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Last Date of Registration: 25th  October, 2026

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For queries contact email: geo.intel@iittnif.com

Contact Number: +91-9154746805 (9:30hrs-17:30hrs - Monday-Saturday (Except third saturday))

The CORS Hackathon 2026 is a national-level innovation challenge jointly organized by Survey of India (SoI) and IIT Tirupati Navavishkar I-Hub Foundation (IITTNiF) – Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) on Positioning & Precision Technologies under DST’s NM-ICPS Mission, and powered by the Geospatial Intelligence and Applications Laboratory (Geo-Intel Lab). The hackathon aims to unlock the transformative potential of Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) technology by encouraging participants to develop high-precision, real-world solutions across navigation, smart infrastructure, agriculture, disaster management, scientific research, and emerging geospatial applications.  

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the objective of the CORS Hackathon?

The CORS Hackathon aims to encourage students, researchers, startups, industry professionals, and innovators to develop practical, innovative, and scalable solutions using Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) data and related geospatial technologies. Participants are expected to develop prototypes addressing the published problem statements in areas such as precise positioning, navigation, mapping, surveying, atmospheric studies, disaster management, infrastructure monitoring, and location-based applications.

2. What should participants submit during registration?

Participants must complete the registration process and provide the required team and institutional details. If an idea or concept note is requested during registration, it should be a brief outline of the selected problem statement, the proposed approach, and the intended methodology. It is not expected to be a fully developed solution.

The detailed prototype, technical implementation, results, and supporting documentation must be submitted during the final submission phase, as specified in the hackathon guidelines.

3. When and how will the datasets be provided?

The relevant datasets, data sources, access instructions, and technical documentation will be communicated to registered and eligible teams after the registration phase, according to the published hackathon timeline.

Datasets may include CORS observations, GNSS measurements, reference coordinates, satellite or geospatial products, and other supporting data relevant to the selected problem statement. The availability of each dataset will depend on the problem statement, data-sharing permissions, and the arrangements made with participating knowledge partners and data providers, including the Survey of India and HYFIX, where applicable.

4. Will all participants receive the same datasets?

Where a common dataset is required for fair evaluation, the organisers will provide the same designated dataset and evaluation conditions to all eligible teams working on that problem statement. Additional datasets or supplementary resources may be provided where appropriate and permitted by the relevant data providers.

5. Are participants expected to arrange their own datasets?

Participants should primarily use the datasets and resources specified in the hackathon guidelines. Publicly available supplementary datasets, open-source tools, and independently collected data may be used where permitted, provided that their sources, licensing conditions, and contribution to the results are clearly documented.

Participants must not use restricted or unauthorised data. Any use of external datasets must comply with the applicable data-sharing and licensing requirements.

6. How should participants develop their prototypes?

Participants are expected to follow a structured prototype-development process:

• Step 1 – Understand the problem: Review the assigned problem statement, objectives, expected outcomes, and evaluation criteria.

• Step 2 – Assess the data: Examine the available CORS/GNSS datasets, coordinate reference systems, data quality, metadata, and coverage.

• Step 3 – Design the methodology: Select appropriate algorithms, processing workflows, models, geospatial tools, or software architectures.

• Step 4 – Develop the prototype: Implement the proposed solution using suitable programming languages, GNSS processing software, GIS tools, open-source libraries, or other relevant technologies.

• Step 5 – Validate and test: Evaluate the prototype using the designated reference data, validation procedures, or test datasets, wherever provided.

• Step 6 – Demonstrate the solution: Present the working prototype, results, technical report, limitations, and potential real-world applications.

The prototype should demonstrate technical feasibility, innovation, reproducibility, and practical relevance to the selected problem statement.

7. Will technical guidance be provided during prototype development?

The organisers will communicate the available technical guidance, reference materials, data documentation, and clarification mechanisms to registered participants. Technical orientation and problem-specific guidance may be arranged in consultation with relevant academic, industry, government, and knowledge partners.

Participants remain responsible for developing and testing their own solutions. The scope of mentoring and technical support will be communicated separately.

8. Will IITTNiF provide CPU/GPU resources or cloud-computing facilities?

Participants should plan to use their own computing resources, including laptops, workstations, CPU/GPU systems, or cloud platforms, unless the organisers explicitly announce access to shared computing facilities.

Participants may use suitable open-source and commercial tools, subject to their applicable licences. Solutions should preferably be designed to be reproducible, scalable, and deployable.

9. What should be included in the final prototype submission?

The final submission should include the following, as applicable to the selected problem statement:

• Working prototype, source code, executable application, or reproducible processing workflow.

• Processed outputs, derived datasets, maps, visualisations, or geospatial layers.

• Technical report describing the problem, methodology, architecture, implementation, results, and limitations.

• Validation results, accuracy metrics, test cases, and comparison with reference data, wherever applicable.

• README file containing installation instructions, dependencies, configuration, and steps to run the prototype.

