We have recently announced the results of The OpenWeather Challenge, an exciting and thought-provoking competition that promoted innovative uses of meteorological data for real-world applications. The challenge, in collaboration with the Royal Meteorological Society, particularly valued projects focusing on sustainability, green technology, health, and practical solutions, aligning with OpenWeather's commitment to environmental responsibility.
Global solutions
The OpenWeather Challenge attracted over 320 participants from all corners of the globe, demonstrating the widespread interest in innovative uses of weather data. Participants came from a wide range of countries including Hong Kong, Canada, Portugal,Germany, India, Nigeria, Brunei, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom. These diverse locations highlighted the global nature of the challenge and the relevance of weather data in addressing the wide range of global challenges we face.
Varied Solutions and Applications
Several projects focused on enhancing the user experience through personalized weather apps. Some aimed to inform users about current conditions and forecasts, while others integrated weather data with tourism information or even provided personalized recommendations for outdoor activities based on real-time weather conditions.
A notable project involved a deep learning model that predicted soil type from photos and recommended suitable crops based on soil and climate conditions. Other innovative projects explored the integration of weather data with IoT technology for rainwater harvesting and roof cooling, demonstrating a strong commitment to sustainability.
Projects stood out for their potential real-world applications, such as WeatherHound, which focused on pet comfort and safety by providing tailored forecasts, and CWC, which aimed to provide global weather information and AI-driven weather advice to influence daily decisions. Additionally, a project from Munich explored using AI to improve the accuracy of wind power production forecasts, addressing a critical challenge in the renewable energy sector.
The challenge also saw the development of unique and artistic projects, such as a weather forecast widget that used art to convey the feeling of the forecast.
The Winners
Our expert panel of judges faced the daunting challenge of deciding on winners, a difficult task given the extremely wide variety of inventive solutions offered by the participants.
First Prize
Nur Mawaddah Syairah Haji Hasnan
Student of Universiti Teknologi Brunei
IoT-based Rainwater Harvesting and Artificial Roof Misting System for Efficient Roof Cooling
This project integrates rainwater harvesting, artificial roof misting, and IoT technology to revolutionize water management and decrease reliance on energy-intensive cooling methods.
Second Prize
Cassie Lee
Viv Li
Imperial College London
Feels Like Weather
The weather can have a significant effect on our mood and wellbeing. This proof-of-concept weather widget uses art to convey what the forecast will “feel like” for a particular day that is meaningful to you.
Third Prize
Hiu Ming Tse (Eddie Tse)
Student of MAD&D at Algonquin College, Ottawa
WeatherWhisper
WeatherWhisper is an innovative weather app that combines a sleek dashboard displaying real-time weather and forecasts with a built-in voice assistant.
Thank you to all the incredible participants who took part in the OpenWeather Challenge. We plan to organise more challenges in the future, so follow us on social media not to miss our announcements.
See OpenWeather Challenge results for more details of the winning projects and watch their accompanying videos.
