Premiere: Industrial Internet of Things Hackathon at the RWTH Aachen University

Nearly 60 students, trainees and young professionals spent 36 hours demonstrating their skills in the field of machine learning in production technology. Under the motto "GET YOUR #BITS TOGETHER!" The Cybernetics Lab and the Circle of Friends of the Machine Tool Laboratory WZL of the RWTH Aachen University organized the weekend 19.-21. January 2018 the first "WZL-IMA Industrial Internet of Things Hackathon".

This hackathon premiere demanded and promoted the knowledge in the world of data analysis and machine learning as well as production know-how. The participants conceptualized, developed and worked in teams on tasks that reflect typical scenarios in production technology. The hackathon support was provided by the profile area Production Engineering and the Cluster of Excellence Integrative Production Technology for High-Wage Countries, the Institute of Plastic Forming and the Institute of Ferrous Metallurgy of the RWTH Aachen University.

Main sponsor Feintool rewarded the tireless dedication and creativity of the participants with prizes worth a total of € 5,000. The approach of the "Bits Please" team took first place with an outstanding contribution to product tracking using RFID tags. By analyzing the data provided, the team was able to determine which tags were detected by several antennas at the same time as well as provide insights into the common characteristics of reading events. As a result, an approach has been identified that will certainly receive attention in the further course of our research projects. In addition, the VDI Bezirksverein Aachen e.V. awarded prizes to 17 young talents.

If you have questions about the Hackathon, please contact Dipl.-Ing. Thomas Thiele.

Hackathon Gewinner