XR + 5G mmW Hackathon Challenge

Are you interested in how state of the art Mixed Reality and 5G mmWave connectivity can transform the way we live?

Do you have the skills to quickly develop XR concepts using real data sets?

Would you love to get your hands on state of the art smart glasses and the fastest commercial 5G mmW network in Europe, to develop your ideas on?

Do you want the opportunity to collaborate with global technology leaders Elisa, Nokia, Qualcomm, and CGI, and the city of Tampere?

Then this hackathon is for you!

Background Info

The Finnish city of Tampere is set to become ‘one of Europe’s fastest cities’ as it collaborates with Elisa, Nokia, Qualcomm, and CGI in the launch of 5G millimeter wave (mmWave). The 5G mmW technology is already available in the iconic Nokia arena which will also be one of the physical venues for the hackathon.

Tampere plans to expand 5G mmW coverage across key locations and the city with the aim to launch new services leveraging gigabit speeds, high network capacity, and generally superior connectivity and user experiences.

The city’s vision is to combine local datasets – on the environment, transport, healthcare, public services, and more – with best-in-class 5G mmWave communications infrastructure to develop and offer better services to its citizens and city authorities alike. To help deliver this ambition, Tampere is hosting a 5G mmWave and XR Hackathon.

Tampere is inviting university and start-up developer communities to compete to design new use cases leveraging on the city’s rich data sets. The developers are invited to use mixed reality as the medium for interaction with, and visualization of, the available data, while leveraging Tampere’s cutting edge 5G mmWave network.

See recent PR from partners here.

Challenges

The challenge is to develop an application concept for utilizing and visualizing cities’s transportation, environmental, health and other data sets utilizing mixed reality as the user interface, and 5G mmW as the target communications technology.

The concept should make use of the following components :

• Mixed Reality User Interface
• Utilization of city data sets
• Use of 5G mmW connectivity

This is a unique combination bringing together some AR, 5G mmW, and real city data sets in one place to inspire new use cases and application concepts.

POTENTIAL SOLUTION EXAMPLES

Following is a list of example areas in which you are invited to dive more deeply, or combine various mixed reality, and communications to illustrate new application concepts in the context of modern city living.

• Location specific information on transportation, environment, health or other city data
• Visualization (location specific or not) of transportation, environment, or any of the other data available from the city
• XR Gaming concepts integrating city data, connectivity, and XR UI
• News Feeds - Theater, Sports, Music, Food, etc.
• Bus, light rail and train schedules and real-time status
• Twitter/TikTok monitor for top ten trending local topics
• Mixed Reality tours - MR overlays and tours of the many Tampere attractions-the Messukylä Church, the Alexander Church, Hatanpää Manor, Tampere City Hall, Ruuskanen House, Näsilinna Palace, the Lenin Museum - etc.
• Line length on the rides at the Särkänniemi amusement park
• Local Menus in AR - see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrwpfhpuBM4
• Cycling/running app with automatic course layout and a ghost/virtual partner to keep pace - has your playlist to play your tunes.
• Location based AR games - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_Bees

WHO SHOULD JOIN

This hackathon is ideal for early technology adopters and people who are enthusiastic about CR and communications networks.

We are looking for start-ups and teams of students (2-5 peoples team) with the talent and passion to create something new utilizing cutting edge Mixed Reality using 5G mmW technology as a primary communications medium.

PREPARATIONS

Experience with Android, Unity & C# is helpful in this hackathon.

Participants need access to the following software resources before joining the hackathon:

• Unity 2020.3.35 configured to support Android
• Android SDK & NDK installed
• Snapdragon Unity SDK downloaded from http://spaces.qualcomm.com/
• Code editor (Visual Studio, Visual Code)
• AR Foundation (Unity Package)
• Look into Tampere’s open datasets open datasets to nurture your ideation. Using some of the data in your solution is mandatory to be eligible as a winner.
• Spaces Discord page: link

The following technology is recommended, but optional:

• MRTK3 for UI
• Photon for multiplayer
• ARCore experience

RESOURCES

The participants will have access to the following equipment and data provided by the hackathon organizers: Qualcomm Spaces XR DevKit; which includes:

• Snapdragon 8 powered Motorola Edge+ Smartphone with 5G mmW support
• Snapdragon XR1 powered Lenovo A3 ThinkReality smart glasses

Tampere open data portal; Finnish and English version, which includes between others, datasets on:

• Maps
• Environment and nature
• Traffic and tourism
• Health and social Services

Nokia Arena, which includes

• Nokia-powered 5G mmW network coverage

Participants will be asked to develop concepts during the hackathon event using the designated DevKit, while connected to WiFi. During a designated time, participants will have the opportunity to move to the Nokia Arena and test their application concept on a live mmW network using the same DevKit.

