MakeMIT is the world's premiere hardware hackathon! With 16 hours and a plethora of hardware, over 300 hackers compete for the greatest hack!
MakeMIT is back for its 5th year! With lots of materials, plenty of space, and passionate hackers, MakeMIT is a full-day hardware hackathon taking place on February 24, 2018. With many sponsors and mentors, hackers should have no problem making their dreams come true no matter how challenging the ideas may be.
Event Schedule
7:00 am: Registration and Breakfast
8:00 am: Opening Ceremony
8:45 am: Hacking Begins
12:00 pm: Lunch
6:00 pm: Dinner
11:00 pm: Heavy Tooling Ends
12:00 am: Hacking Ends
12-1 am: General Judging
1:00 am: Top 10 Present
1:30 am: Closing Ceremony
2:00 am: End of Event
Prizes
$10,890 in prizes
1st Place (Sponsored by Apple)
Prize: To be announced day-of!
2nd Place
Prize: $2000 (shared among the team members)
3rd Place
Prize: $1000 (shared among the team members)
Top 7 Finalists (7)
NVIDIA - Best use of the NVIDIA Jetson TX2 Developer Kit
Prize: Nintendo Switch 32GB Console Neon RedNeon Blue JoyCon
Description: Using the Jetson’s compute, graphics, and/or deep learning/computer vision capabilities in a novel application of AI and a role central to the project. Use of Jetson’s core abilities vs. use of Jetson as a plain Linux computer. Bonus points for interactive levels of performance.
Microsoft - Best Use of Microsoft Technology
Prize: Up to 4 Surface Pro’s and Keyboards (one for each member of the winning team).
Description: To qualify for the Best Use of Microsoft Technology prize, hackers need to incorporate at least one of the following products/services into their project: HoloLens; Windows Mixed Reality; Kinect; Microsoft API, including, but not limited to: Cognitive Services, Bing; Microsoft Azure cloud, including, but not limited to: Machine learning, Virtual machines, Webhosting, Databases; Microsoft Bot Framework; Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app
Verizon - Best Use of Data Science
Prize: 3 Google Home Mini's, 1 Fitbit Charge 2 - Black Silver - Large, 1 Bose Soundlink Micro - Black (shared among the team members)
Description: Innovative usage and manipulation of data in the product being developed.
Criteria: Machine learning / AI application, applies statistics / probability fundamentals to solve the problem, usage of data creates value added to the product, level of technical sophistication, ability to improve over time
Verizon - Best IoT Project
Prize: 2 Google Home Mini's, 2 Beats Powerbeats3 wireless earphones, 1 Bose SoundSport wireless headphones (shared among the team members)
Description: Innovative usage of sensor and connected devices/components in the product being developed.
Criteria: Efficient usage of sensors, robustness & reliability of the solution, level of security (cybersecurity) of the application, value created through IoT to the product being developed, wireless connectivity and low latency increases the value of the product, product enhancement through creating a network of connecting to an existing network of sensors/IoT devices
iRobot - Best Robotics Project
Prize: iRobot Create 2 (one for each member of the winning team)
Particle - Most Creative IoT Problem Solver
Prize: Particle Internet Buttons
Description: Particle Internet Buttons for a project that leverages connected devices to solve a problem in the real world. The project does not need to be built with Particle but kudos if it is. https://www.particle.io/products/hardware/internet-button
Paperspace - Best Use of Machine Learning
$250 in cloud computing credit for Paperspace. https://www.paperspace.com
SOLIDWORKS - Form-Fit Function Design Appreciation Award
Prize: SOLIDWORKS Backpacks
Description: The way different physical components finally come together may differentiate a fully resolved product from its unrefined avatar. For this award, SOLIDWORKS will evaluate teams for their overall design, product detail, and product interface solutions.
Ultimaker - Ultimaker Design Iteration Prize
Prize: Each member of the winning team will be given an Ultimaker t-shirt, a spool of Ultimaker engineering filament of their choice (valued at $50-$100), and one of the last remaining sets of the Design Engine Starter Pack design inspiration game.
Description: Hackers at MakeMIT don't have the leisure of weeks and weeks to fabricate a set of 3D printed parts over and over to guide their design iteration within the time constraints. Instead, MakeMIT teams are invited to try their hands at a much more nimble best-practice used by fast-moving hardware companies: print a small study (constrained to an hour of printing time at maximum) called a Feature Test part. The team that benefits the most from their feature test print will be determined the winner. Note that the Feature Test part need not be incorporated physically into the final model, provided a photo of the Feature Test part and brief written statement communicating the benefit of the Feature Test part has been delivered to the Ultimaker staff member before the cutoff deadline.
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Eligibility
Participant Requirements:
- You must have registered for MakeMIT 2018 on the website (https://makemit.org/) and be accepted
- You must be a current university student
- You must follow all of the rules specified on the MakeMIT 2018 website
Judges

Sponsors, Mentors, and Organizing Team Members
MakeMIT
Judging Criteria
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Top 7 Projects Judging
MakeMIT uses Gavel to identify the top 7 projects. Gavel was developed in-house for HackMIT and is used for many hackathons. http://www.anishathalye.com/2016/09/19/gavel-an-expo-judging-system/ -
Sponsor Prizes Judging
Sponsored prizes will be awarded by company representatives. -
Top 3 Projects Judging
After narrowing projects to the top 10, a panel of judges will be choosing the top 3 projects.