Intel Python Hack Fury

Phase 2: Online Prototype Submission

Last date to submit your prototype: August 5th, 2018

Participants will have to submit the functional proof of concept/a working prototype of their proposed idea. Participants can add relevant documents to back their prototype.

Selection Criteria

The shortlist for phase one was prepared based on factors like novelty of the idea, technical evidence, feasibility and demonstrability. In phase two of this hackathon, the 52 teams selected in phase one will be primarily judged based on the following three factors,

1. Novelty in solution implementation

Although, novelty was one of the selection criteria in phase one, here in phase two the focus shifts from ‘novelty in the idea’ to ‘novelty in code implementation’. Teams are expected to demonstrate ingenious implementations and out of box thinking in their code development cycle, with clear sight of their usefulness.

2. Maximizing hardware utilization

The hallmark of a high performance application is its ability to fully utilize the hardware it is running on. On Intel processor architectures, this means fully utilizing all the cores, vector registers, and efficiently utilizing the memory. Teams are expected to develop applications with high levels of multithreading and vectorization efficiencies. Significant performance gains relative to initial performance state will also be considered.

3. Use of software tools to optimize performance

Writing a code that fully utilizes the processor is a non-trivial task. To make this process simpler, Intel offers a range of tools (inside Intel® Parallel Studio XE tool suite) that help developers optimize their applications for Intel processors (and compatible non-Intel architectures). Many of Intel’s customers have been able to speed-up their applications using analysis tools like Intel® VTuneTM Amplifier and Intel® Advisor. Click here for some of Intel’s developer success stories. Although, the use of tools like Intel® Compilers, Intel® Distribution for Python and Intel® Performance Libraries already give good out of box performance on Intel architectures, the use of analysis tools can potentially further improve performance. Also, usage of the Intel tool that is related to your theme is mandatory!

Disclaimer

In some cases, minor and fair adjustments to the selection criteria may be made by the selection panel to accommodate unforeseen situations.

Next Steps and Expectations/Deliverables from Each Team

The selected teams are expected to develop and optimize their applications in light of the selection criteria described above; and submit the following for evaluation here, on or before 5th August,

1. The application source codes/scripts along with a prebuilt binary that can execute on an Intel® Xeon® or Intel CoreTM processor. The binaries provided must be self-contained. i.e. binaries must be able to successfully execute without the need for installing any dependencies.

2. The source codes/scripts must contain brief comments to demonstrate optimizations, novelty, or anything else that might be of interest to the selection panel.

3. Input or other files needed to run the application. In case, the application depends on dynamic data generated in real-time from sensors (for e.g. camera, motion detectors, etc), arrangements must be made to provide surrogate data, in order for the panel to be able to test applications without the need for additional sensors or other hardware.

4. A clear description of steps/configuration/library-dependencies required to build and run the application.

5. Platform and processor details.

6. A reference benchmark or any other means of evaluating the correctness of your application.

7. A report of no more than 1000 words in .pdf format. The report should contain the following details,

   i) Project description

   ii) Implementation details along with novelty (in implementation)

   iii) Code optimizations

   iv) Performance numbers

   v) Steps taken to maximize utilization/performance of/on Intel processor/s with or without the use of software tools

   vi) A note on application correctness/validity

Phase 3: Offline Presentation

The top teams from Phase 2 will be selected for a presentation round which will happen towards the end of August or beginning of September, at IISER Pune. No reimbursements will be given for this. Details of this phase will be communicated to the top teams via email.

All the best!