Prepare yourselves, Ignition Community Conference (ICC) fans, for a glimpse into some of the unique aspects that set this automation event apart. Explore the creative journey that leads to ICC through this mini-blog series, offering rare insights into what it takes to make the memorable moments that you see onsite at the conference.
For those who know and love the Build-a-Thon, its current blockbuster status among integrators is no surprise. But are you familiar with its humble beginnings and hilarious history?
Take a stroll down memory lane with us. Discover how the Build-a-Thon started as a simple idea to showcase Ignition, and evolved into today’s legendary competition where integration teams face themed challenges with plentiful plot twists and custom-built hardware.
The Before Times: From A Spark To A Full-Blown Spectacle
Inductive Automation Chief Technology Evangelist Travis Cox recalls how the idea of the inaugural 2018 event "started as a different kind of session at ICC. When Ignition 8.0 came out, [we] wanted to show it off, but didn't want to do a [PowerPoint] presentation."
He and Chief Technology Architect Kevin McClusky sought something fun and educational to show the audience IA's approach to building and exporting resources. And, they thought it would be cool to build something from scratch live onstage.
Cool, indeed! But they still wanted to take the idea even further, and Travis reveals that’s when they arrived at: "Why not compete against each other and let the audience vote for the winner?"
Throw in a hilarious video of Travis and Kevin "training" for the competition (with sweatbands and coaching from IA Chief Strategy Officer Don Pearson) and an a cappella performance from IA Director of Sales Engineering Kent Melville, and the Build-a-Thon was born!
Speaking of training … Despite the impressive display of he and Travis "flexing our technical muscle" onstage, Kevin admits that wasn’t the point. "Ignition is at the forefront of technology in our field, and we like to demonstrate [its] newest features," he said.
The platform’s newest tools certainly took center stage when Travis won the first Build-a-Thon as they built a complete Ignition project in under one hour running a pre-release of Ignition 8 and using the Perspective Module (which was in beta testing at the time). But Kevin evened the score in 2019 by using resources from the newly-created Ignition Exchange to put together an amazing tag history playback set to music.
Build-a-Thon stage tech has continued to follow Ignition’s evolution path, putting Ignition Edge and Cloud Connector modules in the spotlight in their release years. And countless Ignition capabilities like OPC connections, MQTT, advanced database scripts, chat integration, and more are on full display each year onstage.
There’s No 'I' In Team, But There Is One In 'Integrator'
Like all good franchises, the Build-a-Thon has a bank of memorable moments that define it.
While a global pandemic put the Build-a-Thon on pause in 2020, the competition returned at ICC 2021 with an event-altering format shift. The 2021 Build-a-Thon was the first to feature Ignition community integrators competing.
Does This Jacket Come In Ignition Orange? Sure Does!
In their new role as coaches, Kevin and Travis guided teams from Premier Integrators Vertech and Flexware Innovation as they built dashboards and HMIs on-the-fly onstage in a duel of wits.
Even the music leveled up in 2021 with an original song from the IA Department of Funk featuring a fancy falsetto from Kent, who also served as MC for the event.
The gloves had been taken off. The famed orange jacket was put on (by winner Vertech, that is). And the Ignition community was hooked.
Spirit Of The Challenge
The bar was raised once again in 2022 when the competition became open to all Premier Integrators through a Build-a-Thon Challenge (later called the Elimination Challenge) prior to ICC. This timed challenge uses Ignition riddles and integration missions to test teams’ knowledge and skills — and determine who meets in the final face-off live onstage at ICC.
Roeslein & Associates, Inc. got into the flow and outlasted DMC, Inc. for the title in that year’s Build-a-Thon final, which was a water process challenge in which competitors had to build an Ignition project to control tanks, pumps, and valves.
Fitting for the numerical year, 2022 also brought a hardware upgrade as Opto 22 became the official provider of custom-built panels for the Build-a-Thon. So far, the automation adventures from Opto 22 have included water tanks, a Galton board, and a convenience store with a car wash. What tantalizing tech ideas will they hatch this year?
A Journey Through Themed Worlds
In the spirit of adventure, the IA team added yet another wrinkle to the Build-a-Thon in 2023 with the introduction of the "Lands of Ignition" fantasy theme for the Elimination Challenge.
Returning yearly since, the Dungeons & Dragons-esque Lands of Ignition features fantastical (and frustrating) automation directives from demon ducks, allegiance-shifting dragons, and other characters and environments to make coders so cantankerous that only Kent's witty words can cheer them up — as seen in this theme-inspired Tales of Tech music video.
Here’s a look at the Lands of Ignition era:
2023: The Galton Board Adventure
Barry-Wehmiller Design Group, Inc. rolled past Corso Systems by demonstrating data visualization skills to control a Plinko-style board using Ignition and Python scripts to program "Chaos Mode" for random ball drops and "Adventure Mode" for pre-programmed paths.
2024: The EPIC Convenience Store Conquest
DMC showed maximum effort building an empire of miniature convenience stores using slick UI to monitor data and control assets like an animated car wash (with bubble machines!) to best BIJC Limited. And another original song rhymed "The Build-a-Thon rocks" with "amazing socks."
2025: The Future Is (Almost) Here
In line with the tradition of yearly growth, the Student Build-a-Thon made its debut earlier this year, which challenged two teams of students to build an interface for an automated fast-food restaurant. Shout-out to winners "Clovis Crush" from Clovis Community College in Fresno, California!
While we don’t have a time machine (yet), we’re confident this year’s Build-a-Thon final between event veterans BW Design Group and first-time finalists SAFEgroup Automation will be epic. Now that you’re caught up, don't miss the premier integrator competition event in September at ICC. Get your ticket or Livestream Pass today on the ICC website.
