Hacking into the night. (Photo courtesy of Chandra Barathi.)

Geeks are a strange and wonderful breed. To begin with, while most people think of hacking as the illegal entry into computer systems, they use the non-criminal definition of “hack" – exploratory programming.

To celebrate this creative hacking, Isobar, a modern communications agency network, got 53 geeks together for a 32-hour “hackathon” which started on 23 February at the Microsoft office. The aim of Isobar Create 32 SG was for them to come up with applications using Near Field Communications (NFC), a technology that allows smartphones and similar devices to communicate with each other when they are in close proximity.

Mr Chua Kim Guan, Product Marketing Manager for Mobile Development, Samsung Singapore, was excited to see people coming in from Indonesia and other parts of the region to take part in the hackathon. “We need fresh minds, and more new, creative ideas in this area” he said in his keynote address. NFC, he noted, “is just getting started.” Samsung Singapore was the headline partner of the hackathon, providing the smart phones on which the apps would be developed.

To establish the mood, a few jokes that only a geek could love – “You can’t tuna (tune a) fish!” Then the 19 teams got down to business, fuelled by a free flow of black coffee, popcorn and Twisties. Each team had to be kept small, basically comprising developers and designers. “Less is more,” explained Mr Arvind Sethumadhavan, Isobar’s Regional Practice Leader for Social and ROI Analytics. “Given the 32-hour limit, they don’t have too much time for discussion.”

Some teams, like one from Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Information Technology, came armed with a clear idea of what they wanted to achieve. “An app to replace coupon parking with NFC,” said Mr Lim Ming Kuan. “Just tap and park.” Teammate Mr Lim Sheng Han noted, “You’ll never run out of parking coupons”. The third member, Mr Fan Wei Lun, observed that NFC would be superior to the gantry system too. “Gantries need to be maintained,” he pointed out.

Other teams came armed simply with enthusiasm. Mr Seng Yuan Kuan, a hobbyist developer with a day job at Ubisoft, learned about the hackathon the day before and brought his girlfriend, designer Ms Beau Lim. “We always like to do something special on weekends,” he said.

With the short notice, the duo were not as well prepared as some of the others. “I see people with sleeping bags. We didn’t think of that,” said Mr Seng, adding that they are still pondering about the kind of app to create. “We have no idea yet, but it’s going to be phone to phone, and we like to design stuff that is more casual,” he said. They were also looking forward to games which would take place in the wee hours.

The apps were judged on their potential impact on people and businesses, their commercial viability and the "wow" factor – something you’ve never seen before, or thought of before, with three winners.

The deserving geeks who will get their apps showcased, include the team from Nanyang Polytechnic, which came in third. First prize went to a foursome – Mr Tom Tan, Mr Huang Yanying, Mr Matthew Cheok and Mr Robertus Primosanto. Their app helps tourists find places on interest without needing an Internet connection. “We had related ideas which we picked at for a few hours before coming up with the right idea,” explained Mr Tan.

Apart from the satisfaction of having their efforts showcased, and prizes of Samsung products, the team had nothing but praise for the event of little sleep and software collaboration. “Excellent food and great atmosphere,” they said.

Behind all the fun and snacks was a serious motive. “In our business, technology plays a huge role transforming the way consumers do things, having a huge impact on our clients’ business. We want to make sure we are at the forefront of technology and fast-track the speed at which it can be harnessed,” said Mr Arvind, explaining why Isobar organised the event. “NFC is relevant because the foundations have been laid for the growth of a robust and vibrant NFC ecosystem.”

He was referring to a cross-industry, open-access NFC infrastructure which has been implemented in Singapore, enabling businesses to offer secured NFC services to mobile subscribers in a timely manner, without the need to invest in their own infrastructure. To date, there are already over 30,000 acceptance points for NFC payments in Singapore.

After the hackathon, event partners will explore the use of the applications for their own businesses, which is a great business opportunity for the winners. “Isobar will be exploring applying the solutions to various clients problems we are tasked with solving on a day-to-day basis,” said Mr Arvind. “We are in discussions with various NFC event organisers to showcase the winning apps as well.”