中文版

Many of the seven million residents in the Taipei metropolitan area (Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung City) and tourists travel to the popular Taiwanese vacation destination, Yilan, for long-weekends and major holidays. Most frequently, this trip is made by car or public transportation through the Hsuehshan Tunnel via Freeway 5. As a result, the Tunnel (and the area around it) is severely congested during these times, increasing travel times from 30 minutes up to 2 hours. The alternative is a winding shoreline highway, or an equally dangerous mountain pass, that take much longer and is more dangerous due to their cliff-side locations.

The Institute for Information Industry of Taiwan and Ford are committed to making travel in and around the Hsuehshan Tunnel better. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) of Taiwan has already created monitoring systems for traffic that can be accessed by the public, provided public transportation options via bus and train, etc. But it’s not enough. Weekend and holiday traffic continues to bog down the tunnel and expanding it isn’t an option.

Now, for the first time, Ford and the Institute for Information Industry want you to get involved. With newly released resources, including three-months worth of weather & traffic XML data, plus a plethora of information about the Hsuehshan Tunnel, Freeway 5, and the alternate routes (Highway 9, Highway 2, and Highway 2C), developers like you can focus your problem solving skills on the Hsuehshan slow down.

Despite the obvious infrastructure component, we believe software and service-oriented solutions can make a big impact on tunnel traffic. For example, how could you incentivize public and private group transportation -- not only to get to and from Yilan, but within the city as well? 

Ready to learn more? To get started, take a look at the requirements below and then head over to the Resources page for access to the newly released traffic and weather XML data and more.

Taipei Metro Area

 

Eligibility

This challenge is open to

  • Individuals (who have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence at the time of entry); Teams of eligible individuals; Organizations (up to 50 employees).
  • Organizations with over 50 employees may compete for the non-cash Large Organization Recognition Award.
  • Employees of Ford, the Institute for Information Industry of Taiwan, and Devpost are not eligible for prizes. 
  • Applications that have been submitted to a previous Ford ChallengePost or Devpost competition are not eligible for prizes (see list). A submitter may enter a different application, but no applications that have been previously submitted will be accepted.

Requirements

Main Requirement: Submitted solutions must focus on relieving the extreme traffic congestion on the Taipei-Yilan Freeway and in the Hsuehshan tunnel during the peak travel days, and promoting more efficient transportation between and within the Taipei metropolitan area and Yilan, a popular touristy and highly residential city.

Submit the following:

  1. A demo video (hosted on YouTube, Vimeo, or Youku. Your video should include an explanation of the problem addressed and a demo that walks through the main functionality of the solution via screencast or video.
  2. You must also submit at least one image/screenshot of your working solution.
  3. A way for Devpost to install/access your application for judging and voting.

Solutions must include a software component. You can submit: 

  • a native smartphone or tablet app (iOS, Android, Blackberry, Kindle, Windows Mobile)
  • a web app (mobile or desktop)
  • a desktop app (Windows PC, Mac Desktop)
  • software running on other hardware (including, but not exclusive to, wearable technology, open source hardware, etc.)
  • custom or proprietary hardware which includes a software component (wearable technology, open source hardware etc.)

Previous Ford Competition Entries: Solutions that have been submitted to a previous Ford ChallengePost or Devpost competition are not eligible for prizes. You may enter a different application, but no applications that have been previously submitted will be accepted.

New & Existing Solutions: Solutions may be newly created or pre-existing. If you are submitting an existing solution (developed prior to this competition), your solution must include new features/functionality added after the submission period began, which specifically focus relieving the extreme traffic congestion on the Taipei-Yilan Freeway and in the Hsuehshan tunnel during the peak travel days, and promoting more efficient transportation. If you are entering an existing solution, you will be required to explain the new features in the submission form.

Language: All submission materials must be in English, as well as all written materials. If the video, text description, and testing instructions are not in English, an English translation or subtitles must be provided.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$30,000 in prizes

Grand Prize

USD$15,000 cash

Second Prize

USD$7,000 cash

Third Prize

USD$3,000 cash

Open XC Integration Award

USD$2,500 cash

Popular Choice Award

USD$2,500 cash

Special Prize for Taiwan Residents

Non-cash, recognition only for Taiwan residents. Please note that Taiwan residents are also eligible for all cash awards.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

How to enter

  1. Register to access important competition updates.
  2. Check out the Resources page for information on the Hsuehshan Tunnel and never before released traffic/tunnel data from the Institute for Information Industry in Taiwan.
  3. Create a working solution that meets the requirements above, a demonstration video, and some images to represent your solution.
  4. Provide a way for us to access your solution.
  5. Get started and submit early! (You can edit your submission as many times as you want before the deadline.)

Judges

Thomas Fann, Ph.D.

Thomas Fann, Ph.D.
President, Ford Lio Ho

John Lin

John Lin
Vice President of Product Development, Ford Lio Ho

Dr. S.K. Jason Chang

Dr. S.K. Jason Chang
Director of Advanced Public Transport Research Center in National Taiwan University & Senior Vice President of ITS Taiwan

Dr. Pao-Chung Ho

Dr. Pao-Chung Ho
Executive Vice President, Institute for Information Industry, Taiwan

Qianyan Xie, Ph.D

Qianyan Xie, Ph.D
Mobility Solutions – AP Future Mobility Lead, Research & Advanced Engineering, Ford Motor Company

Ms. Catherin Yu (予趾琴)

Ms. Catherin Yu (予趾琴)
Editor in Chief of Economics Daily News

Dr. Ching-Yao Chan

Dr. Ching-Yao Chan
California Path Program Manager, Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology, Berkeley

Ted Chang, Ph.D.

Ted Chang, Ph.D.
CTO, VP&GM, Quanta Computer Inc.

Judging Criteria

  • Quality of the Idea
    Includes creativity and originality of the idea.
  • Implementation of the Idea
    Includes how well the idea was executed by the developer.
  • Potential Value
    Includes the extent to which the solution could improve traffic in and around the Hsuehshan tunnel.

Tell your friends

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.