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RHoK Boston is being organized by CrisisCamp Boston and hosted by Boston University's Engineers Without Borders chapter.
If you have never attended a hackathon, please read How does it work?
Official event Twitter hasthag: #rhokbos
uStream channel (during event only)
Sunday, December 5, 2010
10:00 - 10:15 Arrive (light breakfast available)
10:15 - 10:45 Project presentation and organizing teams
10:45 - 01:00 First work period
01:00 - 02:00 Lunch
02:00 - 05:00 Second work period
05:00 - 06:00 Demos and Prizes
06:00 - End of the hackathon
HeightCatcher
Boston contact : Carola carfrahb@bu.edu
Geo data file format converter
Boston contacts:
Elias Carlston elias@eliasjames.com
Christian Sparning csparning@gmail.com
Saeed Ahmed saeed2@bu.edu
Iris Kao ikao@bu.edu
Elissa Mueller elissam@bu.edu
Dani Mironov dmironov@bu.edu
David Greenfield dgreenfield@gmail.com
Angelica Ochoa aochoa09@bu.edu
Sam Pevzner pevzner@bu.edu
Person Finder
Boston contact: john saylor js0000@gmail.com
The central piece of RHoK are the problems definitions. These are challenges that pose humanitarian, disaster response, and risk reduction and recovery problems where technology can make a difference. We currently have over 50 problem definitions available for work, this weekend, and we expect more may appear as camps work on Saturday.
You should look over the project before the event and see which ones excite you. They’re on the RHoK wiki: Problems for RHoK 2.0 events
On Sunday morning, we will showcase several projects that have already been started at our collaborating RHoK events in Toronto, Chicago, and NYC. We’ll give a quick pitch of the problem, information on the current status and needs of the project, and maybe show a quick video. If you’re unsure what project to work on, these are great candidates, but they’re not the only project you can work on. If you want to do tse-tse fly tracking with quad-rotor cameras, then go with that.
After the project presentations, we’ll post signs around the room with those projects. You should walk around, talk to people, and think about what you’d like to work on. If you want to work on a project that we didn’t present—either the RHoK wiki or of your own design—we will have paper for you to make your own sign. Express your interest in a problem by putting a sticky note with your name on or near the sign for that problem. Be sure to mention your skills and/or experience. This is your day, so you can work on whatever problem you want, but be strongly suggest that you join a team of 2–7 other people working on a problem. Working on your own is something you can do from home next week—the problems will still be there. The RHoK event is about working together, making new friends and contacts, and contributing your skills to a team. You can work on remote teams, too—we can help you get hooked up with a remote team, if needed.
Once you have a team, find a space to work and look at the project pages on the RHoK wiki to see what other teams have already done. You’re encouraged to join forces with others working on the same problem, as some teams will have already been hacking for several days (or more). Then, add your team and names to the project page on the wiki, or start a new project page if you’re starting a new project. Make sure you list your names, location, and what communication channels you have available: IRC, skype, phone, email, etc.
If you have trouble contacting existing teams, need a crash course on IRC or wiki edition, or have any other needs, grab one of the RHoK organizers and we'll help you moving.
At the end of the day, each team will have 5 minutes to present their project, including a demo, if possible. If collaborating with a remote team, please indicate what work was done locally. Presentations may be recorded. After the presentations, a panel of judges will award prizes (donated by our sponsors) according to the RHoK Judging Criteria.
The RHoK Hackathon will be held on Sunday, December 5, 2010 from 10 am to 6 pm. We will be meeting on Boston University’s campus in the College of Arts and Sciences in Room 233. Directions and parking information are included below.
Boston University
College of Arts and Sciences : Room 233
725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215
BU Campus Maps: PDF / Searchable
From North: Take Route 1 or I-93 South to Boston. After the bridge, take the Storrow Drive/Cambridge exit. Follow Storrow Drive approx 2 miles to Kenmore Square exit. Follow Local Directions below.
From Logan Airport: Take Route 1A Boston to Sumner Tunnel, then proceed to Storrow Drive. Follow Storrow Drive to Kenmore Square exit. Follow Local Directions below.
From Southeast: Take I-95 or Route 3 North to I-93 North into Boston. Take exit 26 onto Storrow Drive and follow 2 miles to Kenmore Square exit. Follow Local Directions below.
From South: Washington, DC or NYC, take I-95 N to New Haven, CT. Then take I-91 N to Hartford, where you will get I-84 East. Follow this to I-90 East, the Mass Turnpike. Follow directions From West below.
From West: Take the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) East to Exit 18, Brighton/Cambridge. Follow the right side of the ramp towards Cambridge. At the bottom of the ramp there will be several traffic lights. Turn right at the hotel onto Storrow Drive. Exit Storrow Drive at the Kenmore Square exit. Follow local directions below.
Local Directions: From the Kenmore Square exit of Storrow Drive, follow ramp to traffic lights. Turn right onto Beacon Street. At this point, the road will fork. Follow right side of fork for all Bay State Road destinations. Otherwise, follow left side of fork into Kenmore Square and at second traffic light, bear right for all Commonwealth Avenue destinations.
MBTA: The MBTA mass transit system in Metropolitan Boston, called the , is color-coded by line: Red, Blue, Orange, and Green. The Green Line “B” train passes right through the Boston University Charles River campus, continuing from Kenmore Square up along Commonwealth Avenue on the street level. This allows direct access for people at the Charles River Campus to the Downtown area, various cultural and historic locations or to get to the airport via the Blue Line connection. Directions to campus are as follows:
Red Line to Park Street Station (Green Line intersects); board Green Line “B” train outbound to Kenmore Square/Commonwealth Avenue stops.
Blue Line (including Airport stop) to Government Center; board Green Line “B” train outbound to Kenmore Square/Commonwealth Avenue stops.
Orange Line to Downtown Crossing; follow underground concourse platform to the Green Line Park Street Station, then board Green Line “B” train outbound to Kenmore Square/Commonwealth Avenue stops.
Green Line from Lechmere, Science, North Station, or Haymarket: Take any train to Government Center, then board “B” train outbound to Kenmore Square/Commonwealth Avenue stops. From “E” train, go to Arlington, then board “B” train outbound to Kenmore Square/Commonwealth Avenue stops. From suburban “C” or “D” train stops, go inbound to Kenmore Square and then board an outbound “B” train for Commonwealth Avenue stops.
Parking is available at the Agganis Arena Garage (Lots A and C2) from 7 am to 11 pm at (925 Commonwealth Avenue). The pay on entry rate is $1.00 per hour with an $8.00 maximum for the whole day
A PDF map with the Agganis Arena Garage can be found at this page: Parking Map. There are also various meter parking spaces available on campus.
Event leads are:
CrisisCamp Boston
We are so thankful for our sponsors help to make this happen: