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Atech Real World Challenge

by Atech

The API for the physical world

Introduction

AI made software something anyone can build in an afternoon. Hardware is next. Wiring, drivers and firmware used to eat a whole hackathon before anything blinked; with Atech you describe what you want, snap the modules together and flash working firmware from your browser. At Junction we want to see what 2,000 builders do when the physical world becomes as easy to prototype as a web app.

The Challenge

Build a physical device that solves a real problem for a real person, using Atech modules as its body and AI as its brain. Pick someone (a farmer, a nurse, a cyclist, your grandmother, your flatmate) and give them a device that senses, reacts or connects in a way software alone can't. Use Atech to go from idea to a working prototype on the table, then spend your remaining hours on what makes it great. Using Atech hardware is required; how you combine it with other tools, APIs and models is up to you.

Minimum Requirements

  • Atech modules used in the demo alongside a real-world solution
  • Share a link to a summary / post about it in our Discord

Inspiration

  • Assistive devices: fall detection, posture coaching, smart reminders for people living alone
  • Sustainability: sensing energy, water, air quality or food waste and acting on it
  • Physical AI: put an LLM or vision model in a loop with real sensors and actuators
  • Robotics: give a robot arm or rover new senses with distance, IMU or climate modules
  • Tools for makers, labs and classrooms that make building hardware even easier

The Technology

What it is? Atech is a kit of snap-together ESP32-based electronic modules (sensors, motion, connectivity) plus an AI platform that writes the firmware for you. You describe the device in plain language; Atech plans it, generates the code, builds it and flashes it to your hardware straight from the browser. No breadboards, no soldering, no driver hunting.

Key Capabilities

  • Snap modules together in seconds: distance, IMU, temperature & humidity, air quality, microphone, speakers, motors, and more
  • Build directly from atech.dev and flash from the browser over USB
  • Python library: pip install atech to use any coding agent
  • Test in Atech's emulator before touching hardware
  • Connect devices via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, to create an API to your AI set-ups

Prizes and Judging

The winning team gets a special Pro Atech kit for the team to keep building. Runner-up teams get Atech kits and swag. Top teams are invited to show their project on Atech's channels and visit us in Copenhagen.

Tech Profile

  • Type: Hardware + AI platform
  • Languages / frameworks: Natural language; generated C/C++ firmware (PlatformIO / ESP32), editable by hand. Python library for coding agents
  • Platforms: Web (Chromium browser) + Atech ESP32 modules
  • Skill level: Beginner to advanced; no embedded experience needed
  • Offline / online: Firmware generation needs internet; flashed devices run standalone
  • Known limitations: Browser flashing needs Chrome or Edge (WebSerial); limited kits, hopefully 2–4 per participating team

Submission Requirements

  • Live demo on the hardware
  • Public GitHub repo or exported Atech project
  • ~2-minute video / live demo

About the Company

Atech is a Copenhagen-based startup making hardware as easy to build as software. Our modular electronics and AI firmware platform are used by 250+ customers, from makerspaces to university labs at Stanford, UC Berkeley, and industry R&D teams. We come from the hackathon scene ourselves and are at Junction to find builders who want to bring AI into the physical world. Strong teams can keep building with Atech after the event, and we're hiring.

Extra Details

Atech has powered hackathons across the Nordics and the UK, including Lund AI Society, Zero to Demo and Oxford AI Society. Next on our roadmap: simulation of Atech modules in NVIDIA Isaac Sim, so teams can quickly prototype automated factory set-ups and simulate them.

Insight

Quickstart

  1. Pick up your team's kit at the Atech booth

  2. Create an account at atech.dev and redeem code: JUNCTION

  3. Snap a module onto the base board and plug it into your laptop with USB-C

  4. Open the platform in Chrome or Edge and describe a first device, e.g. "Light the LED red when something is closer than 20 cm"

  5. Click flash. You should see your device react in under a minute. Start building!

  6. Recommended: pip install atech, then use your preferred coding agent

Recommended setup

Any laptop (macOS, Windows or Linux) with Chrome or Edge, a USB-C port (or adapter) and internet. Nothing to install. Optional: use our Python library and/or our desktop app for an improved experience.

Tips and common pitfalls

  • Use Chrome or Edge; Safari and Firefox don't support browser flashing

  • Use a data USB cable, not a charge-only one (we'll have spares at the booth)

  • Start with one module working, then add the next; describe changes step by step

  • On Linux, add your user to the dialout group if the board doesn't show up

Access

  • Access method: Hardware checkout at the Atech booth + free platform account at atech.dev using code: JUNCTION
  • Where to find the code: Challenge page in the Junction app and the Atech Discord channel
  • What they get: Depending on demand, 2–4 Atech boards + modules per team, plus free platform access
  • Hardware: First come, first served at the Atech booth from opening; teams return everything after final demos. Winners receive prizes.

What we'll bring

Atech hardware kits for participating teams, free access to the Atech platform for the weekend, and the people who built it on site. Our engineers will help you from first flash to final demo, including at night.

Resources

Support

  • Support channel: #atech on the Junction Discord + Atech booth, or our Discord
  • Mentor availability: Throughout the event, with a night shift
  • Technical escalation (software): julius@atech.dev
  • Technical escalation (hardware): tomas@atech.dev

Team background

Founders and engineers from the Atech team, including ex-Apple engineers, covering embedded hardware, AI firmware generation and product.

Contacts

Where we show up

  • X: @Atech_dev
  • Instagram: @atech_development
  • LinkedIn: /company/atech-dev
  • TikTok: @atech.dev
  • YouTube: @Atech_development