CISESS Students Win Awards at Georgia Tech’s ImmerseGT XR Hackathon

Figure 1: CISESS Interns Damian Figueroa (left) and Samuel Wiggins (right) the ImmerseGT closing ceremony.

© Guangyang Fang

Guangyang Fang, Visiting Assistant Research Scientist, UMD/CISESS/ESSIC

In early April, CISESS students Damian Figueroa and Samuel Wiggins traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, to participate in ImmerseGT—an XR hackathon hosted by the student-led “VR@GT” club at the Georgia Institute of Technology (GT). XR stands for Extended Reality, which encompasses immersive technologies including Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR) [Source: Interaction Design Foundation].  

A hackathon is a fast-paced competition where participants—often called “hackers”—collaborate to turn ideas into working prototypes within just a few days. Hackers come from a wide range of backgrounds, including students, designers, programmers, artists, and scientists. At ImmerseGT, companies like Snap Inc. (creators of the Snapchat app) provide cutting-edge technology for students to explore, including Snap’s experimental augmented reality glasses, the Spectacles.

ImmerseGT marked the second hackathon Damian and Samuel attended this year, following their success at MIT Reality Hack. While both events provided invaluable networking and learning opportunities, ImmerseGT offered a more intimate setting, encouraging deeper connections among participants. The tight-knit nature of the event allowed them to collaborate closely with Snap’s developers and engineers, gaining valuable insight into how to fully harness the capabilities of the cutting-edge hardware.

Damian and his team developed Desk Buddy, an AI assistant brought to life as a character inspired by Microsoft’s classic “Clippy.” Designed to live in a cozy virtual environment placed on the user’s desk, Desk Buddy awaits instructions and can be customized with various personalities. It’s also capable of interacting with nearby devices to perform tasks like displaying search results, making it both helpful and charming. “I believe Desk Buddy represents the future of personal assistants,” said Damian. “One where they exist in your physical space and engage with you through playful interactions.”

Figure 2. Damian (second from left) and his team accepting the “Intelligent Immersion” award for Desk Buddy.

Samuel’s team created Kääntää (pronounced kahn-tah), an augmented reality language-learning app that blends education with a dose of quirky Gen-Z humor. Guided by a virtual cat named Maxwell, users build a personal word bank by scanning real-world objects using a simple pinching gesture. The app harnesses the AI capabilities of the glasses to identify each object and translate it into the target language. Later, Maxwell challenges users to recall the words by re-scanning the original objects—responding with amusing reactions based on whether their answers are correct. “It may be silly, but our app isn’t just fun—it feels like magic to use!” remarked Samuel.

Figure 3. Samuel (second from left) and his team accepting the SnapAR award for Kääntää from Steven Xu, a developer at SnapAR.

Remarkably, both Damian and Samuel took home awards for their creative work. Damian received the “Intelligent Immersion” award, recognizing projects that combined artificial intelligence and XR to redefine user experience through smart, responsive applications. Samuel won two awards: one for the “Lifestyle” track, which celebrated projects exploring how XR can enhance everyday life—from work and socializing to relaxation and entertainment—and a 3rd Place SnapAR award for the best use of Spectacles technology.

Damian and Samuel are excited to bring their new ideas and skills back to the Virtual Proving Ground & Training Center (VPGTC), where they contribute to the development of XR-based geoscience educational games. Their award-winning experiences reflect the growing potential of immersive technology in both education and everyday life.

From: Maureen Cribb, CISESS Report to NOAA for 18 April 2025.
 

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