Disrupt Hackathon Finals | Summary and Q&A

Summary

This video captures the final round of the TechCrunch Disrupt hackathon, where ten teams present their hacks to a panel of judges. The teams have 2 minutes each to showcase their projects and explain why they should win the $10,000 prize. The judges include representatives from Google, TechCrunch, Stitch Fix, Snap, Square, and TechCrunch.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the first hack presented in the video?

The first hack presented is antibiogram. It aims to address the problem of superbugs caused by over-prescription of general antibiotics. The team has integrated with the Iris for health database, allowing for real-time access to fresh lab results. They have also designed a more intuitive interface for physicians to make better prescription decisions based on updated data.

Q: How does the Trustwell hack address the lack of a centralized credit assessment system in Europe?

Trustwell, a Danish soda company, has created a solution to address the lack of a centralized credit assessment system in Europe. They enable companies to assess their customers' creditworthiness by collecting relevant information such as email, phone number, and country. They then use APIs to assess the customer's creditworthiness and provide the company with the necessary information to make informed decisions.

Q: What does Alfred, the personal financial Butler, do?

Alfred is a personal financial Butler that helps users understand their financial information and make informed decisions about their spending. By analyzing spending patterns, income, and liabilities, Alfred can answer questions like whether the user can afford a certain purchase. It uses AI to track behavior and provide personalized financial advice.

Q: What problem does Shepard aim to solve?

Shepard is a search engine designed to help find lost dogs. With 10 million dogs getting lost each year and only 8 million being found, Shepard aims to improve the chances of reuniting lost dogs with their owners. Users can input information about their lost dog, such as size, color, and breed, and Shepard will search for similar pets nearby. It helps pet owners find their lost pets more effectively.

Q: How does Quizly address the current process for tracing firearms?

Quizly aims to improve the process of tracing firearms and identifying gun owners. The current process involves manual searching through millions of forms stored as images, which can take weeks. Quizly uses computer vision to automate this process, reducing the time to trace a gun owner from weeks to just one hour. By digitizing and indexing these forms, it allows law enforcement to quickly identify the owner of a firearm involved in a crime.

Q: How does GeoFed H+ help pet owners track and locate their pets?

GeoFed H+ is a system designed for pet lovers who want to know the whereabouts of their pets at all times. It uses geofencing technology around the pet owner's house to track when a pet goes missing. When a pet is lost, the system sends alerts through email, Twitter, or SMS to notify the owner. It also integrates with a smart lock to prevent dogs from escaping and has face recognition technology to identify pets.

Q: How does I Paw cater to dog owners?

I Paw is a one-stop shop app for everything related to dogs. It uses machine learning to identify the breed of a dog from a picture and tailors the app's content to provide specific information and features for that breed. It offers health monitoring, document management, integration with Snapchat for sharing dog-related content, and a map for finding dog parks and vets nearby.

Q: What does LifeLee, the personal trainer app, focus on?

LifeLee is a personal trainer app that focuses on health and fitness. It allows users to track and monitor their mood, sleep, workout, and diet to determine their overall health. The app uses image recognition technology to analyze exercises performed at home and provide feedback and suggestions. It also provides dietary recommendations based on the user's health conditions.

Q: How does Snapper Posts for Snapchat facilitate group discussions?

Snapper Posts for Snapchat is an app that enables group discussions on Snapchat and Instagram. It allows users to create a story with a question and invite others to participate in the discussion. Participants can respond with messages, creating a conversational thread within the app. This app aims to bring meaningful group discussions to social media platforms.

Q: What problem does Debt Star tackle?

Debt Star aims to address the issue of consumer debt, which currently stands at 13 trillion dollars in the US. By providing a smart spending screen and debt management tools, Debt Star helps users visualize and pay off their debt more efficiently. It offers suggestions on saving money and prioritizing debt payments based on the user's financial situation.

Takeaways

The TechCrunch Disrupt hackathon showcased a wide range of innovative and impactful projects. From improving medical decision-making with real-time data to addressing the problem of lost pets, each hack demonstrated the potential for technology to make a positive difference. The winning hack, in quiz Li, showcased the power of leveraging existing social media platforms for meaningful group discussions. Overall, the event highlighted the talent and creativity of the participants and the importance of collaboration and problem-solving in the tech industry.