Students Build the Future of AI at Cal Poly Pomona's AI Fair & Hackathon At Cal Poly Pomona, students aren’t just exploring artificial intelligence, they’re building it. The 2026 AI Fair & Hackathon in April brought campus innovation to life, showcasing student creativity, industry collaboration, and the growing role of intelligent technologies in everyday life. Centered on the theme “Designing Tomorrow with AI, for Everyone,” students from across disciplines explored how AI is shaping the future through PolyX projects, club demonstrations, and hands-on competitions focused on accessibility, collaboration and real-world application. “The AI Fair is where students don’t just learn AI, they show what they’ve built,” said Alex Harwood, CPP’s associate vice president of advanced computing and chief technology officer. “From club projects to our AI Sandbox powering the SAAM robotics effort, and an exciting hackathon, it’s all student-driven, hands-on work that makes what’s possible immediately real.” Student clubs showcased projects ranging from an autonomous vehicle to a robot inspired by the one featured in the film “Interstellar.” Sign Bridge, developed by students from Team Voice&Hand, is a project that demonstrates AI’s potential to close real-world communication gaps. The working sign language interpreter translates hand movements into spoken words, addressing a critical need, as fewer than 1 percent of hearing individuals know sign language. Beyond the technical achievement, the team also explored usability improvements and conducted a market analysis, demonstrating the project’s potential real-world impact. The hackathon was a central feature of the event, challenging student teams to address real-world problems posed by industry partners alongside creative challenges developed by their peers. Judges evaluated projects based on creativity, impact, feasibility and storytelling. More than 300 students submitted challenge solutions for 60 industry professionals serving as judges for the competition. Student teams had two weeks to research, iterate and build a