Who won "Garage48 Open & Big Data 2016"?
Age verification tool MARKUS took home first prize
From 21 to 23 October, the Tartu University Institute of Computer Science welcomed the participants of the "Garage48 Open & Big Data 2016" hackathon. At the start of this event, organised in partnership with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the Information System Authority and the University of Tartu, 30 ideas were pitched. Of these ideas, 17 were built into first prototypes during the 48 hour hackathon.
Although a number of promising prototypes saw the light during the hackathon, on the last day of the event the age verification tool MARKUS was presented as the winner. MARKUS combines both data science and technological advancements such as face recognition function and ID-card analysis in a video to determine the age of a person. This is done by the development of a tool which automatically compares a person's ID to their face, giving an objective judgement if the two are the same. With this information, the prototype can be used to decrease the amount of alcohol or cigarettes sold to minors. MARKUS has a wide range of potential users as it can be applied in self-service cash registers, delivery robots' systems or online shops in which there is no person available to determine the buyers' age.
Runner-ups were Linder, which is an application that detects birds by their singing, and Open Tartu - a web environment meant for the citizens to be included in the decision making process in the city of Tartu. Overall, the participants and organisers alike expressed to be very pleased with the results of hackathon and the diversity in applications that have resulted from it. Have you missed the event but still want to get a glimpse of how it was? Take a look at the photos of the event by following the link below.
