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January 21, 2013

Increase in WebRTC Hackathons Represents Growth in Real-Time Communications


The first time I really understood a hackathon was in the movie The Social Network. For hours at a time, developers, designers, coders and tech enthusiasts work to collaborate on and create new ideas to build on the potential of different technologies. Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) is the latest communications trend that is rapidly gaining speed and popularity. The capabilities of this technology enable rich, quality communications through browsers, and hackathons are being created to reach its maximum potential.

AT&T, for example, has fostered app development with 28 hackathons in the past year due to WebRTC cooperative created by Google, Mozilla and Opera. AT&T created a set of rich communication APIs and JavaScript libraries, enabling rapid development of WebRTC apps. AT&T offers seamless integration with the telephony network and WebRTC support built-in to browsers with access to AT&T core communications, including voice, messaging and video calling.

Image via Caveman Klaus

In September, Google hosted the world’s first WebRTC hackathon at its Stockholm offices. One group developed a working prototype using the technology, enabling people to play ping pong with each other using a Web browser.

WebRTC Hackathon @ Google Stockholm from Chris Hall on Vimeo.

Following that event, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (UPM) hosted a WebRTC workshop and hackathon in November. On Saturday, Jan. 26, the tech industry will witness the first AnyMeeting WebRTC Hackathon. The 12-hour hack session will bring together developers, designers, product managers, marketers and entrepreneurs to build a project, product or service involving WebRTC. The winner of the Hackathon will receive a grand prize of $5,000.

On Saturday, Feb. 9, hackers will build a project or service that demonstrates the use of real-time audio/video communications from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. using TenHands WebRTC API. The grand prize is $2,500 for the winning team, $1,500 for the second prize and $750 for the third prize.

These events are geared for innovators to continue to expand on WebRTC’s capabilities. As the number of hackathons continues to grow, so will the different ways we can utilize real-time communications through our Web browsers. Stay tuned!




Edited by Allison Boccamazzo
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