On 20 May 2022 the first ever joint community and Robins Air Force Base Hackathon was held at Middle Georgia State University’s (MGA) Warner Robins Campus.
The 21st Century Partnership hosted the event, with lunch provided by Total Computer Solutions (TCS). A hackathon is an event where programmers get together for a short period of time to collaborate on a project. The participants work rapidly to achieve their task.
The focus of the first Hackathon was Digital Health at the unit level for the Air Force. The ideas looked at 
how Airman and their supervisors can create a health and exercise focused environment. Ideas were encouraged from the use of smart watches and rings, and the sensors they contain, to the gamification of health using apps to challenge teammates. Ideas were open and teams could present any idea they had.
Participants arrived and were split into three teams and encouraged to develop their ideas for presentation later in the day. They got to work, and MGA’s School of Computing graciously provided professors that helps the teams develop their ideas fully. It was not expected the teams would have time to code actual solutions in one day, yet these teams exceeded expectations.
The first team created and coded an app gamifying physical fitness for unit competition. It created challenges and was executable from a variety of smart technologies. Of course, it wasn’t clean code, but amazing work for a one-day effort.
The second team used Oura rings to build long term analysis using health points. It used the basic functions of the ring in combination with other smart devices.
The final team presented a wearable health technology notification service. Intent was to provide a variety of metrics to the wearer, reported up the chain when in duty status, and would warn the wearer of critical conditions such as fluid levels, prompting them to drink more water or rest.
Judges for completion of the Hackathon were, LtCol James Trimble, 461stACW, Maj Trevor Miller, 78thABW, Dr Alex Koohang, Dean of the MGA School of Computing, and Michael Collins, CEO of TCS. After reviewing the proposals from all three teams, the judges selected team three as the winner. The winning team will have the opportunity to continue development with the 461st Innovation Spark Hub with the potential to compete at higher levels in the Air Force. MGA’s School of Computing graciously offered ongoing access to the professors to continue developing their product.
We look forward to Hackathons continuing into the future, and are anticipating to see several occur throughout this year.