TOP digital developers and tech entrepreneurs joined with hobbyists and students for an intensive weekend of developing smart technology solutions for real-life challenges.

The Big IoT Hack Weekend, which ran from Friday, 26 to Sunday, 28 April at DeskLodge, Basing View, Basingstoke, saw talented teams compete to develop new smart technology to make life easier for local residents, communities and businesses.

Participants worked to develop a business plan and prototype solution before pitching them to a panel of expert judges.

Up for grabs was the opportunity for the winning team to get the opportunity to create a company based on their ideas, with six months’ free business support from SETsquared, the world’s leading business incubator, of which Adrian Braine is Entrepreneur in Residence.

Each of the teams were praised for their creative pitches, and The A Team, who worked on a project to help make cycling safer in Basingstoke, was named the winner.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council economy and culture manager Daniel Garnier said: “This intensive and fun weekend brought together some of the best technical and entrepreneurial talent in the borough and was an opportunity to showcase the remarkable innovation that is happening in Basingstoke.”

The weekend was jointly organised by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, the SETsquared Partnership, TechJuice and DeskLodge, all part of the #Get Launched collective, and was supported by Microsoft and Pycom.