rapid implementation, makes it easy for you to access tools, technology and creativity methods and can serve as an example for future teaching content.
You can find this information here as a PDF download.
All ICT infrastructure, work materials and catering are provided by the organizer. Travel is organized and paid for by the school. Financial support is provided by the respective ministries of education.
Develop an idea together and then send it in as a "picture" (sketch on A4 sheet)
Further information on the construction kit, application and programming examples are available(PDF)
Coaches provide on-site help with the development and concretization of ideas
This includes concretization of the application idea, implementation and testing as well as presentation on a poster
Here you can find a summary of the IoT Hackathon as part of the IT Summit 2016:
Summary _IoT Hackathon (PDF)
We offer two versions of the blueprints to take into account the different levels of knowledge of the readers:
with Ardublock (for participants without programming knowledge)
in the high-level language C
Technology kit triggers enthusiasm for the IoT among pupils (Elektronik Praxis, November 22, 2016)
Technology kit for the Internet of Things (IoT) (SPS-MAGAZIN 12 2016, December 12, 2016)
