Transforming Cultural Trends into Tech Opportunities: The HACK SONIC Hackathon

• Sponsored by Epson and organized by G's Academy, the HACK SONIC hackathon focused on the theme of "oshikatsu" (enthusiastic activities in support of a person or thing of which someone is a fan).
• 17 teams, totaling 32 participants, engaged in a passionate three-day development battle for supremacy.
• The event was a collection of innovative service ideas that bridge the gap between fans and the objects of their affection using both digital and real-world techniques.

G's Academy, an entrepreneur and engineer training school: https://gsacademy.jp/

This hackathon saw the participation of 32 people on 17 teams. Held both at G's Academy Tokyo and online, the event brought together participants in their 20s and 30s from across the country, each harboring a devotion to a certain person or thing. During self-introductions, some participants introduced the object of their affection along with themselves, creating a sense of unity in the venue.

The judges included singer and Lolita model Luna Haruna; plush toy communication designer Hana Kaneko; G's Academy principal Daisuke Yamazaki; Seiko Epson's Yoshihiro Nakami, who is both the general manager of the P Strategic Planning Department and the director of the DX Innovation Lab Aizu Center; and Seiko Epson's Kyoji Yamada, general manager of the Printer Sales & Marketing Department. Coming from different backgrounds and bringing unique perspectives, the judges evaluated the teams' efforts from multiple angles, including in terms of business, fandom, and technology.

After the opening remarks and explanation of the judging criteria, Kohei Shiratori, assistant manager of Epson's P Strategic Planning Department, introduced the Epson Connect API during the input session, along with an overview of Epson's open innovation efforts and the background of the hackathon theme. Epson aims to leverage an open innovation ecosystem to build various solutions and services in collaboration with partners who have services and ideas. This oshikatsu theme is one example of this. In the digital world, enjoying content through screens is not enough; showing off and decorating with your faves can make fandom activities even more fun. Could Epson's technology make for a smoother service experience? This hackathon was an opportunity for the participants to develop ideas for fandom activities integrated with the Epson Connect API.

The hacking session started immediately after the orientation. Participants were given 3 days, including the orientation day, to develop their ideas. During the development phase, a printer installed at the venue kept delivering output filled with the participants' ideas. To ensure that online participants could also use the printer, a fixed-point camera provided a constant online stream of the printer's status. Printer output was instantly shared via a chat tool that all participants could access. On the second day, G's Academy acted as a consultant for teams that asked for help, enabling them to further refine their ideas.

• An idea for recording a voice message and, using voice analysis, generating a design with that message that can be printed as a lunch box divider or card to give to a loved one to improve communication.

• An idea for scanning an ultrasound image of a fetus, combining it with video and music on an app, and then printing it as a photo. When a smartphone is held to it, an AR video is displayed, thus creating a unique original maternity album.

• An idea for a service that allows users to scan handwritten fan letters that will be sent directly to the objects of their affection. Reaction stamps facilitate communication between fans and people they love.

The winning team was Enkaku O-Shaku ("Remote Serving of Sake"). They presented an idea for a service that combines P2P communication and the Epson Connect API to allow photos to be taken in real time of fans with the object of their affection. Their demonstration began with the phrase, "'Say cheese!' and instantly take a photo with thousands or even millions of people." People immediately began trying it out on their smartphones, making for an excited commotion at the venue. In addition to providing an innovative experience that bridges the physical distance between fans and the object of their affection, the service won high praise for its practicality, with the use of P2P communication allowing it to support a huge number of users.

Five teams won prizes at this hackathon: the top three teams and two teams that were awarded the Epson Prize. The winning team received a prize of 100,000 yen and the opportunity for continued collaboration with Epson and the commercialization of their idea. Congratulations to the winning teams! We want to thank all the participants as well as G's Academy for sponsoring the event.

Even with just this one hackathon theme, we saw so many different ideas presented, different ways to utilize printers and scanners, and different types of value generated. The services that society seeks are changing at dizzying speed and becoming increasingly diverse as digital transformation (DX) marches inexorably forward. Epson will continue to seek partnerships through open innovation to deliver better value by being attentive to individual customers' needs. There are some exciting upcoming events, so please stay tuned.