What started as a 36-hour hackathon to solve for preventing hot-car tragedies in 2019 has evolved from an online event the past two years to an in-person event again. This event enabled Toyota to bring together more than 400 software engineers comprising 47 teams from three continents, more than two dozen Toyota companies and affiliates, and even engineering co-op students and UT Dallas’s Society of Women Engineers who earned their places at this year’s event.
And earn their places, they did. Several student teams earned finalist spots, demonstrating their outside-the-box thinking sure to lead them in their careers for decades to come.
The ideas presented at the Toyota SWARM Hackathon followed three prompts – CO2 reduction, drunk-driving prevention, and open innovation. While several ideas stemming from the event will be evaluated further by Toyota’s many divisions, know that the future of your car’s technology will likely come from events like this, where time, pressure, and radical thinking will yield the next wave of making cars better.