Winners of the OpenWeather Challenge announced at RMetS Early Career and Student Conference
Among the many highlights of the recent RMetS Early Career and Student Conference, we are delighted to congratulate the winners of the OpenWeather Challenge.
Avid readers of RMetS news may recall that OpenWeather was welcomed as a partner to the Early Career and Student Conference 2024 earlier this year. The organisation ran an exciting competition in which participants were encouraged to use their creativity to explore different ways to harness the power of a rich variety of OpenWeather data resources.
The OpenWeather Challenge attracted over 320 participants from all corners of the globe, demonstrating the widespread interest in innovative uses of weather data. Participants came from a wide range of countries including Hong Kong, Canada, Portugal, Germany, India, Nigeria, Brunei, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom. These diverse locations highlight the relevance of weather data in addressing the wide range of global challenges we face.
Several projects focused on enhancing the user experience through personalised weather apps. Some aimed to inform users about current conditions and forecasts, while others integrated weather data with tourism information or even provided personalised recommendations for outdoor activities based on real-time weather conditions.
One notable project involved a deep learning model that predicted soil type from photos and recommended suitable crops based on soil and climate conditions. Other innovative projects explored the integration of weather data with IoT technology for rainwater harvesting and roof cooling, demonstrating a strong commitment to sustainability.
Projects stood out for their potential real-world applications, such as WeatherHound, which focused on pet comfort and safety by providing tailored forecasts, and CWC, which aimed to provide global weather information and AI-driven weather advice to influence daily decisions. Additionally, a project from Munich explored using AI to improve the accuracy of wind power production forecasts, addressing a critical challenge in the renewable energy sector.
The challenge also saw the development of unique artistic projects, such as a weather forecast widget that used art to convey the feeling of the forecast.
An expert panel of judges determined the winners, a difficult task given the extremely wide variety of inventive solutions offered by the participants.
And so:
1st Prize was awarded to Nur Mawaddah Syairah Haji Hasnan, Student of Universiti Teknologi Brunei, for their IoT-based Rainwater Harvesting and Artificial Roof Misting System for Efficient Roof Cooling. This project proposed to integrate rainwater harvesting, artificial roof misting, and IoT technology to revolutionise water management and decrease reliance on energy-intensive cooling methods.
2nd Prize was awarded to Cassie Lee and Viv Li, Imperial College London, for “Feels Like Weather.” Cassie explained, “The weather can have a significant effect on our mood and wellbeing. This proof-of-concept weather widget uses art to convey what the forecast will “feel like” for a particular day that is meaningful to you.”
3rd Prize was awarded to Hiu Ming Tse, Student of MAD&D at Algonquin College, Ottawa, for “Weather Whisper”—an innovative weather app that combines a sleek dashboard displaying real-time weather and forecasts with a built-in voice assistant.
Our congratulations to all three worthy winners. Further details of the winning entries and accompanying videos can be found at OpenWeather.