Serious Brainpower Tackled SkyTruth Challenge at AWS re:Invent Hackathon for Good
SkyTruth’s goal to stop oil pollution at sea from bilge dumping is off to a strong start.
The call came two weeks in advance: SkyTruth was chosen to be one of four nonprofits featured at the AWS re:Invent Hackathon for Good held December 2, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. What followed was a frenzy of activity in the SkyTruth offices. Assembling databases for the hackathon teams to work from. Generating FAQs and documentation. Developing materials to share the SkyTruth story. Crafting just the right pitch to lure the best and brightest from a roomful of 150 computer scientists and engineers to work on our challenge — namely, automating the detection of bilge dumping at sea by vessels violating international law and polluting the ocean.
Finally, the big day arrived. Early in the morning, SkyTruthers Ry Covington, Jona Raphael, and John Amos staffed a table at Vegas’ MGM Grand, offering SkyTruth swag to entice hackers to our cause.
But cool T-shirts and stickers are one thing, and a compelling challenge is another. Here’s SkyTruth President John Amos’ pitch to the crowd: Help us stop oil pollution at sea.
The competition was tough. Three other worthy nonprofits were vying for the same brilliant brainpower that we were. After a convincing presentation and a little Q & A, SkyTruth attracted seven separate teams with a total of 35 computer scientists and engineers to work on different components of our goal: an automated system that detects bilge dumping every day around the world, identifies the perpetrators, and alerts law enforcement and the public in near real-time.
Time to roll up the sleeves and work.
And work.
And work. Eight straight hours on laptops, at flip charts, and in discussion. Lots of Red Bull to stay alert and free massages to stay limber after hours hunched over a keyboard.
Finally, at 6 p.m. it was time to present the results to the judges.
And here’s just a sample of what our teams came up with.
But that’s not the end; it’s just the beginning. We’re still evaluating all of the new material our teams generated and we’re excited about the possibilities. And the week-long AWS re:Invent conference followed the Hackathon, with lots of opportunities to make valuable contacts.
Have a little fun.
And, perhaps most importantly, win an AWS Imagine Grant to support continued work to stop illegal bilge dumping at sea. Here’s Vice President of AWS-Worldwide Public Sector, Teresa Carlson, announcing the seven Imagine Grant winners – including SkyTruth.
With the valuable contacts we made at the AWS re:Invent Hackathon and conference, the volunteers who promised to continue helping us with this project, and support from the AWS Imagine Grant and others, SkyTruth will find a way to stop illegal oil pollution at sea.
Photos by John Amos and Jona Raphael.