Challenges
Prizes
Prizes for the third annual VIA goCodeSA Codeathon have increased with over $10,000 in cash and prizes. This year prizes will be distributed a little bit differently, but that just means there are more winners. This year the teams will not all be judged on the same overall category. There will be a first and second prize for each of our four challenges. First place will receive $1500 and second place will receive $500. That means four $1500 winners and four $500 winners. Also, this year each of our diamond sponsors will also be giving a $500 award and these awards can be won by any team, not just our finalists.
CivTechSA City Problem Solver Award
This award is designed to be given to the project that has the largest impact on the city and/or mobility, not necessarily just VIA. Any project can qualify for this award, and it will be selected by our first-round judges so that all projects will be evaluated on its city-wide impact. Don’t be afraid to dream big, just because your project is rooted in VIA that doesn’t mean it can’t lead to a larger impact.
Dailey-Wells Fan Favorite Award
This award will be voted on by everyone present at the closing event. Each member of the audience will be able to submit a vote on who their favorite team is, so bring your friends and family to help support you at the final event.
Trinity University Best Student Project Award
This award will be given to the best student project and that doesn’t just mean Trinity students. Any team that is composed of at least 50% university or coding school student qualifies for this award. Fresh new minds to the San Antonio coding community will have their opportunity to shine with this award.
VIA Innovation Award
This award will be given to the team that best demonstrates the best spirit of innovation. Grandiose ideas and over-the-top enthusiasm for creating a revolutionary project are what the judges will be looking to reward for this prize.
Challenge Interest
These counts indicate the number of teams that have indicated interest in a certain challenge. Use these numbers to help you decide on which challenge you might like to register for. A higher number means more competition in that category. You will have to indicate which challenge your team would like to be judged on during registration on Friday February 22.
Challenge #1
Challenge #2
Challenge #3
Challenge #4
Judging
All projects will be judged on Impact, Innovation, and Technical Achievement. Each challenge will also have a category with topics that are specific to said challenge. The weights of each of these criteria will total 100 points with 20 points for Impact, 20 points for Innovation, 20 points for Technical Achievement, and 40 points for the challenge specific criteria.
Impact – 20pts
- Would the application have real social impact?
- Can it help someone in the community?
- Does it solve a stated goal of the VIA Codeathon?
- Is the solution effective?
Innovation – 20pts
- Is the solution novel?
- Does it solve a problem in a creative way?
Technical Achievement – 20pts
- Did the participants solve a hard technical problem?
- Did they get a working demo completed within the allotted time?
Quick Trip Challenge Criteria – 40pts
- Does the app identify suitable locations based on search criteria?
- Does the app indicate whether a round trip is needed?
- Does the app provide a time estimate?
- Is the app desktop and mobile friendly?
- Does the app sort results by travel time, rating, other categories?
- Does the app include any notifications systems?
Chat Bot Challenge Criteria – 40pts
- Is the chat-bot built on the progress NativeChat framework?
- Are the conversation results displayed in an easy to read format?
- Does the chat bot allow users to submit photos?
- Does the chat bot allow users to indicated locations on a map?
- Does the chat bot allow VIA to query users for information?
Augmented Reality Challenge Criteria – 40pts
- Does the application utilize augmented reality in a creative and useful way for customers?
- Does the application highlight important VIA information (next bus arrivals, key infrastructure, etc)?
- Does the application help VIA users plan trips and navigate the system?
Open Innovation Challenge Criteria – 40pts
- Does the idea help solve a challenge that does not fit the other challenges?
- Is the proposed solution helpful to current or potential VIA customers?
- Is the demo completed successfully addressing the proposed challenge and solution?
2019 Challenges
#1 – VIA Quick Trip Web App Conversion And Enhancement
- Allow a user to search for food, drink, and nearby attractions using the same categories as in the current app.
- Allow a user to indicate whether a round trip is needed, and if so must request that a time be specified.
- Using the parameters above, find suitable nearby places.
- Provide a trip time estimate and route summary using transit.
- Allow the user to open their trip in a map application.
- The app must be both desktop and mobile friendly.
#2 – Build Customer Feedback Chat-bot Functionality for VIA’s Existing Chat-bot
- The rider must be able to enter information that is then cataloged in a way that is useful to VIA customer support staff.
- The bot must be able to categorize the conversation into the below categories and collect the corresponding information for that category.
- Collect rider contact information (First Name, Last Name, Mobile #, email, etc)
- The bot must be able to collect the following:
- Commendations
- Required – First Name, Last Name, Phone or email, comment
- Maintenance Requests
- Required – Location, location type (stop, bus, transit center), Time, Issue
- Bus Issues
- Required – First Name, Last Name, Phone or email, Route #
- Optional – Vehicle Number, Operator Name/ID
- Driver Issues
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Required – First Name, Last Name, Phone or email, Route #, Operator name/ID, Issue
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Optional – Vehicle Number
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General Complaints
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Required – First Name, Last Name, Phone or email, comment
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- Commendations
- Create a way to display the results of the conversations in a easy to read format for VIA customer support use.
#3 – Augmented Reality Project