Best Hackathon Themes #2: AWS DeepRacer
Running an AWS DeepRacer event is a fantastic way to introduce your team to the exciting use cases of machine learning. Here’s how it stacks up against our key criteria for a great hackathon theme:
Inclusivity: Whether they’re machine learning experts or not, everyone can participate. Non-tech participants, even interns, got extremely competitive about their vehicle’s performance. In fact, the intern team had the fastest vehicle with the least amount of code, proving the power of simplicity. The code editor provided not only provides sample functions to tinker with but also provides a validate function to test your code. Anyone with a browser can participate!
Educational: The hands-on nature of reinforcement learning exposes participants to key ML concepts without overwhelming them. Plenty of guides and documentation are available to help, and participants can experiment with different approaches to improve lap times and model performance. AWS even gives you a 10 min tutorial.
Well-Defined Scope: The challenge is clear — train a car, race it, win. This structure helps teams focus with a tangible, measurable goal that keeps the competition exciting.
Accessibility of Tools: AWS handles everything with an easy-to-use simulator, pre-built models, and access to hardware if you want to use the physical DeepRacer car. If you opt for the simplest solution, you can plan this event overnight. Minimal setup required. Teams can create free AWS accounts and start training a model within minutes.
Dynamic Hosts & Judges: The thrill of a competitive race makes the event lively, so your hosts have an easy job. While you can run it virtually, having a physical racetrack, as we did, adds a phenomenal touch to the experience. AWS provides documentation for setting this up, and you can even invite AWS experts to guide your participants and ensure a smooth event. It’s a great way to elevate the excitement and rally your team during the finale.
AWS DeepRacer is an ideal theme for hackathons where learning and competition come together. It brings out creativity and teamwork while offering valuable machine learning insights. If you run a DeepRacer event for your team, let me know how it went!
