Snapdragon Multiverse Hackathon – Columbia University
Enter the Snapdragon Multiverse at Columbia University!
Join the Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3) on February 6-7, 2026, for an immersive hackathon, sponsored by Qualcomm, where innovation meets connectivity. Teams of 3–5 will dive into the future of multi-device communication, building experiences that redefine how devices work together.
Every team will receive a Copilot+ PC powered by Snapdragon® X Series processors as the central control hub and a Samsung Galaxy S25 featuring Snapdragon 8 Elite. Want to go further? Bring your own Snapdragon-powered devices or microcontrollers to craft seamless, intelligent cross-platform solutions.
From syncing sensors to orchestrating edge workflows to designing multi-screen interactions, this is your chance to prototype the next generation of connected computing within the Snapdragon ecosystem.
Form your team, pick a track, and start creating. Each challenge is designed to showcase Snapdragon’s power across PCs, phones, and microcontrollers—your playground for limitless innovation.
This event is open to all undergraduate/graduate students and postdocs at Columbia University, as well as CS3 partner institutions (Lehman College, Rutgers University, and Florida Atlantic University).
Register by January 21, 2026!
IMPORTANT: Note that each team member must register individually. The team name and proposal must be the same for all team members.
Please answer the following registration questions and submit an abstract of your team's project proposal for consideration by January 21st. We will confirm your team's registration at least ten days prior to the event date.
Only one project proposal per team.
See official rules here.
Track 1: Real-time CV Assistant
Platforms: Compute, Mobile device
AI Branch: Computer Vision, Edge AI
Objective: Develop an application performing real-time computer vision analysis (object tracking, scene understanding, anomaly detection, or gesture recognition) optimized for on-device inference, optionally enhanced by cloud augmentation.
Example: License plate detection app to track cars coming in and going out of a parking lot.
Track 2: Conversational AI Companion
Platforms: Compute, Android, Cloud, or Wearable
AI Branch: Natural Language Processing, Generative AI
Objective: Build an interactive conversational AI application capable of voice or text-based interaction, delivering real-time contextually aware responses for tasks like wellness coaching, tutoring, coding assistance, or creative storytelling
Example: AI dungeon master that can be used to create and narrate dungeons and dragons adventures.
Track 3: RL Agent Arena
Platforms: Compute, Cloud, Microcontroller
AI Branch: Reinforcement Learning, Simulation
Objective: Build an interactive environment representing a real-world scenario and train an agent or team of agents to solve the scenario. Bots should have access to the environment state at a minimum, but models could use AI tools or data augmentation techniques to improve their performance above the baseline environmental inputs.
Example: Build a bot to dynamically handle traffic lights at an intersection in a simulated environment.
Submission Requirements
Each team must submit a proposal for an AI use case application leveraging open source software that would run natively on a Snapdragon-powered laptop.
The proposal must be the work and/or idea solely owned by the team members.
Prizes
Top Prize (selected by judges):
One (1) Meta Quest 3 512GB All-n-One Mixed-Reality Headset for each member of the team
Qualcomm DevRel support to complete application
Blog + Live Stream opportunities
Team’s Choice (team popular vote, by location):
One (1) Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses for each member of the team
Qualcomm DevRel support to complete application
Blog + Live Stream opportunities
Expect hands-on support, networking, marketing, and amplification opportunities as well as prizes for the winning teams. Don’t worry – there will be swag for everyone! Note that the winners will be selected overall, not per track.
Let’s come together and re-define what multi-device collaboration looks like – powered by Snapdragon.
Registration open until January 21st – secure your spot today!
Only one project proposal submission per person is allowed.
Snapdragon and Qualcomm branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.
Questions? Email [email protected].