VikingHacks is a 2 day in-person hackathon event hosted by Google Developers Student Club at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, CA April 28th - 29th. It is a great opportunity for students to learn new skills, build projects, and network with other students. This year, we are hosting our 2nd annual hackathon. We are excited to see what you will create! For more information please visit our website

Day 1

Shovels is providing complimentary access to a new database on electrification building permits and the contractors who completed them in the San Francisco Bay Area. The database includes information on heat pump HVAC systems, heat pump water heaters, solar panels, and EV chargers. This database was compiled over several months and is now available for use in a hackathon project. 

The goal of this project is to build a conversational AI interface that can interact with the Shovels database. This interface should be similar to the one found at https://censusgpt.com/SF, and should allow users to ask questions such as:

• Who installed the most solar panels in Concord? 
• How many heat pump HVAC systems were installed in Contra Costa County last year?
• Which contractor should I use to install an EV Charger in Pleasant Hill?

The project will be a fun and challenging one, and can be completed during the hackathon using the Shovels database and the open-sourced code from CensusGPT, which is licensed under the MIT license.

To complete this project, your team will need to have experience with conversational AI and natural language processing. You should also have some familiarity with the Python programming language and the Flask web framework. Additionally, your team will need to be able to work collaboratively and communicate effectively in order to complete the project within the time constraints of the hackathon.

If you are interested in working on this project, the database will be released on the first day of the Hackathon so participants can obtain access to the database and to receive more information on how to get started. Good luck, and have fun!

• Fit
  Does the product represent unity and togetherness
• Innovation/Creativity
  Does the product initiate a unique idea to give a new perspective
• Functionality
  Does the product work as intended?
• Design
  Does the product attract and please the audience by its look?
• Scalability
  Is the product easy to build off of in the future by the team or other developers?
• Presentation
  Does the team show a highlight of collaboration?