A Physical AI Hackathon, Organized by VLGE

Open World
Hackathon

One weekend. Teams build agents that move, grasp, and reason in the real world , on a proprietary dataset by VLGE.

Date
Jul 25, 2026
Location
San Francisco
Tracks
03
Prize Pool
$10,000
Physical AI·Open World·Vision-Language-Action·Embodied Agents·Spatial Intelligence·Robotics·Physical AI·Open World·Vision-Language-Action·Embodied Agents·Spatial Intelligence·Robotics·
01 / About

Physical AI is bottlenecked by data. We're opening it up.

The Open World Hackathon brings builders together for one weekend to push the frontier of embodied intelligence , agents that perceive, navigate, and act in unstructured environments.

Every team builds on a proprietary human-behavioral dataset provided by VLGE , real worlds, real people, real behavior. It's a working demonstration of what grounded, transparent training data unlocks.

VLGE is building the human behavioral data layer for physical AI. This event is our bet on transparency: shared data, open tracks, and models judged on how well they understand the real world.

02 / Tracks

Three tracks.
$10,000 worth in prizes.

01Theme 1

Open Narrative

Build real-world scenarios and puzzle experiences inside VLGE. Capture real environments with 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) for photoreal worlds, or build faster using VLGE's growing library of 3D templates. Whether it's an escape room, a navigation challenge, or a recreation of a real-life situation, create an experience that feels believable, immersive, and fun to solve.

02Theme 2

VLGE Together

Create multiplayer worlds that bring people together. Build experiences where users collaborate, compete, explore, or simply hang out in real time. From co-op challenges and party games to social hubs and live events, the best worlds will make people want to come back and play together.

03Theme 3

Free Track

Got an idea that doesn't fit anywhere else? This is your chance to build it. Use any tools, data, or features available in VLGE, from world generation and behavioral telemetry to spatial capture and templates. Surprise us with something original that pushes the platform further than we thought possible.

03 / Schedule

July 25 , one build day.

09:00 – 09:30
Arrival & check-in
Check-in, team formation, and networking.
09:30 – 10:00
Opening remarks
Evelyn Mora (CEO, VLGE). Welcome, resources, judging criteria, and logistics.
10:00 – 10:20
Track presentations
Roland Graser. Challenge tracks, problem statements, and resources.
10:20 – 12:30
Building session I
Teams select tracks, define ideas, and start building. Mentors available.
12:30 – 13:15
Panel discussion
The future of physical AI: key innovations, challenges, and opportunities.
13:15 – 13:45
Lunch break
Lunch and networking.
13:45 – 16:30
Building session II
Continue building, testing, and mentor feedback.
16:30 – 17:00
Progress checkpoint
Finalize scope and prepare demos.
17:00 – 18:00
Final build & submission
Complete projects and submit on the platform.
18:00 – 18:30
Judge arrival & review
Judges review submissions and prepare for demos.
18:30 – 19:15
Final demos & judging
Shortlisted teams present and answer questions.
19:15 – 19:45
Judge deliberation
Private deliberation and selection.
19:45 – 20:15
Awards ceremony
Winners announced. $10,000 in prizes.
20:15 →
Networking
Connect with teams, judges, researchers, and founders.
Physical AI Hackathon schedule poster for Saturday, July 25, 2026 in San Francisco
04 / Judges

Judged by operators from the frontier.

Evelyn Mora
Evelyn Mora
CEO & Cofounder, VLGE
Judge , 01
Harsh Sharma
Harsh Sharma
Computer Vision, NVIDIA
Judge , 02
Paige Bailey
Paige Bailey
DevX Eng. Lead, DeepMind
Judge , 03
Ignacio López-Francos
Ignacio López-Francos
AI Research Lead, NASA
Judge , 04
05 / Organized by
VLGE

The human behavioral data layer powering the post-training supply chain for physical AI. Real worlds, real people, real behavior.

Come build the open world.
RSVP on Luma →
© 2026 VLGEOpen World Hackathon · San Francisco · Jul 25