LutetiumLet's get started! A big welcome to @Elecia White and @Alberto! Could you both take a second to introduce yourselves and tell us about your relationship to the prize? I'll do the same!
The lighting by the workbench wouldn't be that good and it would have to be a camera for a Pi as that is the only computer there.
it doesn't have to be good
Hello! I was a judge for the first two years and then advisor judge for one year. I'm not judging this year so I can give you any hints I have.
@Kevin i think any good mobile camera works which can capture the working prototype
@Stephen Tranovich I suppose it depends on how many rounds there are. I got through the first (or second?) round but I didn't have a video so that was as far as I got. Didn't expect to win as my projects are a bit too specialized.
Hey everyone! I'm Stephen, and I work at Hackaday! I run the Prize, and do other community related things (you'll be seeing me more and more around these parts) along with hacking on my own projects!
I will be one of the judges for the earlier rounds, and not for the finals.
Hi guys
@Elecia White , I posted my question on the discussion page, but I'm curious your tips for making an easily readable project log, I have a terrible habit of only documenting successful parts of the project, and do you like to see project logs of the failures and pitfalls as well?
I sympathize a lot with the video difficulty, make sure it is on Stephen's list! There are lots of ways to solve the problem.
So the 5 rounds have separate judges.. Hmm. I thought otherwise!
Hi all!
I think the first five rounds have Hackaday judges but the last round (final) have the celebrity judges (what a silly name).
Let's get rolling! First let's get started answering some of the existing confusion around judges and around videos.
I certainly consider @Elecia White a celebrity
Ok so what all is expected in the videos? and length
Yes, @Elecia White is a celeb.
First, the video doesn't have to be fancy. A web cam or a phone is good.
Correct @Elecia White, the first 5 rounds are judged by technical members of Hackaday staff and their associates. All of the winners of those first 5 rounds can then enter the finals, which are judged by the separate group of celebrity judges
You don't have to edit it if you want to take it all in one well-rehearsed blob
You don't have to talk, the Raman Pi project (flatcat?) got to finals without ever showing his face and he use a voice synthesizer
So if you don't want to show your face or you hate your voice, don't let that stop you.
celebrity judges? Makes you think of some TV reality show. :)
Video is only required for entering the finals. So you can enter the first 5 rounds, even win some, and never have to make a video.
A powerpoint that you narrate would ok. A video of your hardware that you narrate would be better.
Agreed!
Does your project being published in a magazine hurt or disqualify your entry?
then a video of a powerpoint would be perfect?
Finally, please no music. Please. I'm running the videos at 1.5x and trying to understand the material. The music always seemed to drown out the voice. If you really need music, do it in the last few seconds with the credits.
The video is not what your project is being judged on. The video is required so that people can show off their working prototypes.
Vid of powerpoint would be adequate, seeing your hardware work is better.
@Josh Starnes I don't think that should affect on how your entry is judged...
You definitely are not (intentionally) being judged on video production quality.
What is the general consensus of using off-the-shelf parts in your project? I cant help but feel that anything with a home-spun PCB puts it on a higher caliber to start?
personally I very much dislike powerpoint videos :-)
Custom PCB, not necessarily homespun :)
(Are we done-enough with vids? We can come back later if more comes up.)
Concerning the first round: Is it better to focus on (1) documenting the overall scope and intent of the project, (2) documenting the work that has already been done, or (3) working on the project?
Better videos will help us make short content videos that we've started producing to showcase your project to the world, like the video below. Video quality does not affect your ability to win the prize though.
https://twitter.com/hackaday/status/963488404209045505
Yup, let's move on to the next question
Please put your questions here! https://hackaday.io/event/90455-hackaday-prize-hack-chat
ok
Thanks!
oh, no more spreadsheet for the chat questions
@Kevin you haven't been around for a while, have you?
Next question is from @wynhoff, james :
What are the general guidelines and timeframes on project completeness for the judging?
Any best practices that the judges or Alberto have for project documentation?
Woo!
You also asked about showing failure. I like seeing that. Maybe 60-70% success, 40-30% failure.
To answer the timeliness questions - it's best to submit your project ASAP, as soon as you have the idea, and then fill out the documentation as the round goes.
@ðeshipu I don't come in for every chat. I only look at the Q's if I have a question to add.
@Stephen Tranovich We're going through the questions backwards/LIFO?
what if you fail more often... :)
From my point of view, a good practice would be to try to make clear instructions on how to "easily" replicate the project. I guess that's one of the main goals...
