BMW funded a Hackathon, a contest in which ideas about the electric vehicles and related problems went head to head to see which is best

And now we finally have winners. For their brilliant innovation the winners got 3000 USD spread across seven different categories.

One of the more pressing matters that found a solution at this event involves electric vehicles being parked at charging station for extended periods of time. When another car might need just a quick charge to get home, the station would be blocked.

The solution came in the form of a smartphone app which allows drivers to send an anonymous message to the driver currently charging his car and request access to the charging station. Of course, after the quick charge, they would hook up the first car again.

It is an elegant solution for using the scarce charging stations efficiently. The only problem with this solution is that it is based on an honesty system. And the human element in that system might prove to be faulty.