Initial post

In the true fashion of an initial commit, welcome to the first entry of what I hope will become a go-to resource for anyone looking to dive into the world of rapid project development and technical exploration.

From Hackathons to Rapid Development: Learning to Build Fast

My hackathon journey started in the Spring of 2023. We built MonkeySign - think monkeytype, but for practicing American Sign Language. We used a real-time hand gesture detection model to teach ASL through a game-like, interactive experience in the browser using TensorFlow lite.

One of our teammates flew in from Michigan to join us. She brought a Raspberry Pi, sensors, displays, keyboards, even a coral AI accelerator for our project. We started with a big idea to create a mini arcade machine that could teach sign language to kids.

We spent over 12 hours trying to learn about object detection models for the app. It was a wake-up call, and we decided not to use the Raspberry Pi. Instead, we focused on running directly in the browser using the webcam. I’m glad we made that change, because we would have never finished the project in time if we had to deal with the hardware.

While we were figuring this out, our talented frontend developer built the whole UI/UX of the site.

But we had nothing working on the backend.

So we pulled an all-nighter to develop our own ASL detector based on the YOLO architecture. We made it small and light enough to run locally in browsers.

Many Red Bulls later, just 3 hours before the deadline, we had something working. We had to rush to integrate everything with the frontend. Our models were in Python, which browsers can’t run, so we had to convert them to ONNX and then to TensorFlow Lite.

We hurried to create a project video while updating our Devpost entries.

We found a bug in the detection logic just 2 minutes before the deadline and had to quickly fix our live site.

It was one of my first hackathons ever. There were definitely stressful times, but it was so rewarding to know that we built something that worked in the end and could teach people something useful in a fun way. Looking back, it’s kind of crazy how much we accomplished in such a short time.

We won the “New Frontiers” track, but the real prize was the experience and the friendships we made. Knowing we could build something from scratch in less than 36 hours was empowering.

I went to over 10 hackathons last year, creating winning projects in less than 36 hours each time.

There’s a lot to learn when it comes to picking the right tools and understanding how to turn ideas into working prototypes—fast. This is especially true if you’re just starting out.

Why This Site?

The goal of this site is simple: to share insights, resources, and real-world tactics that I’ve learned and used along the way.

Rapid development doesn’t have to mean low quality.

What to Expect

• Deep Dives into Project Builds: I’ll share the behind-the-scenes of projects I’ve worked on, from start to finish. You’ll see the successes, the mistakes, and what I learned.

• Exploring New Technologies: Get detailed looks at the latest tech that can help speed up your project development. We’ll explore new frameworks, programming languages, and tools that can change how you build.

• Tech Stacks and Tools: Learn about tools that can make development faster and how to use them well. I’ll cover everything from choosing the best frameworks and libraries to practical tips on using them in your projects.

• Resource Roundups: I’ll make lists of APIs, datasets, and tools that you can quickly use to get your projects started.

Whether you’re a student, a new developer, or just someone interested in building things quickly and efficiently, I hope this site provides some inspiration to turn your ideas into reality.

Let’s turn ideas into reality, faster and smarter.

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