Everyone Is a Winner at the DevNet Zone Hackathon

I love new projects and new initiatives. That’s why I am so interested in the DevNet Zone at Cisco Live! in Milan. Because it’s all about developing new solutions.

Left to Right: Wim Elfrink, Alberto Sarullo, Loris Bottello, Andrea Germinario, Andrea Desiato, Rick, Tywoniak

This week, we held a hackathon where 100 developers, on 20 teams, competed for 24 hours to create the best new apps on Cisco platforms. I was honored to present US$5,000 to four winners who created an app called “Pillbox.”

This team addressed a real-world issue: how to keep track of whether you have taken your medications. The Pillbox app leveraged a combination of our Enterprise IOT infrastructure (EIoT), Data in Motion data monitoring and filtering software, and the Jabber APIs.

After the doctor prescribes your medication and enters it into a cloud system, Jabber alerts you when it’s time to take your medicine. Then a sensor in the pillbox connected to Cisco’s EIoT system records that the medicine has been taken and keeps track of each dosage and when taken. If the sensor isn’t triggered within a certain time after the medicine is supposed to be taken, the app alerts your doctor via Jabber. Or the patient can contact the doctor directly through Jabber. The team built this app in under 24 hours!

There were many, many other deserving applications that came out of the hackathon—such as a fire detection system and an air quality management system. I wish they could all win!

Of course, most applications will take more time and investment to build. Another way we are helping developers create new projects and initiatives is with our growing network of Innovation Centers. From Tokyo to Toronto, we are making Cisco engineers, academic researchers and experts in a variety of vertical industries available to developers working on our platforms, so they can build the best apps in the shortest possible amount of time.

It’s an exciting time to work with Cisco!