BioHack 3D
Undergraduates & Postgraduates. Teams of 2–4 members; cross-institution teams are allowed.
An innovative hackathon at the frontier of AI, 3D printing, and biochip security. Participate in BioHack 3D and take on the challenge of designing AI-assisted authentication schemes for 3D-printed QR codes and melt-electrowritten fingerprints. Thanks to the stochastic nature of their fabrication, every print is physically unclonable, making them ideal for securing biochips and biomedical devices.
Your task:
- Work with datasets of fingerprints and QR codes provided by organizers
- Develop matching algorithms using minutiae point extraction, deep feature embeddings, and computer vision
- Propose robust authentication frameworks capable of resisting: counterfeiting, overbuilding, intellectual property theft and piracy, reverse engineering, and tampering
- Each team will compete from their own region — US/Canada teams compete within the US-Canada region only.
- Submissions must reflect your team's original creativity, insight, and technical effort.
- Finalist teams are responsible for arranging and covering their own transportation to the venue. Travel support will not be provided.
- Teams must submit a short technical report (template provided) and a 4–5 minute demo video.
- Preliminary teams must answer five open-ended questions covering: experience with 3D printing, AI/ML/DL expertise, and proposed attack/defense strategies.
- Strength of Authentication Frameworks – How well proposed schemes secure 3D-printed QR codes and melt-electrowritten fingerprints against counterfeiting, overbuilding, piracy, reverse engineering, and tampering.
- Stealth & Realism of Attack Strategies – Ingenuity in simulating potential threats and demonstrating adversarial compromise.
- AI Model Effectiveness – Performance of algorithms for minutiae extraction, matching, and verification (accuracy, precision, recall, robustness under noise/adversarial conditions).
- Novelty & Creativity – Originality in applying AI/ML/DL techniques to authentication and supply chain defense.
- Technical Report & Demo Video – Clarity, coherence, and justification of proposed methods supported by dataset evidence.
- Potential Real-World Impact – Practicality and scalability of solutions for securing future biochips and biomedical devices.
- Eligibility: Undergraduates & Postgraduates
- Team Size: 2–4 members (cross-institution teams allowed)
- Selection: Rolling basis via registration form (qualifying round)
- Registration Deadline: October 12, 2025
- Note: Each team competes within their own region (US & Canada only for this region).
Virtual Qualifying Round:
- Answer five open-ended questions demonstrating experience with 3D printing, AI/ML/DL expertise, and initial attack/defense ideas for biochip authentication.
- Top 5 teams advance to the in-person finals.
Final Round:
- Work with provided datasets of 3D-printed QR codes and melt-electrowritten fingerprints.
- Submit a short technical report (template provided by organizers).
- Submit a 4–5 minute demo video explaining your approach.
- Present live before a panel of global experts during CSAW'25.
