About the challenge

MakeCU is Columbia University's flagship hardware hackathon, hosted by the Columbia Robotics Club. Join us November 8-9 in building physical projects combining both hardware and software challenges!

Get started

Visit our website https://www.makecu.dev/ to apply. 

Requirements

What to Build

Anything hardware! Drones, face-tracking eyeballs, desk cleaners, room scanners, hoverboards, anything you've been wanting to create!

What to Submit

A poster and prototype of your creation. To be presented at the final expo!

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

13 non-cash prizes
1st Place Overall
1 winner

Audio turntable

2nd Place Overall
1 winner

1TB SSD by Centon

3rd Place Overall
1 winner

JBL Flip 4

Hacker's Choice
1 winner

Columbia Swag Bag: Roaree the Lion + Keychain

Best Beginner Hack
1 winner

Apple AirTags

Best Use of Computer Vision
1 winner

Microphone and/or Webcam

Best use of DYNAMIXEL [ROBOTIS]
1 winner

OMX Set (Max 4)

Best Pitch
1 winner

MIDI Controller

Best use of Google Gemini [MLH]
1 winner

Google Swag Kits
It’s time to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI using Google Gemini. Check out the Gemini API to build AI-powered apps that make your friends say WHOA. So, what can Gemini do for your hackathon project?

Understand language like a human and build a chatbot that gives personalized advice

Analyze info like a supercomputer and create an app that summarizes complex research papers

Generate creative content like code, scripts, music, and more

Think of the possibilities… what will you build with the Google Gemini API this weekend?

Best use of Solana [MLH]
1 winner

SenseCAP Card Tracker
The world of development is evolving fast and Solana is leading the charge with a network built to handle all of your infrastructure needs. Forget high fees and slow confirmations, it’s time to build applications that are fast, efficient, and scalable.

Harness Solana's core advantages like blazing fast execution and near-zero transaction costs to make your hackathon ideas become real world projects. With Solana, the possibilities are endless.

Create a game, social app, or consumer product that relies on instant, high-frequency transactions.

Design a sophisticated trading, lending, or decentralized exchange (DEX).

Build a prototype for supply chain, identity, or payments that can handle massive, real-world volume.

Show us how you can innovate with Solana for a chance to win some cool prizes for you and each member of your team!

Best use of Vultr [MLH]
1 winner

Portable Screens
Vultr empowers hackers to bring their high-performance projects to life instantly; providing everything from the speed of one-click deployment and scalable cloud compute, to specialized Vultr Cloud GPUs that can power AI-driven applications. We want you to push the limits of what can be built when infrastructure is no longer the bottleneck!

Sign up for a Vultr account today and claim your free cloud credits! Take your next hack to the cloud with Vultr for a chance to win some awesome portable screens for you and your team!

Best use of DigitalOcean [MLH]
1 winner

Retro Wireless Mouse
DigitalOcean GradientTM AI is a unified AI cloud for building, training, and deploying machine learning models and AI agents. Get access to GPU infrastructure like DigitalOcean GPU Droplets and Bare Metal servers, along with serverless inference and 1-Click Models for instant deployment of your favorite LLMs!

Sign up for DigitalOcean today and get $200 worth of free credits that you can use towards building your next Gradient-powered hack. Enable your next project with DigitalOcean GradientTM AI for a chance to win some great prizes for you and each of your team mates!

Best Use of ElevenLabs
1 winner

Wireless Earbuds
Deploy natural, human-sounding audio with ElevenLabs. Create realistic, dynamic, and emotionally expressive voices for any project, from interactive AI companions to narrated stories and voice-enabled apps. ElevenLabs will empower you to build rich, immersive experiences without the need for actors or complex audio production, using simply the power of AI.

Integrate fully autonomous audio experiences into your hack with ElevenLabs and give your project a voice, along with giving your team the chance to win some wireless earbuds!

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Tony Dear

Tony Dear
Senior Lecturer in CS @ Columbia

David Watkins

David Watkins
Research Lead @ Boston Dynamics AI Institute

Josh Elijah

Josh Elijah
Founder of BotBlox

Ali Al-Bustami

Ali Al-Bustami
ML Engineer @ Robify

Judging Criteria

  • 1st Overall
    Awarded to the project with the best technical merit, functionality, creativity, and design.
  • 2nd Overall
  • 3rd Overall
  • Best use of CV
    Build anything that leverages computer vision in a creative, useful, or innovative way!
  • Best Beginner Hack
    For first-time hackers—build anything that shows initiative, creativity, and a willingness to learn!
  • Hacker's Choice
    Voted by your fellow participants. Show off your originality and impress the hacker community!
  • Best use of DYNAMIXEL
    Awarded to the project with the best use of ROBOTIS hardware. NOTE: Teams must submit a short video (1–2m or longer) showing part of your build/assembly process and the completed project in action. Submission via sharing the video on Youtube.
  • Best Pitch
    Awarded to the team that pitches their hardware idea the best.
  • Best use of Google Gemini
  • Best use of Solana
  • Best use of DigitalOcean
  • Best use of Vultr
  • Best use of ElevenLabs

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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