Snapdragon Multiverse Hackathon
Enter the Snapdragon Multiverse at Columbia University!
Join the Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3) on February 6-7, 2026, for an immersive hackathon, sponsored by Qualcomm, where innovation meets connectivity. Teams of 3–5 will dive into the future of multi-device communication, building experiences that redefine how devices work together.
Every team will receive a Copilot+ PC powered by Snapdragon® X Series processors as the central control hub and a Samsung Galaxy S25 featuring Snapdragon 8 Elite. Want to go further? Bring your own Snapdragon-powered devices or microcontrollers to craft seamless, intelligent cross-platform solutions.
From syncing sensors to orchestrating edge workflows to designing multi-screen interactions, this is your chance to prototype the next generation of connected computing within the Snapdragon ecosystem.
Form your team, pick a track, and start creating. Each challenge is designed to showcase Snapdragon’s power across PCs, phones, and microcontrollers—your playground for limitless innovation.
This event is open to all undergraduate/graduate students and postdocs at Columbia University, as well as CS3 partner institutions (Lehman College, Rutgers University, and Florida Atlantic University).
Register by January 21, 2026! https://luma.com/mfwgyqby
Track 1: Real-time CV Assistant
- Platforms: Compute, Mobile device
- AI Branch: Computer Vision, Edge AI
- Objective: Develop an application performing real-time computer vision analysis (object tracking, scene understanding, anomaly detection, or gesture recognition) optimized for on-device inference, optionally enhanced by cloud augmentation.
- Example: License plate detection app to track cars coming in and going out of a parking lot.
Track 2: Conversational AI Companion
- Platforms: Compute, Android, Cloud, or Wearable
- AI Branch: Natural Language Processing, Generative AI
- Objective: Build an interactive conversational AI application capable of voice or text-based interaction, delivering real-time contextually aware responses for tasks like wellness coaching, tutoring, coding assistance, or creative storytelling
- Example: AI dungeon master that can be used to create and narrate dungeons and dragons adventures.
Track 3: RL Agent Arena
- Platforms: Compute, Cloud, Microcontroller
- AI Branch: Reinforcement Learning, Simulation
- Objective: Build an interactive environment representing a real-world scenario and train an agent or team of agents to solve the scenario. Bots should have access to the environment state at a minimum, but models could use AI tools or data augmentation techniques to improve their performance above the baseline environmental inputs.
- Example: Build a bot to dynamically handle traffic lights at an intersection in a simulated environment.
Submission Requirements
- Each team must submit a proposal for an AI use case application leveraging open source software that would run natively on a Snapdragon-powered laptop.
- The proposal must be the work and/or idea solely owned by the team members.
Prizes
- Top Prize (selected by judges):
- One (1) Meta Quest 3 512GB All-n-One Mixed-Reality Headset for each member of the team
- Qualcomm DevRel support to complete application
- Blog + Live Stream opportunities
- Team’s Choice (team popular vote, by location):
- One (1) Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses for each member of the team
- Qualcomm DevRel support to complete application
- Blog + Live Stream opportunities
Expect hands-on support, networking, marketing, and amplification opportunities as well as prizes for the winning teams. Don’t worry – there will be swag for everyone! Note that the winners will be selected overall, not per track.
Let’s come together and re-define what multi-device collaboration looks like – powered by Snapdragon.
Registration open until January 21st – secure your spot today!
Only one project proposal submission per person is allowed.
Snapdragon and Qualcomm branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.
Questions?
Email [email protected].