May 5, 2016
Data on Wheels in Mexico City
Mexico City’s nine million residents got a big boost from our 2015 mobility challenge winners. Now Ford is asking developers to take another look at Mexico City’s transit network — with data.
The Ford Mexico Smart Journey hackathon is offering $30,000 in cash prizes for apps that leverage public, private, and crowd-sourced transit data to help Mexico City commuters figure out the best way to get to their destination based on factors like current traffic, safety, cost, travel time, and ease of use.
To get a better idea of the challenges Mexico City travelers face every day, and to find out more about how hackers can use data to make commuting better, we talked to a few mobility tech experts in the D.F.
Daniel Tello, Technological Innovation, Laboratorio para la Ciudad
Paco Valdez, CTO, SinTráfico
Peatónito, mobility superhero and pedestrian advocate
Francisco Sordo, CEO, Uber México
What’s your favorite way to get around Mexico City?
DT: Bike. Using ECOBICI, Mexico City’s bike sharing program, gives you the flexibility to move wherever you want and the comfort of leaving the bike in a station.
PV: Bicycle. Since the introduction of ECOBICI, bicycling is one of the best alternatives to avoid traffic congestion and saturation of transit system.
P: Bicycle.
FS: As the CEO of Uber in Mexico, I have had to use a full range of mobility options in order to gain deeper knowledge of the problems that citizens in my city face on a daily basis to get from point A to point B. And definitely my favorite way to commute is uberPOOL: it’s eco-friendly and the most efficient way to reduce the amount of cars on my city’s streets.
In your opinion, what is the biggest transit problem facing Mexico City residents and visitors on a daily basis?
DT: The biggest transit problem we face are the unpredictable variables around public transportation. It’s pretty inconsistent; you can wait up to 15 minutes until your transport arrives, or maybe 5 minutes. This uncertainty gives the impression that public transport is not efficient.
Metro, the Mexico City subway, moves more than 5 million people every day (2 times the population of Chicago) with only 12 lines. I always think twice before saying the subway system in Mexico City is not efficient; it’s a complex issue.
PV: Accessibility to rapid transportation systems; not all areas of the city are connected to the Metro and BRT networks.
P: The excessive use of cars.
FS: The average number of people riding in a car in Mexico City is 1.2. This definitely creates congestion and pollution, and seriously affects mobility. We need to put more people in fewer cars.
We are working diligently on communicating the message that driving alone in your car is no longer an affordable privilege. We all need to be conscious about the current environmental and mobility situation in our cities and make sharing our rides part of life.
What are some of the ways software developers and data engineers could use transit data to help residents make real-time transportation decisions?
DT: Mexico City is a place with difficult challenges but it is also presents big opportunities. Engineers have the chance to fill the gaps and build solutions that can disrupt the way everyone uses city services.
PV: Most transportation decisions are made with empirical knowledge in Mexico City, so a lot of improvement can be done just by standardizing this data in technology platforms and by using real-time data analysis for day-to-day transportation decisions.
P: Make cars more expensive to use by charging for pollution or charging for vehicle mileage.
FS: Uber’s technology facilitates efficient rides because it allows us to have a more exact comprehension of demand in real time. Also, it lets us know current traffic conditions, estimated time of arrival, and suggested price before you begin your travel in your city’s streets.
Uber complements public transit options, and developers and data engineers could leverage the information to design end-to-end multimodal transportation routes that include public transit as well as options like Uber and walking.
What are your suggestions for researching and approaching the available data resources?
DT: You can get the most value out of the data by cross-referencing multiple databases. For example, using only the GTFS information that Semovi, the mobility secretariat, provides is something that most of the apps in the market do, but they don’t add any new value. Using multiple databases can help you analyze the data in a different way and you’ll be able to see patterns that were not visible at first.
PV: One of the biggest challenges that developers that are working towards mobility solutions have is the lack of data in Mexico, so relying on specialized analytics and data providers such as SinTráfico, which offer solutions powered by high-quality data, is a great alternative for maximizing the value of their developments.
