Schedule
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Where to Find Help
Mentor Queue
Would you like an expert opinion or viewpoint? Then check out the mentor queue! In the mentor queue, your team can file tickets and inquiries and get fast in-person feedback from expert mentors in business, healthcare, entrepreneurship, and technology.
Help Desk
Do you have a general logistics question, such as what prototyping resources are available to me? Or, how to I gain access to this API?. Then you should come visit the Help Desk! You can find our location on the included map of the Media Lab below.
Opt-in SMS Logistic Announcements
To help ensure that the Grand Hack runs smoothly, we have enabled opt-in low-traffic SMS logistic announcements for all Grand Hack participants. If you would like to opt-out of Grand Hack SMS announcements, simply reply “stop” to the initial text message you have received.
However, should you choose to enable SMS announcements, you can expect to receive low-traffic messages similar to the example exchange on the right.
Map of Media Lab

Forms and Links
Technical Resources
Prototyping Resources
Hardware & Electronic Prototyping Supplies
MIT Grand Hack does not stock any microcontrollers, motors, and sensors. We found it best to allow participants to purchase what they may need. We recommend MicroCenter, an electronics store a few minutes away by via Uber or car. Teams are encouraged to visit this location if they need prototyping tools. MicroCenter is located at 730 Memorial Dr, Cambridge, MA 02139. Their hours are 10AM-9PM Saturday, and 11AM-6PM Sunday. Please plan accordingly.
MIT Grand Hack will reimburse up to $25 per team for the purchase of prototyping materials with a submitted receipt (tax exemption number: E042-103-594). Please do not forget to keep the receipts of all purchases — you will need to return the receipts to the registration desk to get reimbursed.
Robotic Platform Training
Watch the following video for robotic platform training:
Android Development Resources
We organized the following Android development related resources:
Android Official Resources:
Unofficial Tutorials:
Android Developer Forum:
Running OpenCV on Android:
Software & Data Resources
MIMIC-III Clinical Database
A subset of the MIMIC-III clinical database can be accessed simply by creating an account on PhysioNet and agreeing to the data use conditions (i.e. no sharing, no trying to re-identify patients, etc.).
John Snow Database
Click the link below to access John Snow database. The healthcare dataset categories comprehend topics including census data, population health, outcomes, terminology, life sciences, and much more. There is also a John Snow Labs Prize involving the best use of healthcare datasets prize (see details at bottom of page).
Open-Source Datasets
The following datasets are linked below for your convenience:
Open-Source Software
- An open-source software library for machine intelligence
- An open-source web application that allows you to share documents containing live code, equations, figures, and text
Judging Criteria
Health Impact
Does the solution have the potential for widespread public health impact? Does it address an important challenge identified in chronic condition care, connected health, healthcare at home, and/or any other clear global health need?
Innovation
How technologically innovative and creative is the solution (“better/faster/cheaper”)? Does the team provide a convincing rationale for why their solution may work, and do they address significant technical issues relevant to their problem?
Business Model
Does the project have a sustainable business model especially relevant to their customers? Does the team demonstrate plans to work in the field and continually incorporate end-user feedback?
Presentation
How effective was the presentation? Does this team have what it takes to carry on the project and implement it (e.g. cross-disciplinary expertise in technology development, clinical medicine and business/implementation)?
Track Prizes
UCB Invisible Conditions Track
Title | Description |
---|---|
1st Place | $1500 to the team with best overall hack. |
Finalist #1 | $750 to the team with most promising hack. |
Finalist #2 | $750 to the team with most promising hack. |
SMART Robotics and Intelligent Technologies Track
Title | Description |
---|---|
1st Place | $1500 to the team with best overall hack. |
Finalist #1 | $750 to the team with most promising hack. |
Finalist #2 | $750 to the team with most promising hack. |
Janssen- Johnson & Johnson Patient Care Continuum Track
Title | Description |
---|---|
1st Place | $1500 to the team with best overall hack. |
Finalist #1 | $750 to the team with most promising hack. |
Finalist #2 | $750 to the team with most promising hack. |
Track-specific Prizes
UCB Invisible Conditions Track
Title | Description |
---|---|
Best Epilepsy Hack | $500 to the team with the best epilepsy-oriented hack. |
SMART Robotics and Intelligent Technologies Track
Title | Description |
---|---|
Best Loomo Hack | $500 to the team with the best hack using Loomo. |
Janssen- Johnson & Johnson Patient Care Continuum Track
Title | Description |
---|---|
Private Pitch opportunity | Opportunity to pitch idea to J&J. |
Koch Institute Prize
$1000 to the team with the best cancer-oriented hack
Aetna Prize
$1000 to the team with the best use of AI
Allscripts Prize
$500 to the team with the best use of Allscripts API
Athenahealth Prize
$500 to the team with the best use of Athenahealth API
John Snow Labs Prize
1 year free access to John Snow Labs Dataset
MIT IDEA² Prize
Nomination to MIT IDEA² incubator
Gold Sponsors

Blue Sponsors

Prizes, In-Kind, and Media Sponsors
