This documentary will introduce you to the high-energy environment of Cal Hacks 2025, the world's largest collegiate hackathon, where over 2,500 students gather at the former Exploratorium in San Francisco to build innovative projects in just 36 hours. Quincy Larson interviews various teams to showcase diverse creations ranging from AI-powered dance coaches and K-pop training apps to automated "burger bots" and deodorant-spraying robots. Throughout the event, participants navigate technical challenges like limited Wi-Fi while demonstrating the intense work ethic, ingenuity, and community spirit that define modern developer culture.

Learn more about Cal Hacks: https://www.calhacks.io/

Chapters
- 00:00 Introduction to Cal Hacks at the Exploratorium 
- 00:42 The Scope: 2,500 Participants & 36 Hours 
- 01:30 Exploring the Venue: Mezzanine to the Main Floor 
- 01:57 Interview: Team San Jose State University (Rapid Learning & Pressure) 
- 04:36 Interview: Anti-Deepfake Mobile App - Baran (Sacramento) 
- 05:16 Interview: AI Dungeon Master for D&D - Julian & Colin (Colgate University) 
- 07:27 Interview: Hackathon Project Management App - Kai, Ricardo, Kas 
- 08:24 Interview: Kahoot Clone - Ji, Gilbert, Marian, Jason 
- 09:31 Sepehr the Shark and Scenes 
- 10:58 Interview: AI Dance Coach - Kai (UVA) & Ethan (Cal State Fullerton) 
- 12:56 The Air Mattress Monoliths: Preparing to Sleep Under Tables 
- 13:28 Interview: ASL Translator & Education Tools - Tri & Team 
- 14:52 Interview: Spaced Repetition Information Retention - Nina, Krishna, Viha 
- 16:12 Interview: Mentoring the Next Generation of Builders - Chinat Yu (Mentor Mates) 
- 18:33 Interview: Advice for Competitive vs. Casual Hackers - Andrew (Volunteer) 
- 22:33 Interview: Reducing Latency in LLM Development - Alex, Nathan, Abek, Prada 
- 24:18 End of Day One: The 36-Hour Countdown 
- 24:47 Day Two: Chasing Wi-Fi Waves & Hotspot Contraband 
- 26:23 Interview: Trust Score Project (Credit Solutions for Immigrants) - 
- 27:39 The "Sleep Scale": From 48 Hours Awake to Naps on Chairs 
- 29:38 Interview: Finding Authentic Friction Points - Sophia (Big Tech PM) 
- 30:53 Sophia’s Story: Turning Guitar Tabs into Sheet Music 
- 33:01 Interview: VR Chat with AI Agents 
- 33:25 Interview: Janitor Turned Dev - Shane 
- 34:12 Interview: Creating a Safe Space for Innovation - Vincent (Sponsor) 
- 35:30 Demo: Spaced Repetition UI/UX Reveal - Nina, Krishna, Viha 
- 37:36 Demo: Elastic Brew (Telemetry-Powered Espresso Machine) - 
- 39:31 Interview: Health Data App - Alex 
- 40:32 Interview: Tactile Senses for the Visually Impaired - Cedric, Shao, David, Jin 
- 41:39 Interview: High-Pressure Environments - Isasaki 
- 43:06 Final 11 Hours: Ingenuity on Display 
- 44:19 Interview: Managing 2,700 Developers - Dylan (Organizer) 
- 46:26 Interview: The 9-Month Planning Sprint - Sam (Organizer) 
- 51:14 Day Three: Code Lock & Proof of Concept 
- 51:26 Demo: Automated Food Assembly - Princess, Zaira, Bhavya, Gabriele 
- 53:00 Demo: Meight - Artem & Satya 
- 54:30 Demo: Deodorant Robot - E, Mohammad, Nick, Eric 
- 55:48 Demo: Voice Agent for ADHD Task Management - Maya, Candy, Hamad, Seif 
- 57:41 Demo: Figure Flow - Payne, Michael, Joey 
- 1:00:00 Demo: Recall Me - Abbey, Neha, Rudrika, Manchika 
- 1:02:25 Demo: AI Government Tools - Angad, Sanjay, Rohan, Preet, Likhit 
- 1:04:19 Demo: Desktop Automation - Hem, Pritish, Krishiv 
- 1:05:12 Demo: Stock Explained - Saline, Anish, Kim 
- 1:06:49 Demo: Persisting Context Across LLMs - Brenden, Katie, Jeana 
- 1:09:55 Demo: VR Driver’s Ed with AI Feedback - Lukas, Shashwat, Brian 
- 1:11:48 Demo: Group "Vibe" Restaurant Selection - Colin, Rick, Derek, Marvin 
- 1:14:41 Demo: Platypus Academy - Kate & Andrew 
- 1:16:43 Demo: K-pop Demon Hunters Academy - Skyler, Caleb, Kenneth, Sreerag 
- 1:19:04 Closing Thoughts: Why You Should Attend a Hackathon

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Cal Hacks 2025 brought together 2,500+ students at Berkeley for 36 hours of intense building. Teams tackled diverse projects from AI-powered dance coaches and D&D dungeon masters to clinical trial optimization tools and assistive devices for the visually impaired. Despite Wi-Fi challenges forcing many to use mobile hotspots, participants pushed through with minimal sleep, leveraging sponsors' APIs and hardware. The event showcased student innovation across AI/ML, robotics, healthcare tech, and web applications, with organizers doubling participation from the previous year through extensive planning and 65+ sponsor partnerships.

The World's Biggest Hackathon – Full Documentary on Cal Hacks 2025