Smarter Suffolk Hackathon
Members of the ISTN (the Ipswich and Suffolk Tech Network) join University students and staff for a day of hackathon fun with the aim of solving some very real issues.
Last Friday, 22nd October 2021, we were in great company as we joined University of Suffolk students and staff, Suffolk County Council, Suffolk Highways and BT Applied Research in a day-long hackathon. Our task? Transforming local authority services using innovation, imagination, collaboration and just a little bit of data.
Coffees in hand we met bright and early for a 9am start at the Digitech Centre, excited to see what the day would have in store.
In attendance were ISTN board members: Sam Parnell of Measured Brilliance, Andy Bristow of Bristow Holland, Abi Turner of All About Users, David Atkins of 3a Designs and David Flint from Mobile and Secure. We were also lucky enough to be joined by Matt Applegate of the Creative Computing Club and Steve Chalkey of Ipswich Makerspace.
The day kicked off with presentations from Suffolk County Council, Suffolk Highways, BT and University of Suffolk technical experts who asked the teams to consider tackling challenges in air quality, winter gritting, traffic flows, gully data, and street lighting.
The six teams of University of Suffolk students heard from a number of Smart technology specialists who currently work with Suffolk data. One specialist team spoke about how they currently use purpose-built sensors to monitor Suffolk’s road temperatures. Utilising sensors in this way ensures our county’s gritters run efficiently over the winter and is just one example of how Suffolk is already making use of Smart Technology.
The data the teams were given came from over 200 sources, each collecting different types of data, everything from visual sensors checking vehicle types to lighting and water level sensors.
Participants also heard of a programme monitoring water levels on roads and these real-life use cases helped them to understand how much their solutions could help local communities.
During the hack our ISTN experts went from team to team listening and answering questions, ‘We were impressed at how advanced the teams were and how quickly they understood the opportunities open to them to help Suffolk by using data to investigate how to keep the town safer and reduce their carbon footprint.’ said ISTN Chair Sam Parnell. ‘We were lucky to have a number of ISTN experts who specialise in data to give quality advice to the students. Having Matt Applegate from Creative Computing Club and Steve Chalkey from Ipswich Makerspace, meant we had even more technical experts to offer help and advice.
The winning team focussed on utilising technology that reduces the pollution emitted by traffic, helping Suffolk County Council to maximise clean air. The ISTN have invited the winners to host a talk about their project and the hackathon experience, so watch this space for that event!