• Short demonstration video, presentation, or live demonstration, if specified in the guidelines.

• References and declarations concerning third-party datasets, software, libraries, and other resources used.

The final submission checklist and file-size limits, if any, will be communicated before the submission deadline.

10. What output formats are acceptable?

Participants should use standard, interoperable formats appropriate to the selected problem statement. Depending on the solution, acceptable formats may include:

• GNSS/CORS observations: RINEX and other specified observation or positioning formats.

• Geospatial vector data: GeoJSON, Shapefile, or GeoPackage (GPKG).

• Raster data: GeoTIFF or Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG), where applicable.

• Tabular data: CSV or other specified structured formats.

• Software and models: Source code, documented repositories, model files, or reproducible deployment packages.

The definitive output formats, coordinate reference systems, naming conventions, and submission requirements will be specified in the technical guidelines for each problem statement.

11. How will the submitted prototypes be evaluated?

Prototypes will be evaluated by the designated jury or evaluation committee according to the published criteria. The assessment may consider:

• Technical correctness and solution quality.

• Accuracy, validation, and reliability.

• Innovation and originality.

• Effective use of CORS/GNSS data and geospatial technologies.

• Practical applicability, scalability, and deployment potential.

• Quality of documentation, reproducibility, and demonstration.

Problem-specific evaluation metrics and the final scoring rubric will be communicated to participants before the final evaluation.

12. What are the important dates and timelines?

The hackathon will follow the official schedule announced by IITTNiF. The indicative stages are:

1. Hackathon announcement and publication of problem statements.

2. Participant registration and team formation.

3. Registration closure and eligibility screening.

4. Orientation session and technical briefing.

5. Dataset sharing and access instructions.

6. Prototype development and technical support, where available.

7. Final prototype and documentation submission.

8. Jury evaluation and prototype demonstrations.

9. Announcement of results and awards, as applicable.

Exact dates, deadlines, and changes to the schedule will be communicated through the official hackathon channels. Participants are responsible for meeting the published deadlines.

13. Will an orientation session be conducted?

An orientation session will be organised for registered participants before or during the initial phase after the completion of Registration submission process. The session is intended to explain:

• The objectives and scope of the CORS Hackathon.

• The problem statements, expected deliverables, and evaluation criteria.

• CORS/GNSS datasets, access procedures, data formats, and usage conditions.

• Prototype development guidelines, submission requirements, and important deadlines.

• Available technical support and the process for raising clarifications.

The date, time, meeting link or venue, and participation instructions will be shared with eligible teams through official communication channels.

14. How can participants obtain clarifications during the hackathon?

For official clarifications concerning registration, eligibility, datasets, problem statements, prototype development, submission requirements, and timelines, participants should contact the hackathon coordination team through the official email address or contact details announced by IITTNiF.

Official email: geo.intel@iittnif.com 

Participants should mention their team name, registration ID (if available), selected problem statement, and a concise description of their query. For time-sensitive questions, participants should refer to the official announcements for any designated contact number or communication channel.

15. Where will official announcements and updates be published?

Official announcements, revised schedules, orientation details, dataset instructions, submission guidelines, and evaluation updates will be shared through the communication channels designated by IITTNiF. Participants should regularly check their registered email accounts and the official hackathon webpage or announcement channel.

Only information communicated through the designated official channels should be treated as authoritative.

16. Can participants use third-party software, open-source libraries, or AI tools?

Participants may use relevant open-source libraries, GNSS processing tools, GIS software, machine-learning frameworks, and other permitted technologies, subject to their licence terms and the hackathon rules.

Any significant use of third-party code, external models, AI-assisted tools, or pre-trained models should be appropriately acknowledged. Participants must ensure that their submissions comply with applicable intellectual property, data privacy, software licensing, and originality requirements.

17. What happens if a team encounters a technical issue or cannot access a dataset?

Teams should promptly report the issue through the designated official contact channel, providing their team name, registration ID, relevant problem statement, a description of the issue, and supporting screenshots or error messages where appropriate.

The coordination team will review the issue and communicate the available resolution or further instructions. Participants should not wait until the final submission deadline to report access or technical problems.

18. Can teams modify their problem statement or team composition after registration?

Any changes to the selected problem statement, team members, or team details will be subject to the hackathon rules and approval process, where applicable. Teams should contact the organisers before making changes and should not assume that modifications have been accepted until official confirmation is received.

19. What should participants do before submitting their final prototype?

Before submission, each team should verify that:

• The prototype addresses the selected problem statement.

• The code and processing workflow are documented and reproducible.

• Outputs follow the prescribed formats and coordinate reference systems.

• Results are supported by appropriate testing and validation.

• External datasets, software, and third-party contributions are acknowledged.

• All required reports, files, declarations, and demonstration materials are included.

• The complete submission is uploaded through the designated channel before the deadline.

Incomplete or late submissions will be handled according to the published hackathon rules.