The University of Miami was transformed into an incubator of innovation this past weekend as students from South Florida universities and beyond came together for the HorizonAI Hackathon. For two days, more than 220 participants were given a problem statement where they had to design an AI-powered solution.
Against a backdrop of dozens of workstations and brainstorming sessions, teams dove into seven themed tracks, each aiming to harness artificial intelligence for societal impact. More than half of the participants were first-timers, including many first-year students who went on to win prizes. Their success highlighted the event’s role in building confidence, as they demonstrated their ability to develop solutions within a short timeframe.
“We are thrilled by the diversity of ideas and the spirit of collaboration on display,” said Lokesh Ramamoorthi, the event organizer and computer engineering lecturer at the College of Engineering. “This hackathon has not only showcased technical excellence but also demonstrated how AI can transform industries—from education to finance.”
Here’s a closer look at the winning teams and their AI-powered solutions:
- Health & Wellbeing Track – Breathe AI
Their wearable device uses biometric data, environmental conditions, and AI-driven analytics to monitor respiratory health, providing a proactive solution for individuals with asthma, COPD and related conditions.
- Environment & Conservation Track – R.I.P.E
This app digitizes grocery receipts to track produce expiration and reduce food waste. The innovative solution reflects cultural values in many immigrant households where wasting food is unthinkable, addressing a broader national crisis of 30-40% food waste annually.
- Education & Learning Track – Manimify Math
Transforming traditional math problems into dynamic, animated visualizations, this tool leverages smartphone cameras, computer vision, the Mathpix API, and the open-source Manim library to bring abstract concepts vividly to life.
- Finance & Economics Track – Green Guard
An AI-powered financial assistant, Green Guard tracks expenses, sets personalized spending limits, and utilizes real-time data to help users avoid scams and overspending, fostering smarter financial decision-making.
- Entertainment, Arts & Media Track – QuickReels
QuickReels automatically generates short-form video “reels” from longer footage. By analyzing video content with machine learning, it detects key moments and reformats them for social media, streamlining the content creation process.
- Community Track – Shortok
Designed to streamline learning, Shortok converts long educational videos into bite-sized summaries with time stamps, enabling busy professionals and students to quickly access key insights without wading through lengthy content.
An added online track welcomed international competitors from partner universities, broadening the scope of collaboration and innovation. MEF University in Turkey clinched first prize with EduLift, an AI-powered teaching assistant that instantly generates structured lesson plans, automates quiz creation and grading, analyzes student performance and offers personalized learning support.
“Events like this highlight our commitment to fostering innovation and real-world problem solving,” said Pratim Biswas, dean of the College of Engineering. “Our students are using the power of AI to address challenges that impact everyday life, and their creativity is truly inspiring.”
