& Prizes. Guide Your Hack.
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SMathHacks 2026 has officially concluded. Thank you for hacking with us! 🐟
The 2026 theme is...
UNDER THE SEA.
UNDER THE SEA.
The overall theme will guide your hack. Although you will submit to a specific track, your hack must adhere to the larger theme.
NVIDIA SHIELD Grand Prize Information
Ingenuity Award (up to 4 NVIDIA SHIELDs): Awarded to the team whose project thoughtfully addresses a need in our oceans with an innovative and feasible solution, with evidence of the large impact it could potentially have.
Best Climate Aware Solution (up to 4 NVIDIA SHIELDs): Awarded to the team whose project best addresses a need in our ever-changing environment, with detailed solutions that could produce a significant impact in addressing climate change.
*The NVIDIA SHIELD grand prizes can be awarded to any team, including teams that have already won track prizes.
*Each winning team will receive track prizes equal to its number of members. For example, a four-member Interface Design Grand Prize team will receive four Wacom Intuos Graphics Drawing Tablets.
Interface Design
The Interface Design track is centered around the creation of websites and apps that include interactive components. This track invites participants to develop games, tracking tools, platforms for information dissemination, and more. Projects may involve designing user interfaces, allowing multi-user interactions, optimizing user experiences, and overall education to the general public. For those interested in front-end and back-end development, this track is for you! Any project with a webpage falls under this category.
Example Projects
Beached Marine Animals Alert App
360 Underwater Exploration Game
Ocean Protection Directory Website
Grand Prize
Wacom Intuos Graphics Drawing Tablet
Runner-Up Prize
Amazon Echo Pop
Hardware
The Hardware track involves building projects with physical devices. Components include Raspberry Pis, Arduino-based microcontrollers, and electronic/mechanical output devices. Participants can work with real-world elements to create innovative gadgets or systems. This would be suitable for both newcomers and those experienced with electronics and robotics. Projects in this category should be primarily focused on the hardware component, although they may also incorporate web interfaces or AI.
Example Projects
Rough-terrain model rover for ocean exploration
Water quality sensor-suite monitoring system
Sonar system for aquatic life recognition
Grand Prize
FHD 1080P Portable Monitor
Runner-Up Prize
Mini Drone
Data Science
The Data Science track is designed to utilize data analytics and simulations to solve scientific problems and extract insights from complex systems. It involves working with big data to visualize trends, analyzing descriptive statistics, and creating both models and visualizations of the outcomes or behaviors. This track hones in on utilizing and manipulating data for actionable results, as opposed to building predictive models. You may choose to use a pre-existing dataset or generate your own.
Example Projects
Reef Degradation Analysis
Oceanography and marine biology
Weather and water quality control
Grand Prize
Sony Headphones
Runner-Up Prize
JBL Speaker
AI & Machine Learning
The AI & Machine Learning track revolves around the development of predictive algorithms that can learn from data, make predictions, and improve over time without being explicitly programmed. It includes areas like natural language processing, computer vision, and predictive analytics. This track involves making predictions with data, regardless of the presence of visualizations. This track is perfect for those passionate about AI and algorithm development!
Example Projects
Coral health monitoring by image recognition
Habitat learning
Underwater sound-based neural network
Grand Prize
Magcubic Mini Projector
Runner-Up Prize
AULA Keyboard
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