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About the challenge
Arbiter Hacks V1 runs two parallel tracks. Pick one when you register, or switch before the submission deadline. You may only submit to one track.
General Track: Build anything. Any language, any stack, any idea. This track rewards technical ambition and execution, regardless of subject.
Theme Track, Rethinking Waste: Build something that helps people or systems reduce, sort, or recycle waste more effectively. Examples include a tool that identifies whether an item is recyclable, an app that routes food waste to donation, a hardware or vision system that sorts materials, or a dataset or model that improves recycling accuracy. If it moves the needle on waste, it fits.
The tracks are judged separately, against separate rubrics, for separate prizes. A polished General submission and a high-impact Theme submission compete only within their own track.
Get started
- Register and pick a track.
- Form a team of [1 to 4] or go solo.
- Late submissions are not judged.
Requirements
What to Build
General Track: Any working software or hardware project. No topic restriction.
Theme Track: A project whose primary purpose addresses waste reduction, sorting, or recycling. Judges will check that the theme is central to the project, not bolted on. A to-do app with a "recycling" label is a General project, not a Theme one.
What to Submit
Every submission must include:
- A public code repository (GitHub, GitLab, or equivalent).
- A demo video, [2 to 3] minutes max, showing the project working. Upload to YouTube or Vimeo and link it.
- A written description: what it does, how you built it, and what you'd do next.
- Theme Track only: one paragraph stating the specific waste problem you targeted and how you'd measure whether it worked.
Missing the repo or the video makes a submission ineligible.
Prizes
1st Place General
Earn 100 Dollars Cash
Adaption Credits ($1000)
1st Place Theme
Earn 100 Dollars Cash
Adaption Credits ($1000)
2nd Place General
Earn 50 Dollars Cash
Adaption Credits ($1000)
2nd Place Theme
Earn 50 Dollars Cash
Adaption Credits ($1000)
Participation Prize
Adaption Credits ($500)
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
Aaryav Lal
AXEIS
Gayathri Chilukala
Microsoft
Sudheer Kumar Pratap
U.S. Bank
Aditya Shrivastava
Barclays
Suman Debnath
Crusoe
Fenil Shah
Amazon
Nikhil Singh
U.S. Bank
Sharath Chandra Kampili
Cockroach Labs
Anudeep Bonagiri
Cruze
Sachin Gurjar
Apexlayer Technologies
Doshi
Apple
Allan Dabre
PWC
Bhargav K Korrapati
Gateway Solutions Inc.
Aishwarya Kannoth Putlumbath
AMD
Tanya Kapoor
Sheladia Associates, Inc.
Judging Criteria
-
Technical Execution (General)
Code quality, working functionality, and the difficulty of what was built. Weighted 35%. -
Innovation & Originality
How novel the idea or approach is. Weighted 25%. -
Completeness & Polish (General)
How finished the project is. Rough edges, broken features, and unfinished flows lose points. Weighted 25%. -
Presentation & Demo Clarity (General)
How clearly the demo video and writeup explain what was built. Weighted 15%. -
Impact on Waste Problem (Theme)
How meaningfully the project reduces, sorts, or improves recycling of waste. The theme must be central, not bolted on. Weighted 35%. -
Technical Execution (Theme)
Code quality, working functionality, and the difficulty of what was built. Weighted 25%. -
Feasibility (Theme)
Could this actually be deployed in the real world? A working solution beats a clever one that can't ship. Weighted 20%. -
Presentation & Demo Clarity (Theme)
How clearly the demo video and writeup explain what was built. Weighted 20%.
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
Invite others to compete
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