The latest articles on DEV Community by aravind lochan (@aravind_lochan). https://dev.to/aravind_lochan https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4206167%2F4deeb82b-ae5c-4715-85af-7063a5c78b9f.jpg https://dev.to/aravind_lochan en aravind lochan Sun, 25 Oct 2026 10:03:56 +0000 https://dev.to/aravind_lochan/flashcrowd-predict-and-protect-1p9p https://dev.to/aravind_lochan/flashcrowd-predict-and-protect-1p9p <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F617dfgnirznim66t9j2h.jpeg" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F617dfgnirznim66t9j2h.jpeg" alt=" " width="800" height="534"></a><em>This is a submission for the <a href="https://dev.to/mlh-hackathon">MLH x DEV Writing Challenge</a></em></p> <h2> What We Built </h2> <p>We Built FlashCrowd! When news breaks, millions open the same page at once. We see the crowd coming hours early, then decide how many servers to start, and where.</p> <h2> Demo </h2> <p><a href="https://18-132-176-215.sslip.io/arcade/story.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://18-132-176-215.sslip.io/arcade/story.html</a></p> <h2> Partner Technologies </h2> <p>We used three MLH partner technologies in FLASHCROWD: ElevenLabs, Google Gemini API, and Snowflake Cortex. </p> <p>Each partner technology supports a different part of the product: human interaction, intelligent explanation, and data/forecasting infrastructure.</p> <h2> Hackathon Experience </h2> <p>We attended OxHack'26. We started as a group of three and found our fourth teammate on the way to the event, which made the experience even more memorable.</p> <p>The atmosphere was energetic, welcoming, and highly collaborative. We met lot of builders, exchanged ideas, and learned from people with different technical backgrounds. What we will remember most is the entire experience: the people we met, the time that passed while building together, and the knowledge we gained throughout the event.</p> mlhacks devchallenge hackathon