Open App Lab and Soramitsu Co., Ltd. jointly organize "Iroha Hackathon" on blockchain technology

Over the weekend of January 21-22, 2017 at the Aizu Keikodo (*1), the University of Aizu OpenAppLab (*2) and Soramitsu Co., Ltd. (*3) jointly organized the Iroha Hackaton (*4). Iroha is the first blockchain (*5) technology from Japan certified by the Hyperledger (*6) incubation project. The participants engaged in lively exchanges of opinions, deepening their understanding of the subject matter.

A team comprised mostly of UoA students, TeamUMC, was awarded the Grand Prize.
Grand Prize
Title: "Pure Ticket"
Team: TeamUMC
Members: Kento Kobayashi (4th-year undergraduate), Takanori Watanabe (2nd-year undergraduate), Motohiko Abe (4th-year undergraduate), and Mr. Ryu Okada
Overview: A ticket transaction app utilizing the Iroha blockchain
Introduction:
Pure Ticket is an application for buying and selling concert and live performance tickets that utilizes the Iroha blockchain. Conventional systems use middlemen to conduct transactions, but this application uses the Iroha blockchain to directly connect artists with people who want to go to their performances. The "Pure" in its name comes from how it gives artists and fans the ability to engage in pure transactions without middlemen. The app has a number of user-friendly features such as the ability to get push notifications containing the latest info from their favorite artists, receive concert announcements, buy tickets, chat with other users, and more.

• Push Notification Function: The push notification function, which provides users with the latest information from artists, gives users the feeling of being invited to concerts directly by the artists.
• Function for Assuring Users Can Attend Concerts: The inability of artists to supply enough tickets to meet demand is a vexing problem for fans. This app has a solution to that problem. Using the idea of crowdfunding, artists will solicit funding from users who want to attend their concert and then securing a venue commensurate to the amount of funding raised. This will assure that everyone who wants to go can do so.
• Prevention of Ticket Scalping (To Be Implemented): The app can also eliminate ticket scalping, which has been a major problem recently. By using the app, users will be able to go through the proper channels to transfer tickets to other users at retail value, or an appropriate price close to retail value. Because ticket transactions are recorded in the blockchain, users won't be able to scalp tickets at exorbitant prices.

Screenshot of Pure Ticket

Comments:

• Kento Kobayashi "I'm not very used to hackathons, so I was very happy to have received the grand prize at this blockchain hackathon. We focused on tickets, something that creates value out of nothing, because of its high affinity with blockchains technology. By doing this, we were able to create a win-win scenario for fans and artists alike.
• Motohiko Abe "Ideathons allowed me to share my expectations for blockchain technology with many different people. In addition, this hackathon has allowed me to confirm that core technological development is more than usable on a general, familiar level."
• Ryusen Watanabe "Before attacking the event, I saw blockchain technology as something very complicated, but being able to actually use it at this hackathon has shown me that it's a technology anyone can use. I also learned that there are far more ways it can be used than I had imagined. I also had a lot of fun developing this app based on the very interesting ideas Kobayashi-san proposed."

UoA student members of TeamUMC and Associate Professor Yasushi Fujii (Right *7)

This hackathon included participants from municipal offices and financial institutions, and featured active debates about how blockchains will be utilized moving forwards. This hackathon has helped the spread of blockchain technology in the Aizu Region.

*1　Aizu Keikodo

*2　OpenAppLab

*3　Soramitsu Co., Ltd.

*4　Iroha Previous example of a use of Iroha: Demonstration Experiment of Virtual Currency "Moe-ka" implemented at "Fukushima Moe Festival 2016 with Magical Fukushima"

*5　Blockchain: A distributed ledger technology for recording electronic assets

*6　Hyperledger: An open community of more than 30 leading IT companies around the world led by the Linux Foundation with the aim of establishing blockchain technologies

*7　Associate Prof. Yasushi FUJII