Motorola didn’t just launch another flagship phone line when they put out the Moto Z, they launched an entire ecosystem, and they’re pulling in developers around the world with massive developer advocacy efforts, including hackathon events. At each hackathon, a number of teams conceptualize Moto Mod ideas and bring them to life as quickly as possible, with Motorola’s own people roaming around to provide hands-on help to the teams. To drive that point home, Motorola recently took to their company blog to detail some of the best ideas that have came out of their Campus Party hackathon in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and their Mod The Future hackathon in San Francisco, California.
The first Mod on the list was an idea out of Buenos Aires called “Baby Care”. This one helps a user tell when conditions are just right for a baby to sleep, eat, and play, such as room temperature. Another Buenos Aires mod, called “Moto Color”, also made the list. Moto Color emits a sound or vibration based on what color it’s being shown, which can help the visually impaired to identify colors of objects. The first San Francisco Mod to make the list is a “Solar-Powered Battery Charger”, which is exactly what it sounds like. Another San Francisco Mod called “Simple Syrup” is made to help diabetics record and track their glucose levels. The final mod on the list and the third from San Francisco was “ModCoholic”, a breathalyzer Mod that won the honorable mention by having the Moto Z that it’s attached to help a user snag a ride home if it detects that they’re intoxicated.
Another hackathon event is planned in Shenzen, China, and will happen some time in March. The time for winning teams to meet with Motorola in Chicago to discuss commercializing their Mods and determine a big winner is drawing closer and closer, and when it happens, teams whose creations impress Lenovo may just get some funding from Lenovo Capital, while all of the winning teams will have the chance to be enrolled in the Moto Mods Partner program, which will net them some business help from Motorola. The blog post caps off by pointing out that Motorola’s “Transform The Smartphone Challenge”, launched hand in hand with Indiegogo, is still running.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdMr2XiwtmM