2018 Code AutoMobility LA · Grand Prize

Overview

At the 2018 Code AutoMobility LA Hackathon, 140 participants across 24 teams were tasked with developing innovative technology solutions to help drivers and passengers get to destinations safer and smarter — and to make seamless in-car payments. Teams were given access to APIs and insights from Visa, GM, and the City of Los Angeles to ship working prototypes in a 30-hour window at the LA Auto Show.

Our team — TribalScale — won the grand prize for an in-car AI-driven e-commerce platform that let consumers order directly from the vehicle for curbside pickup, eliminating parking entirely. That winning prototype was the seed of Dashero, the in-vehicle commerce platform that launched at CES 2019 in Ford’s main booth a few months later.

What sets it apart

My role

I joined the TribalScale team for the hackathon as the Android Auto, Google Cloud Functions, and NLP specialist — the build relied on Dialogflow, Houndify, and Snowboy for the voice flow, plus Cloud Functions for the order-orchestration backend. The grand-prize win on November 27, 2018 was what unlocked the Ford Mobility and TribalScale Venture Studios partnership, which I then co-founded Dashero around.

• Built the Android Auto voice-ordering prototype against Visa and GM APIs
• Owned the NLP pipeline using Dialogflow, Houndify, and Snowboy
• Wired the Cloud Functions backend that orchestrated ordering, payment, and curbside coordination
• Co-presented and demoed the winning prototype to the judging panel on stage
• Led the post-hackathon hand-off into the Dashero CES 2019 build with Ford Mobility

AutoMobility LA · 2018 hackathon recap

On stage at the LA Auto Show

The grand prize was awarded on Tuesday, November 27, 2018 during AutoMobility LA conference programming — judged by an esteemed panel including GM’s Chief Data and Analytics Officer and Visa’s SVP of Global Innovation and Design.

Capabilities

• Voice ordering
• In-car payments
• Predictive ETA
• Curbside pickup
• Hands-free confirmation
• Head-unit UX
• Connected vehicle
• Conversational flows

Distributed across

Built on

Languages

KotlinJavaScript

Voice & AI

DialogflowHoundifySnowboyNatural language processing

Sponsor APIs

Visa Developer PlatformGM connected-vehicle dataCity of Los Angeles APIs

Automotive

Android AutoAutomotive head units

Cloud

Google Cloud PlatformGoogle Cloud Functions

Platforms

Android AutoAutomotive head units

Press · social

Coverage from Visa, GM, AutoMobility LA, and TribalScale around the 2018 Code AutoMobility LA Hackathon — sponsorship announcements, the live event, and the grand-prize win.

PJ

Paul J. Walsh@PaulJ_Walsh · Sep 6, 2018

Can’t wait for this! Alongside @GM, @Visa is sponsoring the hackathon at @AutoMobilityLA November 25–26. We’re excited to work together to create solutions for better driving experiences, like in-car payments. @VisaDeveloper

V

VisaNews@VisaNews · Sep 6, 2018

Alongside @GM, we’re announcing our sponsorship of the hackathon at @AutoMobilityLA November 25–26. We’re excited to work together to create solutions for better driving experiences, like in-car payments.

JT

Jaclyn Trop@jaclyntrop · Oct 23, 2018

Proud to be named a judge for the Code @AutoMobilityLA hackathon alongside experts from @GM, @Visa, @Stanford, and the Los Angeles Dept. of Transportation during the LA auto show Nov. 25–27. $85K in prize money for mobility startups.

AL

AutoMobility LA@AutoMobilityLA · Nov 20, 2018

Have you checked out #CodeAutoMobilityLA yet? Join @Visa_US and @GeneralMotors to develop new in-vehicle payment platforms in a 30-hour challenge.

AL

AutoMobility LA@AutoMobilityLA · Nov 25, 2018

Code AutoMobility LA, presented by @Visa and @GM, begins today. See the winners awarded on stage Tuesday at 3:05 in the Technology Pavilion!

T

TribalScale@TribalScale · Nov 27, 2018

Go team! We made it to the top 5 and heading to the finals for #CodeAutoMobilityLA hackathon!! Excited for the results tmrw. @AutoMobilityLA #AutoMobilityLA @VisaDeveloper @GM

V

VisaDeveloper@VisaDeveloper · Nov 27, 2018

That’s a wrap! The winners have been announced @AutoMobilityLA for the #CodeAutomobilityLA hackathon! 1st place — Tribal Scale, 2nd place — Pit Stop, 3rd place — EVHub.

V

VisaDeveloper@VisaDeveloper · Nov 27, 2018

Tribal Scale won the grand prize of $40,000 for their in-car AI-driven e-commerce platform that allows consumers to purchase items directly from the vehicle for curbside pickup, eliminating parking. #CodeAutomobilityLA @AutoMobilityLA

T

TribalScale@TribalScale · Nov 28, 2018

TribalScale team’s demo of GM OrderNow (powered by Visa) — an in-car AI-driven ecommerce platform that allows for curbside pick-up, skipping parking. This idea won first place at #CodeAutoMobilityLA hackathon! #AutoMobilityLA #LAAutoShow

AL

AutoMobility LA@AutoMobilityLA · Nov 30, 2018

We’re guessing @TribalScale feels #AutoMobilityLA was as successful for them as it was for us. Thanks @Visa_US and @GeneralMotors for being great partners!

AL

AutoMobility LA@AutoMobilityLA · May 22, 2019

Revisit 2018’s #AutoMobilityLA Hackathon right here.

Press & further reading

Selected coverage of the Code AutoMobility LA Hackathon, the sponsoring partners, and the in-vehicle commerce thesis the winning prototype was built around.

• Visa and General Motors to co-sponsor 2018 Hackathon at AutoMobility LAPR Newswire · September 2018Official sponsorship announcement laying out the brief, prize pool, and judging panel.
• 2018 AutoMobility LA — show recap (PDF)LA Auto Show · January 2019Official AutoMobility LA recap covering the hackathon and connected-vehicle programming.
• Code AutoMobility LA — event pageBeMyAppHackathon hub with the original challenge brief, schedule, and team listings.
• Code AutoMobility LA Hackathon coverageAcrofan
• AutoMobility LA Hackathon recapBNP Media

“Tribal Scale won the grand prize of $40,000 for their in-car AI-driven e-commerce platform that allows consumers to purchase items directly from the vehicle for curbside pickup, eliminating parking. — Visa Developer”