robot hackathon 2022 | robo.innovate

robo.innovate hackathon 2022

MUNICHs robotics challenge

solve real-world problems with robotics

The robo.innovate hackathon is Bavaria's first robotics challenge, that took place on-site at Munich Urban Colab in Munich from 6 October until 6 November 2022. Anyone who was passionate about robotics or tech topics could participate and solve real problems with innovative robotics solutions.

robo.innovate – as a robotics hub in Munich – collaborated with five renowned industry partners and the MakerSpace on the hackathon and provided a 4-digit prize pool distributed among the winning teams. Participants found out about the different challenges and didn't miss the unique opportunity to be part of the robo.innovate hackathon 2022.

time schedule

The hackathon 2022 began with registrations closing on 1 October. The kick-off event on 6 October provided teams with challenge details and mentors, followed by brainstorming sessions. Over the next month, teams refined their ideas with weekly feedback sessions. The event culminated in a 3-day hackathon from November 4-6, where teams developed prototypes and presented them to a robotics jury.

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hackathon challenges

#01
Omegga's eggtection

Omegga developed an optical, non-invasive solution for the in-ovo sexing of chicken embryos before the emergence of pain perception (incubation day 7). This solution provides hatcheries a legal alternative to the resource-intensive raising of male chickens, saving millions of male chicks from being killed right after hatching. Since several thousand eggs need to be scanned multiple times per day, we were searching for ways to automate the scanning process. The eggs are positioned on tiltable trays within a trolley; each tray holds dozens of eggs, and there are several trays on a trolley.The task was to find an automation solution that could scan the eggs for male chicken embryos with high speed and ultimate precision.

#02
Continental's picking perfection

Continental produced millions of parts every year and was a world leader in automating large parts of their value chain. However, due to the diversity and speed of change among their parts, the automated picking and placing of parts and their packages remained difficult to implement. Parts stored in random positions posed severe challenges for easy-to-deploy automated handling. The task was to teach a robot arm and camera setup to automate the emptying and sorting of small parts stored in a bucket.

#03
Infineon's radar revolution

Robust presence sensing remained one of the key difficulties in developing robotics solutions for human environments. Infineon's challenge aimed to solve the presence sensing problem by using Infineon's FMCW Radar sensor. The system was required to detect presence when a person appeared in front of the radar and indicate absence otherwise. Critical for the solution was the identification of ghost targets and/or clutters that might produce motion frequencies similar to humans. Solving this issue would foster the implementation of radar perception in robotics use cases, such as autonomously working robots that need to start working when no human is present. The task was to create innovative ideas to solve the presence sensing problem robustly and potentially link it to a use case of choice.

#04
Siemen's Glove of Truth

Siemens not only provided industrial automation but also cutting-edge IoT solutions. Among them, Siemens had already developed an initial prototype of a remotely controllable robotic hand with force feedback and sensing capabilities. However, the prototype was just a starting point that could be enhanced with further sensors or deeper integration with virtual environments. The task was to further evolve the robotic hand, its control, and sensing for applications in both the virtual and real world.

#05
TUM & HORYZN's WaterWasp

Adequate watering of (indoor) plants remained a significant challenge for many households. Especially during times of absence, relying on neighbors or friends often led to disappointing results upon returning. Existing solutions, such as pipes leading water to plants or water reservoirs attached to the plant pot, lacked flexibility and integrability. The task was to develop a drone-based solution to autonomously water indoor or outdoor plants.