P: The problem is that there’s not enough good data, so that would be a good challenge, how to create data with new technologies.
FS: The solution is summarized in one simple statement: Through technology, have more people in fewer cars. My suggestion would be to approach data mining and research along these same lines. How can we make people’s lives easier? How do we optimize the resources that are available today in our cities? How do we think about the future and use the information available to us today to bridge that gap?
April 21, 2016
Meetup Engineering’s Rich Hsieh on Culture Fit
This week, Meetup’s own Rich Hsieh sat down with the folks at Devpost where they talked about culture fit. What exactly is it? And how is it valued at a company like Meetup? Check out the discussion here:
And then check out our awesome Devpost page where you can read more about what it’s like to work at Meetup, and what the interview process here is like. And you can check out all of our openings!
(via makingmeetup)
March 16, 2016
Fist-Bumping in the Cloud
Gimme five. Gimme some skin. Fist-bump, bro! I challenge you to a thumb-wrestle. Hug it OUT. Pattycake throwdown. Low five. Fist pound. Deliver me a secret handshake.
This week we’re kicking off the Multi-Touch Multi-Hack, an online hackathon to build apps with Lenovo’s multi-user, multi-touch (MUMT) Aura interface. Lenovo’s MUMT platform lets you use all ten fingers to interact with a tablet or PC touchscreen, and allows multiple users to interact with the same device simultaneously. There are $25,000 in cash prizes up for grabs, along with Lenovo PCs and tablets, and promotion for your app across Lenovo’s dev and marketing channels.
Why is MUMT technology worth checking out? Platforms that allow us to act & react in a way that’s organic to our biological form and function are driving human-computer interaction design. Lenovo’s Aura interface lets people use their hands in a natural, intuitive way to interact with a touchscreen. So instead of the limited repertoire of gestures we’re accustomed to — often just tap, swipe, and drag — with MUMT, you can use your whole hand (or both) to give instructions to your device. Rotate, pinch, zoom, spin, wave, palm swipe, do-si-do, finger moonwalk — Lenovo’s interface will respond accordingly, and to multiple inputs at the same time. It also accepts whatever orientation you want to assign it, so you can interact with the screen from any angle.
You have until June 14 to build a Windows desktop app with 10-finger touch that creates a new, collaborative educational or entertainment experience on the Lenovo YOGA Home. The grand prize winner gets $10K, plus a meeting w/ Lenovo’s biz dev team to discuss additional promotional opportunities.
Put it right there — start experimenting with MUMT @ multitouch.devpost.com. Your next code win is at the tip of your fingers.
March 1, 2016
I, Watson
- Yo, Watson.
- Hi, Jo. What’s up?
- I want to visit Tokyo, Sydney, Manchester, and Reykjavik during a trip that takes 30 days.
- That’s ambitious.
- I know, right? Can you help me figure out the best way to do it — which order I should travel through those cities for the cheapest flight itinerary and the least chance of being jet-lagged?
- Sure. Should I also optimize for seasonality, so that you’re moving through each city at its warmest time during those 30 days?
- That would be awesome, Watson. Oh, one more thing — I also want to make a reservation at Jiro’s sushi place while I’m in Tokyo. So make that the priority above other criteria.
- I’m on it, Jo.
This imaginary conversation between me and Watson is an example of the type of interaction you could make possible during our new online hackathon from IBM, the Watson Developer Challenge for Conversational Applications.
IBM is giving you access to Watson’s new language service APIs on Bluemix. Using Watson’s capabilities for natural language processing, document conversion, and speech and machine learning algorithms, you can build an app that allows users to interact with Watson in a natural conversational interface. Users will be able to take advantage of Watson’s immense machine learning capabilities as your app gets fed data that makes it smarter and more responsive to the user’s queries and requests.
You have until April 15 to build an app that lets users interact with Watson through natural speech or text input, and we’re giving you access to a robust set of Watson webinars, Slack Q&A sessions, and online office hours to make sure you have all the tech support you need to create something awesome.
