Last weekend was TartanHacks 2018, the annual hackathon at Carnegie Mellon.
Awards: Google's Best Use of Cloud API
My team had many ideas, which included a blackbox for cars that makes insurance claims more objective by collecting IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) data and being able to recreate a 3D model of crashes, a social networking app that enables students to find other students who are struggling with the same homework assignments, and a VR public speaking coach.
We decided to go with the VR public speaking coach. Our project (Syft on the homepage) placed you in a VR audience environment so that you could realistically practice your speaking skills. Furthermore, it provided detailed analytics by using Natural Language Processing while you were talking to give you details like rhythm, volume, tone, and stutter detection.
The end result was an app that graphed your performance every trial, and was able to help you improve speaking in front of an audience without leaving the comfort of wherever you are practicing.
Although it was tiring, it was very fun to work with my team and present to the judges. Can't wait to work on the other ideas at other hackathons!