I fail just as much as I succeed and I haaaate doing things over.
No project will be judged before the end of that round, so you have the whole round to keep updating your profile.
And regularly create project logs
+1
From a judging perspective, remember that the intro is really, really important. 100 entries? Going through them all is non-trivial so it is important for the judges to get an idea of what you are trying to do and what you actually did. But then, of course, you want them to read more so you try to make it interesting and tease implementation details so we want to read it all.
I guess if you fail more often, then just don't write about it, just the interesting fails
Documentation is key here, the more the better!
Ok, that's good to know, possibly a post with clear concise reproduction instructions, and also a running project log with all the trials and tribulations, awesome. Thanks!
Project logs are great, a history. I can see wanting to only write them for the project and for WINNING (hearts and stars) but entering the project is good for more than WINNING and those project logs may help you later... and the failures help other people realize that engineering isn't a straight-line path. There are lots of twists and turns. So... yeah, I like project logs.
The point is for these projects to make real contributions to open hardware, so document your project in a way that others can learn from, understand whay you tried and how that worked, and know how to put your design into their own future project!
oh, that gives me an idea for an achevement for a ridiculous number of logs
+1 @ðeshipu !
^ So many logs you need a log scale
or for a particularly engaging writing style
logs written in a poetic form
One (bad) habit I have is glossing over the results/intro/summary. Heaps deep technical info and progress, but forget that fresh eyes need some overview. What even is this thing and why?
The Shakespearean Achievement
iambic pentameter
Sadly, I don't think quantitiy is going to help you, @ðeshipu
every log should be a hiaku
lol!
@Elecia White surely not, but achievements are not about winning
I nominate @Yann Guidon / YGDES for the log thingy...
Oh, yes, haiku or sphinx-like riddles. I'm all for that. Oh wait, I'm not judging this year. Yes, that sounds awesome.
Okay, there is a lot to say about achievements, but I want to save those for closer to the end, because they could go on for a while.
Next question by @Ben Hencke :How much do you judge on concept/results vs execution? Sometimes people can have a good idea and the drive to make it happen, but are not seasoned industry professionals. Are hacks OK?
Well, it is *hack*aday. So of course!
And yet, completed projects are easier to judge.
hot glue, super glue, rubber bands, popsicle sticks, paper clips...all good
Is it a good idea to have a "reasoning" or "justification" section for decisions made in the project and how long/detailed should such a section be?
Concept and execution are the important bits. You don't get many style points for perfect craftmanship. And yet, the goal is to make it reproducible. So you can't bodge it all together into a plate of spaghetti.
A hack is 100% good as long as I can repro it.
^^
I agree, it's more important the your concepts & goals were followed all the way through than it having a sleek packaging
Ok, thanks
A reasoning or justification for hacks is nice... it is a good way to say "yeah, I used hot glue until the entire project held together but if I was building a product, I might investigate standoffs" is that what you meant?
yeah, I'm thinking about the internal fear of showing the ugly hack. so that helps!
Unless you are going for the Tindie Project to Product bonus prize, in which case as close to DFM as you can get the higher your chances of being chosen are.
Kind of. More towards a project that had to be built from the ground up. Why some design choices were made and why the scope was limited to a certain degree is what I mean.
@Ben Hencke Maybe your hack will win the Macgyver Achievement!
Next question from @wynhoff, james : What is the general consensus of using off-the-shelf parts in your project? I cant help but feel that anything with a custom PCB puts it on a higher caliber to start?
That justification is nice but not required for this. If it is between writing that up in detail and or a one line mention + getting it working, get it working.
thank you!
One of the criteria for off the shelf parts: can I repro your system?
Kewl, thanks
ok so using as many off the shelf parts is actually helpful
That's a little bit of a down side for custom PCBs (unless you have gerbers available).
and/or use free PCB design software
And off the shelf software ... of course you are going to use it. But open source is better because (repeat it with me) can I repro your system?
Off the shelf parts have the advantage that everybody has them! So it's easier for everyone to reproduce, and that's sounds like an advantage to me...
that*
How about a 'Build it with Prime' achievement..
@Josh Starnes asks: does having your current project entry published in a magazine hurt or help or disqualify my entry?
So many achievables!
And yet, if some pay-for software lets you build something truly awesome, it is ok, not instant disqualification or anything, especially if you add a path about getting to something more available.
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