Blog category: Hackathons
Three words sparked an AI breakthrough in restaurant operations: “Hair. On. Fire.”
That’s how an EcoLab® executive described decision‑making for quick‑service restaurant managers during peak rush—raw instinct, pure adrenaline, with seconds ticking away. That moment sparked a Microsoft Garage Hackathon project that became RushReady™, turning frontline kitchen data into real‑time guidance that helps managers boost sales per hour, speed of service, and profit margin. What started as a hackathon idea now helps....
Turning customer feedback into actionable insights
Please join us in celebrating CX Observe Product Feedback Copilot’s induction onto the Garage Wall of Fame. CX Observe Product Feedback Copilot is an AI-driven solution designed to convert large volumes of customer feedback into actionable insights, enabling Microsoft’s product leaders to prioritize roadmaps and maximize customer value. Developed by Amir Banai and Yoav Dobrin during the Microsoft Global Hackathon....
Robotics for wildfire protection and mitigation
Amid this chaos of relentless wildfires in the United States during the summer of 2022, a hacking team in the Microsoft Garage developed a groundbreaking solution: Robotics for Wildfire Protection and Mitigation. The idea originated during Microsoft’s Global Hackathon 2022, inspired by the urgent need for advanced wildfire protection. Through relentless iterations, the team achieved remarkable technical breakthroughs, integrating robots....
Dream big, change the world
At Microsoft, innovation isn’t just a buzzword – it’s a way of life. Through The Microsoft Garage, employees are given the tools, resources, and freedom to dream big and turn those dreams into reality – and with big impact. It’s a space that empowers employees to apply insights from their day-to-day work, unlock their creativity, and collaborate across Microsoft on....
Saving the planet one hard drive at a time
At the 2022 Microsoft Global Hackathon, Principal Data Scientist Ranganathan Srikanth led the Secure and Sustainable Disposal of Hard Disks project, addressing the environmental and data security challenges posed by data centers. The team developed a robot to disassemble hard drives, enabling the recycling of valuable materials while ensuring data security by destroying sensitive data. This innovation builds on Microsoft’s....
Welcome to the digital preservation of languages: Microsoft Language Bank
The Microsoft Language Bank, an initiative born from the 2022 Microsoft Hackathon, addresses the urgent need to preserve the world’s languages, 40% of which are endangered. Spearheaded by a team of ten in Beijing, the Language Bank employs AI to develop text-to-speech (TTS) technology for underrepresented languages like Inuktitut, Kurmanji, Hakka, and Minnan Chinese. By collecting voice data and innovating....
Repowering coal
A seed of an idea can become a thriving forest. The Microsoft Global Hackathon, the largest private hackathon on the planet, is coming back again this fall. We’ll be sharing stories of some of the winners in the coming months, and we want to share this one with you. On a typical Tuesday morning, Conor Kelly, a 15-year Microsoft veteran,....
AI Wings, a Microsoft Garage eco-art installation, takes flight
The Microsoft Garage Beijing has recently unveiled a new eco-art installation at the Microsoft Beijing campus: AI Wings showcases the fusion of technology and environmental conservation. The installation, co-created by the Microsoft Garage, is made from waste materials such as plastic bags, fabric, and wastepaper, which are cut and assembled into a pair of colorful wings. The wings are then....
Microsoft Global Hackathon 2022 Winner helps people provide tech support to loved ones
With the abundance of communications and social apps on phones and PCs, keeping in touch with family and friends is as easy as a push of a button. The potential frustration of figuring out which apps to use, encountering error messages or things simply not working as you expect, has grown too. Usually, a family member or friend is called....
Coding for the cosmos
Microsoft, NASA, and students from two HBCUs in the Reston/DC area have completed the maiden mission of a new Microsoft/NASA partnership, STEM Educational Project: AI looking for new Earths. Using methodology developed by The Microsoft Garage over years of running hackathons, in just one month – and while completing their final exams – the student hackers learned and deployed several....
Forest Guard: Microsoft Student Hackathon winners create rapid-response deforestation sensor
The 2021 Microsoft Student Hackathon – hosted by The Microsoft Garage and run concurrently with the Microsoft Global Hackathon this year – offered Microsoft summer intern 2021 alumni and their friends a chance to hack real-world challenges in a structured environment, complete with coaching and access to Microsoft technologies to help them realize their ideas. Students from 22 countries came....
Room to Dream: How the Microsoft Garage is hacking creative culture on a global scale
In celebration of the annual Microsoft Hackathon, discover how the Microsoft Garage is hacking creative culture on a global scale. Take a closer look at six of the twelve Garage locations across the world (Dublin, Atlanta, New York, Israel, India, and Nigeria) and how each is collaborating across borders to drive innovation for Microsoft and its customers. Learn about the....
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