The XR Hack London 2024, held from 14-16 August at PwC’s offices, marked a significant milestone in the UK’s immersive technology landscape. With over 160 participants and 41 projects submitted, the event stands as the largest XR hackathon in UK history. However, the success of the hackathon was not only due to the participants’ creativity and dedication but also the collaborative efforts of a wide range of partners and sponsors.
The London leg of this global hackathon series was organised by the Innovate UK Immersive Tech Network in partnership with XR Bootcamp, PwC, and a host of industry leaders. These partnerships were crucial in making the event inclusive and impactful. A diverse group of mentors, judges, and volunteers from organisations such as Meta, Women in Immersive Technologies Europe (WiiT), XR Diversity Initiative (XRDI), Logitech, Pearson, Photon, and ShapesXR contributed their expertise and resources to the event.
One of the standout collaborative efforts was the introduction of the Best Female/Non-Binary Hacker award, a new prize created in partnership with WiiT and XRDI. This initiative not only recognised the contributions of women and non-binary individuals in the XR community but also highlighted the event’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Throughout the 48 hours of hacking, participants were supported by over 100 contributors, including AV teams, marketing experts, event coordinators, and volunteers who ensured that the event ran smoothly. Their combined efforts resulted in an extraordinary showcase of talent and innovation, with 11 teams walking away as winners and a total of £17,880 in prizes distributed.
The success of XR Hack London 2024 demonstrates the power of collaboration in driving the immersive tech industry forward. With other hackathons taking place in Cologne, Stockholm, and Istanbul, the global XR community is set to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in this exciting field.
Introducing the winners:
Best WebXR App/Game (Sponsored by Mattercraft)
Winner: ARCADIA by Team ‘Frontier’ (Yiguan Liu, David Wiltshire, Kevin D. Petr Leontev, Michael Turkington)
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Utility & Design Category (Sponsored by Meta)
Winner: Habit Space by Team ‘Novo XR’ (Oluwatosin Ogunyebi, Shaka Tafari, Antonio Macedo, Jamila Kabir, Daniel Quental)
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Runner-up: IntelliSpace by Team ‘Butter Chicken’ (Xiaofan (Sylvan) Shen, Meghna Sonie, Girish M,Rimbik Das, Xinchan Jin)
Hobbies & Skills Category (Sponsored by Meta)
Winner: Pixel Prints by Team ‘Block Dusters’ (Setinaz Foroudi, Maf’j Alvarez, Javier Cabero, Varuni Sindunoori, Rangoli Mittal)
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Runner-up: Shufa by Team ‘Linguistic Sense’ (Mark Bamford, Qian Tan, Pablo Melchor, Haohan Cui)
Social & Casual Gaming Category (Sponsored by Meta)
Winner: Chaos by Team ‘Fresh Do’ (Lauren Fitzpatrick, Katie Eggleston, Mimi Harmer, James Hosken)
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Runner-up: Battle Orb by Team ‘MixRift’ (Alexandru Dorobat, Liviu Focsa, Andrei Vaduva, David Pripas, Bogdan Hodorogea)
Best Use of MR Stylus (Sponsored by Logitech)
Winner: Shufa by Team ‘Linguistic Sense’
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Runner-up: Habit Space by Team ‘Novo XR’
Best Experiential Education Experience (Sponsored by Pearson)
Winner: Holosign by Team ‘Holosign’ (Mark C Ransley PhD, Asan Amirov, Giulia Ferraioli, Marcus Connor)
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Runner-up: Team ‘RAVR’ (Robert Chiru, Abhyuday Roychowdhury, Jack Underwood)
Best Female/Non-Binary Hacker (Sponsored by WiiT & XRDI)
Winner: Chi Liu from Team ‘Unusual Suspects’