FFA students in the 2026 VUT BoosterChallenge: From idea to prototype in one summer
This year’s BUT BoosterChallenge summer programme brought together 36 teams, two of which included students from the Faculty of Fine Arts. The programme culminated on 11 September with final project presentations and an evaluation at the BUT Rector’s Office.
BUT BoosterChallenge gives students from all faculties the opportunity to use the summer to develop their own idea and turn it into a functional prototype. High-quality projects receive financial support for further development. The programme is coordinated by the Faculty of Information Technology at BUT as part of BUT’s innovation ecosystem, contriBUTe.
FFA students Daniel Gális and David Hloušek developed Rink – a pocket-sized device that allows friends to share everyday rituals such as yoga, meditation or running, even when they live in different places. Once a ritual is completed, the user confirms it by turning a control dial, while the other members of the group receive a gentle vibration and see the confirmation on an LED ring, with each group member represented by their own colour. The device also functions as a habit tracker, showing how long the group has maintained their rituals. It communicates wirelessly – over short distances directly between devices, and over longer distances via Wi-Fi.
FFA students Anežka Jílková, Viktorie Zajícová and Patrik Fejkl, together with FIT student Jakub Pokorný, worked on the original video game Ticket Machine. The game combines elements of a puzzle game, escape room and atmospheric exploration. The player finds themselves in an ambiguous space inspired by a metro system and navigates it using a cryptic language. No one explains the rules of the world or the meaning behind it – the player gradually uncovers them on their own by solving puzzles and interacting with the environment.
Congratulations to both winning teams!
If you are working on your own project or would like to join a team from another faculty as an artist or designer, keep an eye on the BoosterChallenge website – applications for the next edition are usually submitted in spring, while networking opportunities for finding team members take place before the June deadline.
| Author | Mgr. Tímea Vitázková |
|---|---|
| Published | |
| Short URL | https://www.favu.vut.cz/en//f26745/d366417 |