Tampere City’s extensive open datasets open datasets are available for everyone, and participants can already get familiar with them.

MENTORS AND JURY

• George Tsirtsis - Senior Director of Technology, Qualcomm
• Tsvetelin Dimitrov - Engineer, Qualcomm
• Gala García - Engineer, Qualcomm
• Petteri Hiisilä - Head of Design, Nokia
• Veli-Pekka Luoma - Innovation and Ecosystem Lead, Nokia
• Nahid Sheikhipour - SW Engineer, Nokia
• Steve Lukas - Director / Product Management, Qualcomm
• Santeri Saarinen - Technology Expert / R&D Lead, Helsinki XR Center
• Maarit Vehviläinen - Project Manager, City of Tampere
• Ruben Guillen Izuma - 5G Engineer, Qualcomm
• Jarno Halme - Director, CGI
• Satu Reijonen - Consultant, CGI
• Jouni Ojala - HCD Strategist / Service Designer, CGI

JURY

• Steve Lukas - Director of Product Management, XR Ecosystem, Qualcomm
• Teppo Rantanen - Executive Director, City of Tampere
• Pekka Sundström - Head of Strategy Execution Europe, Nokia
• Taavi Mattila - Business Lead, Elisa

ABOUT THE PARTNERS

Qualcomm

As the world's leading wireless tech innovator, Qualcomm pushes the boundaries of what's possible to enable next-gen experiences and drive digital transformation to help create a smarter, connected future for all. With Qualcomm’s leadership in 5G mmWave and XR technology, they’re powering the connected intelligent edge.

5G mmWave is a revolutionary cellular technology, providing access to massive bandwidth and capacity available in frequency bands above 24 GHz, with ultra-low latency and unrivaled private network performance. Once deemed impossible by skeptics, 5G mmWave is now embraced by the wireless ecosystem and continues to gain momentum globally bringing benefits to consumers, enterprises and industrial users. 5G mmWave is available in select phones and devices powered by the Snapdragon™ Mobile Platform, using breakthrough advancements in mobile and antenna technology and delivers the fastest available 5G speeds, up to 10 Gbps –faster than residential fiber.

Alongside 5G mmWave, Qualcomm Technologies is driving digital transformation by accelerating the future of extended reality (XR) with their Snapdragon® XR technologies, designed to seamlessly merge the physical world with digital. Their best-in-class XR solutions include processors, software and perception technologies, reference designs and developer tools that help create a new future of unlimited potential for both enterprise and consumers. With the combination of high performance and low power computing, 5G mmwave and AI, XR may have a greater impact on our world than PCs and smartphones combined.

Tampere

Tampere is the third largest city in Finland and and the centre of its region with nearly 240 000 inhabitants. Tampere scores highest as the most desirable place to live in Finland. The City of Tampere is also a bold pioneer in smart city development. It strives to be forward looking, efficient, sustainable, and most of all, human-centered smart city. Using data is in the heart of how Tampere aims to achieve these goals. The city’s new development program: "Data Driven City for Citizens”, promotes these areas nationally and internationally.

WINNING TEAMS

1st Place - Tampere xRT Bringing a digital art exhibition to the city of Tampere.

2nd Place - Whispers of Tampere A voice-based messaging service for leaving and listening to audio messages throughout the city of Tampere.

3rd Place - AR Digital Spaces Personalized advertisements in public places.

Honorary Mention - Public Commuter VR assistant to improve the quality of public transport services for people with disabilities.

Honorary Mention - ARenafy Improving the viewing experience in sports arenas.