Soldiers’ ‘hackathon for good’ answers criticism of ‘out of touch’ unit

In an effort to boost the reputation of their comrades after a recent setback, three soldiers serving in the IDF’s famed Unit 8200 organized a “hackathon for good” – a 24-hour event in which current and former members of the unit developed apps designed to help those in need.

In recent months, Unit 8200’s reputation has taken a hit among many Israelis, as 43 unit reservists signed a letter saying they would no longer serve in the West Bank. The move reopened the long-running debate on whether it was appropriate for soldiers to break military discipline to express their objection to certain orders. In response, hundreds of Unit 8200 reservists slammed the 43, but the damage had been done, with some media portraying Unit 8200 soldiers as “spoiled brats” who are “detached from Israeli society,” which largely supports the concept of military discipline.

Three soldiers currently serving in the unit felt uncomfortable enough with the situation to organize a hackathon, in which 100 current and former 8200 members worked to develop mobile device apps in an effort to give back to the community.The apps are designed to help those in need and make a contribution to the society that they feel has unfairly criticized them, said the three, T., D., and G., who in the tradition of Unit 8200, did not provide their full names because of security issues.

The hackathon took place last week at Afeka College in Tel Aviv, with eight teams laboring for 24 hours straight (no breaks for a nap allowed). The teams were guided by top programming professionals from Intel, Microsoft, and other companies, who donated their time to help out. As members of the IDF unit responsible for collecting signal intelligence and code decryption, Unit 8200 personnel – many of whom work in the high-tech field after leaving the army – are no slouches themselves when it comes to technology, but according to the hackathon’s organizers, the event wasn’t just about developing apps, but connecting with the community as well. In addition to the tech personnel, T., D., and G. consulted with community organizers who work with the elderly, disabled, and poor to develop apps that would specifically answer their needs.

When the smoke cleared after 24 hours, judges chose as their favorite an app called Notify on Rails, designed to help make it easier for the deaf and hard of hearing to catch their trains. While rail schedules are posted on electronic displays at train stations and published on the internet, many of the details – like delays, platform arrival or departure changes, route changes, etc. – are not posted, but announced at the station. For those who can’t hear, these last-minute alterations are often very confusing; the only choices they currently have are to find someone they can communicate with to find out what is happening, or to blindly follow the crowd as it moves from platform to platform.

While the announcements are made over a loudspeaker, they are actually generated on a computer system. Once the soldiers who wrote the app figured out how to tap into that data stream, it was simply a matter of moving the data into an app and distributing it over the internet. As the announcement is read over the loudspeaker (i.e., as it is flashed onto the computer screen of the person on the other end of the loudspeaker, who will read that message out to passengers), it shows up on the screens of devices running the app.

The app could be useful not just for the deaf, but for the hearing as well, especially in places where the loudspeaker system hasn’t been updated for awhile. “I got the idea for this app from my girlfriend, who thank God has her hearing, but often complains that she can’t hear the announcements when they are made,” said the soldier. “We did some research and discovered that a lot of people had the same complaint.”

Another app that was singled out for honor was “Megia Li” (Hebrew for “I Deserve”), which seeks to bring order to the chaos of social rights. Individuals who have suffered a loss, an injury, or a financial or other setback are often eligible for all sorts of government benefits, but many of those benefits are overlooked because the victims of circumstances, caught up in dealing with their immediate problems, are unable to uncover the information they need to file the necessary paperwork. Megia Li includes a list of situations (injury, retirement, handicaps, etc.) and an easy-to-follow list of what members of each category are eligible for, and where and how to apply for benefits.

Another app the judges like, called “Cosher,” takes the concept of kosher food and expands it to many other areas. For example, if an individual feels strongly about only buying from businesses that provide facilities for the disabled, Cosher will present that information from an extensive database about businesses the app draws on. Other categories include non-food businesses that close on Shabbat (rather than compel their workers to come in seven days a week), companies that employ workers directly and do not employ temp agency workers (many businesses in Israel hire temporary workers from these agencies in order to avoid paying for their social benefits), and other socially relevant issues. As the app gets downloaded and used, its developers believe, businesses will change their ways as people vote with their feet.

Yet another app, Blindsight, uses a smart device’s sensor to help guide blind people as they move about. Using location chips, 3G communication networks, and wifi, the app checks on a user’s location and guides users via audio instructions on which way to walk. While there are other apps that do this as well, one feature Blindsight has that the others don’t is the ability to recognize the state of a traffic light and to indicate when it has turned red, yellow, or green.

Most of the apps were developed for Android devices, and will be uploaded to Google Play in the coming days. Pending approval for listing in the online store, the apps will be available for free.

Alon Barnea, who heads Afeka College’s tech transfer company, said that it was very rare to find such a qualified group dedicating their time to developing apps like these – working 24 hours straight, no less.

“The results of the hackathon were amazing,” he said. “As a leading college of engineering technology, Afeka was proud to sponsor this event, and especially to help the wonderful soldiers and graduates of Unit 8200 to actualize their desire to help society.”