The developer or team of developers with the best conversational app will have an opportunity to present their application in front of Watson execs and developers from around the world during the 2016 World of Watson hackathon, and all winners will get swank hardware (Apple Watches, iPads, GoPros) and promotion of their app through the IBM Watson social channels and blog.
As you can see, there’s no time for small talk. Code with the Watson Developer Cloud APIs for language cognition and get the conversation started.
January 13, 2016
How 1517 Fund Uses Devpost to Engage and Support the Hacker Community
If you’re active in the hacker community, chances are you’ve already crossed paths with Danielle Strachman and Michael Gibson, General Partners at 1517 Fund. They are long-time hackathon veterans and support hackers through grant funding to kickstart projects, investments, and ongoing mentorship. My personal curiosity was piqued when comments like the one in the picture above started showing up on some of the Devpost team’s favorite projects. Luckily for me, Danielle and Michael were kind enough to chat a few weeks ago and share what they’ve been up to on Devpost and with the hacker community in general.
Desiree: Tell me a bit about 1517 Fund and your connection with the hacker community.
Danielle: Michael and I started attending hackathons frequently as part of our work with the Thiel Fellowship back in 2010. It’s been interesting to see how the hackathon trend has grown since then! We’re autonomous from the Thiel Fellowship now, but have a similar goal of helping people learn by doing.
With 1517, Michael and I go to an average of two hackathons per month and usually give out one to three $1K grants. We also try to help in other ways like holding office hours, mentoring, and connecting teams with angel investors or others in the community. We also make recommendations to the Thiel Fellowship. We’ve seen some great fellows come out of the hackathon community like Ari Weinstein and Conrad Kramer who started Workflow at Mhacks.
We’ve given out twenty grants since September to help people with their projects and work with teams on an ongoing basis. Each year we have the capacity to give out one hundred $1K grants.
Why do you focus on hackathons? What’s the value for you?
Danielle: Hackathons are great! We love to see what people are inspired to work on and it’s a great look into up and coming technologies. Hackathons are a place where lots of things are born like new projects and teams, however there isn’t a lot of infrastructure to help people to keep going on their work. That’s where we step in, since we see going to hackathons and giving out grants as an opportunity to get to know people, build relationships, and help projects move forward.
Hackathons are a big draw for us because we’re looking for people who want to make things, and that’s how hackers are choosing to spend their free time. There is a high level of commitment and passion - it’s hard to find that. When we see a team that is talented and has something interesting, we can start helping them immediately. For example, we just got off a call with someone who is building a hardware company making cell phones. We thought they’d really enjoy speaking with the Text2Map team from BostonHacks, who we gave a grant to, so we connected them to check out partnership opportunities.
Building relationships and helping hackers - that’s what we love to see! How are you using the Devpost platform to help with those goals?
Danielle: We’re only two people, so we can’t make it to every hackathon we would like. We regularly browse submissions to hackathons on Devpost and leave comments on projects that look interesting to us. It’s an easy way to start a conversation.
Michael: Devpost can be helpful even when we do attend a hackathon. Expos can be huge and we don’t always get the chance to meet everyone or get contact information from people we’re interested in talking to. We can find the team’s submission from the hackathon page on Devpost and contact them directly to start a conversation.
Is there anything specific you’re looking for in a hackathon project?
Danielle: We like to see things that are true hacks – building solutions and workarounds to problems that others face. The bigger the idea the better too. We especially love to see people using hackathon time to build something that they’ve been dreaming about, not just to win sponsor prizes.
Michael: Our evaluation of the people and team is just as important. That’s why we focus so much energy on getting to know people and building relationships with them when we visit.
How can interested hackers get in touch with you?
Michael: We love to hear from people! Hackers can tell us about themselves and see if we can help out by reaching out to us at info@1517fund.com. We love hearing from hackathon organizers too about partnering with their events. To learn more about us, check out our answer on Quora.
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You can find all of the teams 1517 Fund has given grants to that have Devpost submissions here:
BaymaxBuddies (which they just showcased at CES)
