📋 Event Description
Two days, one overnight build, and real smart glasses on your face. Join us at Cornell Tech with MicroLumin, the Shenzhen team behind the CES 2026 award-winning M6 display glasses, and build the first wave of apps for waveguide display glasses.
This is a hands-on hardware hackathon for engineers and builders who would rather ship on real devices than talk about the future of spatial computing.
Problem Statement
Smart glasses are finally light enough to wear all day. What's missing is software that feels natural to use. Your challenge is to build anthropocentric interfaces: apps that start from how people see, move, talk and pay attention, not from how phones work. These should be things you'd actually keep on your face.
The Challenge Theme
Heads-up assistants that show the right info at the right momentLive captioning, translation and conversation memoryNavigation and wayfinding without looking down at a phoneAccessibility for low-vision, hard-of-hearing and neurodivergent usersHands-free workflows for field techs, clinicians, chefs and mechanicsNew input patterns: voice, ring, head motion and glanceable UIMaking the glasses useful with AI on what the camera sees
What to Expect
MicroLumin AR glasses handed out to teams for the buildSDK access and docs shared before the event so you can start earlyA workshop from Dr. Zhaoen Dai, MicroLumin's founder and CEO, on AR and where the AI industry is headingAn overnight build from Friday evening into SaturdayTeams of up to 4, or match with teammates at kickoffFood, caffeine and other builders who care about hardwareLive demos on the device, worn by your team, in front of the judges
Schedule
Friday, Nov 20
5:30 PM: Doors open, check-in, dinner6:15 PM: Welcome and kickoff with the organizers, Cornell Tech and MicroLumin6:35 PM: Challenge brief and a walkthrough of the MicroLumin SDK7:00 PM: Team formation: 30-second idea pitches, then a mixer to find teammates7:45 PM: Teams locked, hardware handed out, devices set up8:00 PM: Hacking begins9:00 PM: SDK help desk and mentor office hours open11:30 PM: Late-night snacks
Overnight
12:00 AM to 8:00 AM: Overnight build, with a quiet rest area for anyone who needs a napAll night: A MicroLumin engineer is online for live SDK support (it's afternoon in Shenzhen)
Saturday, Nov 21
8:00 AM: Breakfast and coffee9:00 AM: Morning check-in: each team shares where they are and what's blocking them10:00 AM: Workshop with Dr. Zhaoen Dai, MicroLumin's founder and CEO, on designing for AR and waveguide displays11:00 AM: Workshop: [Topic and speaker TBD]12:30 PM: Lunch2:00 PM: Code freeze, project submissions due2:15 PM: Demo expo: judges go table to table and teams demo on the device3:45 PM: Finalists announced4:00 PM: Finalists demo on stage: 3 minutes, worn by the team, plus 2 minutes of Q&A4:45 PM: Talk by Dr. Dai on AR and where the AI industry is heading, while judges deliberate5:30 PM: Awards6:00 PM: Hardware return and wrap
Prizes
TBD
Judges
TBD
Who Should Attend
Hardware FoundersEngineers at companies like Meta, Amazon and Google who want to build on AR hardwareiOS and Android developersHardware tinkerers, embedded and computer vision engineersProduct designers interested in spatial and glanceable UI
Spots are limited and approval is required. You don't need prior AR experience, just the drive to build something real overnight.
Sponsors
MicroLumin: Shenzhen-based maker of AR display glasses, including the M6 series and several CES 2026 award winners. MicroLumin is providing the hardware and SDK support for teams.
Hosts
Somya Gupta: The face of the NYC startup ecosystem.Stephen Jin: Johnson MBA '27 at Cornell, board director at Gona Semiconductor, Angel InvestingWaftech - Founded in 2007 and based in Penang, Malaysia, Waftech designs and manufactures wafer-handling and automation equipment for semiconductor manufacturing. Waftech delivers end-to-end, from R&D and design through manufacturing and after-sales service, and is ISO 9001:2015 certified. Waftech is a subsidiary of Gona Semiconductor, a Shanghai-headquartered equipment group.Olivia Iarmak: AI Quality Ops Lead at Meta Reality Labs working on Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, and co-founder of HQ Labs.Vishal Kharker: Lead Product Manager at RTX Fintech & Research, previously at Barclays and RBC Capital Markets.
Info site: https://worn-hacks.com
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