Tuesday, 17 September 2024 UP FAMNIT students acquired new skills in software development at the FAMNIT/HTW Dresden Hackathon

Between September 11 and 17, the first hackathon in collaboration with the University of Dresden – HTW Dresden (Mechlab) took place at Livade 1.0. During the hackathon, young enthusiasts in computer science, along with the experienced Prof. Dr. Toralf Trautmann from the Automotive Mechatronics Laboratory and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Branko Kavšek from the Department of Information Sciences and Technologies (UP FAMNIT), developed new functions that benefit both driver and vehicle automation. 

Dr. Toralf shared his knowledge of automotive software development and technology with the students, who later divided into groups and delved into their projects, which they tested and presented on the final day. 

At the end of the hackathon, a student from the Computer Science program also shared their experience with us, having encountered and learned new techniques to which they had not previously been exposed: "It was pretty interesting, honestly, to be involved with a new system and type of engineering that we had never experienced before. It was nice to work with it, experiment with it, and create something from it. I made an LED strip that worked with object proximity and object detection using the lighter algorithm. However, I definitely want to improve the lighter detection so we can have a fully functional system.” 

Dr. Trautmann was also very impressed with the successful execution and final products, believing that the event has opened up opportunities for further collaboration. 

“I was very excited about the results, and the students were also highly motivated. As I mentioned, they did not have experience with the so-called smart lab, but they still managed to develop their own code and systems. I hope that we will continue to develop such systems next year in Dresden. Such events also represent an excellent opportunity for students, as the knowledge gained is recognized by many companies,” he adds. 

We would also like to big thank company Dewesoft for supporting our students with their gifts.