A Front-Row Seat to Innovation: Reflections from Judging AERO HACKS 2026

Being part of the technology industry, I have witnessed many hackathons filled with seasoned engineers racing to transform ideas into working systems. But seeing that same intensity and creativity coming from high school students is something truly special.

Walking into AERO HACKS 2026 at Emerald High School in Dublin, California, the atmosphere immediately felt different from a typical school event. The room carried the quiet intensity of builders deep in concentration. Laptops were open across every table, cables stretched between devices, and whiteboards were filled with quick sketches of ideas still taking shape. Teams of high school students sat focused on their screens—debugging code, refining UI designs, or quietly discussing the next step in their solution.

As a technical judge and mentor, alongside two fellow judges specializing in gaming and cloud security, I was there to evaluate the projects. But within minutes, it became clear that this was more than just a judging exercise. Watching these students build, experiment, and present their ideas with such seriousness and creativity quickly turned the experience into a learning moment for me as well.

Hackathons are often associated with university students or professional developers, but events like this remind us that innovation has no age barrier. Over the course of the judging sessions, we reviewed more than 16 projects spanning AI applications, innovative prototypes, and game-based solutions. Every team brought enthusiasm, creativity, and a willingness to experiment. While space limits me from describing every project we saw, a few stood out as particularly memorable examples of the kind of thinking these students are already capable of.

The Energy of Young Builders

One of the most inspiring aspects of the event was the atmosphere itself. These students were not just presenting school assignments—they were building solutions. The teams demonstrated polished presentations, thoughtful UI designs, and working prototypes developed in only a few hours.

What struck me most was the confidence with which participants explained their ideas. Many of them approached the judges not just as evaluators but as collaborators—openly discussing technical choices, design decisions, and even future improvements they would like to explore. For high school students, their clarity of communication and presentation skills were exceptional.

Innovation Across Projects

Several projects highlighted how students are already experimenting with AI-driven problem solving.

One team built an AI-assisted product search tool for Amazon-like platforms. Instead of relying only on product snapshots, they explained that their system analyzes the full HTML content of the product page, allowing their model to work more efficiently and reduce token usage to roughly one-third of typical approaches. While the implementation was still a hackathon prototype, the conceptual thinking behind the approach was impressive. It demonstrated how even early developers are beginning to think about efficiency and system design, not just functionality.

Another project that drew a lot of attention was a camera-based AI system that detects body movements to count push-ups or crunches in real time. Two students built a working demonstration where the camera analyzed body motion and displayed live feedback on the screen. Beyond the technical novelty, the idea has real-world implications—especially in physical therapy or personal fitness training, where feedback and motivation are important. Seeing such an idea come from high school participants was remarkable, and I genuinely hope they continue developing it further.

Creative Problem Solving

Not all projects were purely AI-based; some combined hardware and software in clever ways.

One particularly interesting example was an RFID-based debate management system. The prototype included an RFID reader, microphone integration, and a cloud-connected transcription service. During debates or speaking competitions, participants could activate a timer with a physical switch, speak into the microphone, and have their speech automatically transcribed and stored in the cloud. The team even demonstrated a 3D-designed interface representing the debate environment. It was surprisingly comprehensive for a hackathon project and showed thoughtful consideration for event organization and speech documentation.

Another standout project focused on plant health detection using AI. The idea was simple but powerful: take a photo of a plant, upload it to the system, and let the AI analyze signs of disease or stress. What made the project particularly interesting was that the AI analysis ran locally without external API calls. The system would detect potential issues and suggest possible solutions. While similar apps exist in the market, building a polished web application capable of performing such analysis within just a few hours is no small achievement.

Finally, one team addressed a problem most communities are familiar with: lost items. Their application allowed users to upload photos of lost objects along with descriptions. Others could search visually for items using images and verify ownership before returning them. The interface was clean and intuitive, and the idea could easily be adapted for schools, campuses, or community platforms. As someone who has seen how often lost items go unnoticed in shared communication channels, this solution felt both practical and thoughtful.

Reflections from the Judge’s Seat

Serving as a judge always involves evaluating criteria such as technical depth, originality, and execution. But beyond the scoring rubric, events like this remind us of something more important: the value of curiosity and experimentation.

Many of these projects were early prototypes and naturally included simplifications or assumptions. That is completely expected in a hackathon environment. What mattered far more was the thinking process behind the solutions—the willingness to explore ideas that extend beyond what currently exists in the market.

I was also impressed by how clearly participants explained their technical choices. Their presentations showed that they were not just coding—they were thinking about architecture, performance, and usability.

Emerging Trends

Even within a small hackathon environment, a few patterns became visible.

First, AI integration is becoming the default starting point for many new ideas. Students are increasingly comfortable experimenting with machine learning models, computer vision, and intelligent interfaces.

Second, there was a strong emphasis on practical applications—solutions designed to solve everyday problems rather than purely academic exercises.

And finally, many teams showed a surprising awareness of user experience design, presenting interfaces that were clean, intuitive, and well thought out.

Advice for Future Participants

For students interested in participating in future hackathons, a few lessons stood out from the judging process.

First, focus on clarity of problem definition. The strongest projects began with a clearly explained problem and then demonstrated how the solution addressed it.

Second, invest time in presentation and storytelling. A good idea becomes much more powerful when the team can clearly explain why it matters.

Finally, remember that hackathons are about learning and exploration, not perfection. Some of the most interesting projects we saw were the ones that attempted bold ideas, even if the implementation was still evolving.