XR Midwest 2024 | ARI

October 11-13 2024

Location: Central Campus Classroom Building @ University of Michigan

XR MIDWEST

XR Midwest is a hackathon dedicated to exploring the latest advancements in extended reality (XR) technologies. After a hiatus following its active years from 2019 to 2022, Alternate Reality Initiative (ARI) is excited to announce the revival of XR Midwest for fall 2024. This hackathon aims to bring together XR enthusiasts from across the U.S. to build and learn together.

Beyond prizes, our team is providing mentorship, hardware, and follow-up opportunities for all participants– so whether you’ve never touched a headset before or are fully immersed in XR, we have a spot and a headset waiting for you.

Get Hands-On with XR!

We're committed to ensuring every team has access to a VR headset.

(We’ll also lend Ricoh Theta Z1 360° Cameras and StrikerVR Blasters if needed)

BEST IN VR

BEST IN AR

BEST IN 360°

$500

and access to a pro video production course

Grand

Prize

4x META QUEST 3s

OUR MISSION 2024

Creation

Every team will have access to a VR headset and the mentorship needed to grow. Extended Reality is a field with high costs of entry, and our goal is to mitigate that in order to give all students the chance to discover a passion for XR. XR Midwest offers all students, from virtual beginners to XR extraordinaires, the chance to explore concepts they wouldn’t have the equipment or community to try elsewhere.

Connection

A hackathon would be impossible without its people. Whether it’s the collaboration of students, the mentorship of professors, or the support of industry professionals, we are all individuals brought together by our love of XR. Our team at XR Midwest welcomes you to Michigan, and we’d love to introduce you all– no matter your background or familiarity with XR– to our incredible community of developers and dreamers.

Continuation

87% of projects get dropped after a hackathon’s end– something we aim to change. One of the greatest reasons for this is the simple fact that the support of a hackathon vanishes once the event concludes. In recognition of this problem, XR Midwest is partnering with the Center for Academic Innovation to provide follow-up opportunities for students and their projects, so that they can continue to create even after the first 24 hours.