Facebook (aka Meta) is hosting an XR Hackathon ending on November 22 with a 1st place prize in one of four categories winning $55,000.
You can find more information on the website for the hackathon and in the official rules.
Entries will be judged on a scale of 1-5 points in each of three sections covering the originality of the idea, the potential for strategic impact on a given product category, and overall implementation. Entrants will need to submit a two minute video with a screencast of the application working and, in the case of those entering work with the “Presence Platform”, there will also need to be a github link and a readme file with instructions alongside an APK to download and test.
According to the rules, applications developed for the hackathon cannot be “derived from software that was or is developed, with the direct or indirect aid of financial or preferential support (including but is not limited to development under or with any contract, commercial license or other funding, investment, or support)” from Meta.
Meta, which rebranded from Facebook last week, is planning to offer prizes ranging from $10,000 up to $55,000 in categories for group AR effects using the company’s Spark AR platform as well as “Mixed Reality, Voice and Hand VR Experiences.”
There’s a total of $700,000 up for grabs in the hackathon and the “Entrant will retain ownership of and all intellectual and industrial property rights to their entry and all Content thereof,” the rules state, with an exception granting Facebook the ability to distribute the software for the purposes of administering the Hackathon itself, as well as “for internal research and development purposes, and for any marketing or promotional purposes.”
