The "Urban Legends" hackathon brought together participants from all over Russia and became a place of struggle between creativity and technology. Teams worked hard, passed checkpoints, participated in master classes and special competitions throughout the week. From St. Petersburg to the Far East, teams competed in creating 3D avatars, each of which was unique. At the final pitch, 26 interesting digital products were presented.
Specialists interested in AI, 3D modeling, and graphic design joined the event. Realistic avatars not only impressed with their beauty, but also offered a whole range of useful functions for users: navigation, route planning, informing about various entertainments and attractions – all this was implemented by teams within their projects and will be used in the urban environment in the future.
The hackathon not only united participants from all over the country, but also presented new ideas and technologies that can make the urban environment more comfortable and safer.
It was especially important that many teams integrated social features into their solutions, making avatars accessible and convenient for all categories of users. For example, an emergency call option was implemented for people with disabilities. In addition, some participants turned to machine learning, used domestic software in the development of solutions, which showed their deep knowledge in various fields of technology.
As part of the first case, the teams developed an interactive voice assistant using an animated avatar. The bronze medalist was the "SpecTra1te" team – a team of universities in St. Petersburg with the avatar of Peter I. The second was the "CatHackers" team from ITMO University (St. Petersburg) and their interactive voice assistants: Albina, Isabella, Oleg and John. By decision of the expert panel, the winner was a combined team from three regions: Moscow, Krasnoyarsk Territory and Tatarstan. The "Ludens Creators" team presented the avatar of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin.
As part of the second case, the teams integrated an interactive avatar into the urban ecosystem of digital services. The third place went to the "Northern Fleet" team and their character Ainu, referring to the ancient population of the Japanese Islands. Silver was taken by the "TechRun" team, which presented Alenka as an interactive character and the "AlenaHelp" project. The winner of the case was "GUAPchichi" – the team of St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation, which presented hermits as interactive avatars, real legends of the city!
The winning teams will be invited to the solemn award ceremony at the Russia exhibition at the St. Petersburg stand on April 5.