Moto Mod Hackathon Winners Include HiDef Audio Mod, Gamepad Mod, and a Skin Care Mod

(Feature Image Credits: Motorola)

Earlier this week, we argued that the Motorola Moto Z quietly transformed smartphone modularity.

Although the Moto Z family is far from the true modularity promised by the likes of the now-defunct Google Ara project, Motorola's attempt demonstrated that the concept is indeed viable. We had mentioned that Motorola was committed to supporting Moto Mods, and the company even boldly proclaimed that they will release 12 new Moto Mods in 2017. Motorola/Lenovo has thus far launched a developer portal, partnered with Indiegogo, and teased some potential Moto Mods that the company has been working on.

But during last weekend, Motorola hosted a 24 hour hackathon in New York City to gauge what modular components indie developers could dream up. During the first 'Mod the Future' hackathon, developers and entrepreneurs from 5 different countries gathered to come up with a winning concept for the Moto Mod program. Mod ideas included a video paging mod, a retail shopping cart mod, an emergency situation mod, insulin monitoring mod, and even a water pollution testing mod.

After 24 hours, though, 3 teams would emerge as the winners of the hackathon. Here are the three winning Moto Mod concepts:

• "Advanced Audio" – using the USB MDK connection, this mod allows the Moto Z to interface with a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to provide audio input and output to the device. This allows the Moto Z to transmit much higher quality audio output to external devices.
• "Sidepad"– a fully featured gamepad concept which allows mobile gamers to use real physical buttons to play games on Android rather than on-screen software buttons.
• "Bella" – a skin care companion that can collect real-time data about your skin such as your skin elasticity level and data from the surrounding environment such as UV levels or air quality.

Motorola's next hackathon will take place on January 21-22, 2017 in San Francisco. Winning teams will receive a $5,000 cash prize as well as a Moto Z and Moto Mod Development Kit. Winning teams will also be allowed to send one representative to meet with Motorola representatives and pitch their ideas in front of a panel. If their idea impresses the company, the team's idea may even receive funding to bring it to mass market.

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Source: Motorola

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