Stellantis Hackathon: Environmentally Friendly Driving as a "Game"

The first Stellantis hackathon provided a glimpse into the future of the global automotive giant as a mobility tech company. The three-day event, held from April 22-24 in Detroit, brought together tech-savvy and creative students. They took on the challenge of developing gaming-like applications aimed at promoting safer and more fuel-efficient driving.

Teams develop apps that must be evaluated by an expert panel

Throughout the three days, the teams used Stellantis' Software Development Kit (SDK), vehicle data, and the expertise of Stellantis software engineers to develop an app and present it to a panel of expert judges.

The hackathon, announced by Stellantis at the Software Day 2021 last December, awarded a prize of $15,000 to the winning team, $5,000 to the second place, and $2,000 to the third place team.

Stellantis wants to "harness the power of data"

The Stellantis Hackathon demonstrated the capabilities and potential of software to transform the driving experience. As outlined in the "Dare Forward 2030" strategic plan, vehicle software is a key component of Stellantis' strategy to develop and offer cutting-edge mobility solutions. The majority of Stellantis vehicles will have extensive Over-the-Air (OTA) update capabilities by 2024. By 2030, 34 million connected vehicles will be on the roads.

"The power of data allows Stellantis to accelerate the transformation of mobility and fully integrate vehicles into people's lives," says Yves Bonnefont, Chief Software Officer of Stellantis. "We are pleased to offer young and talented students the opportunity to enhance their skills in an exciting, hands-on environment and to present their ideas to our software experts. Challenges like these not only show how data can help develop new customer-oriented applications. They also reveal the power of teamwork, which in turn creates a new level of innovation that makes driving safer and more environmentally friendly."

Eco-Friendly Driving as a Game

The challenge at the first Stellantis hackathon was to utilize real-time data from a selected fleet of Stellantis vehicles and combine it with the SDK and cloud-based applications. The aim was to promote a friendly competition among drivers and reward safe and eco-friendly driving. The applications were to examine and quantify various data, including braking force, acceleration, engine speed, vehicle speed, fuel consumption, and seatbelt usage.

The winning team's application aimed to influence driver behavior by awarding points for safer driving techniques and deducting points for risky behaviors. It provided drivers with the opportunity to compare their "scores" with those of other dedicated drivers and suggested rewarding higher scores with potential discounts on vehicle maintenance or on products and services such as insurance.