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Hack the AM 2026

Our first hackathon: one day on the UW Seattle campus building XR that is genuinely useful for people using Apple Vision Pro or Meta Quest in everyday workflows. It was a trial run to see what we could pull off, and this is what that day looked like.

  • Saturday, April 18, 2026
  • 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • UW Seattle campus
  • Headsets provided
  • No coding experience required
  • Open to all students
  • Free to attend
  • Lunch and dinner provided

What teams built

Teams prototyped a focused feature, a small app, or a proof of concept that solved one clear problem well. The day opened with a tutorial workshop covering Unity and Xcode, including how to build to Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3, so nobody had to arrive an expert. Strong UX ideas and clear product thinking counted as much as code, and headsets were provided.

The two tracks

Apple Vision Pro

Utility-first ideas that feel natural in spatial interfaces: widgets, productivity surfaces, and focused workflow helpers.

Meta Quest

Practical Quest experiences with clear real-world value and strong UX: task-focused utilities, collaboration workflows, and learning tools.

How projects were judged

Utility and innovation

Practical solutions with a clear use case and thoughtful novelty.

User experience

Strong UX decisions, understandable flows, and focused scope.

Platform synergy

Projects that use the hardware capabilities of their chosen platform to solve a specific problem.

Voting was democratic rather than panel-led. Every participant picked their top three projects, points were assigned by rank, and nobody could vote for their own project. The highest point totals won.

How the day ran

  • 9 a.m.Arrive and demo headsets
  • 9:30 a.m.Opening ceremony
  • 10 a.m.Apple Vision Pro and Quest workshop
  • noonLunch
  • 12:30 p.m.Project pitches and team formation
  • 1 p.m.Hacking
  • 5 p.m.Dinner
  • 5:30 p.m.Hacking
  • 7 p.m.Judging
  • 8 p.m.Closing ceremony

Winners

Thank you to everyone who took part. After a full day of building, judging, and showcasing XR demos on campus, these were the winning projects.

The Enact team with their awards at the Hack the AM closing ceremony, in front of a screen reading Apple Vision Pro Track

Apple Vision Pro track, best design, first place

Enact

Spencer Morga & Sydney Lai

The OnBeat team with their award at the Hack the AM closing ceremony, in front of a screen reading Meta Quest Track Winner

Meta Quest track, best design, first place

OnBeat

William Hong

Questions people asked

What is a hackathon?
A time-boxed event where people collaborate to design and build a project. At Hack the AM, teams focused on useful XR demos for Apple Vision Pro or Meta Quest.
Who was eligible?
Hack the AM was open to all students.
Did it cost anything?
No. Attending was free.
Did projects have to pick a track?
Yes. Every project chose one main track, either Apple Vision Pro or Meta Quest.
Did you need your own headset?
No. Apple Vision Pros and Meta Quest 3 and 3S headsets were provided.
What about food?
Lunch and dinner were provided, along with refreshments and snacks through the day.
Did you have to submit a project?
No. Submission was encouraged for anyone who wanted to take part in voting and awards, but you could attend, learn, and join in without submitting.

Anything else, ask in the XRA Discord or email xra@uw.edu.

What about this year?

We are running an XR hackathon again, on Saturday, January 30, 2027. Sponsorship, mentoring, and the schedule are up now; tracks and participant details follow on November 22.