Skip to content

Competition tracks

Choose a track, define your metric, and measure your system's efficiency against a published human baseline.

Track

Compute

Maximize useful inference work per watt of electrical power.

Human baseline

~20 W brain-equivalent inference

Competition goal

Maximum useful work per watt (tokens/joule, FLOPS/watt)

The Compute track challenges teams to build or benchmark AI systems that deliver brain-equivalent useful work at human-scale power budgets. This includes LLM inference density, tokens per joule, and FLOPS per watt on tasks with documented human performance baselines.

Example metrics

  • Tokens generated per joule on a fixed benchmark task
  • Useful inference throughput at ≤20 W system power
  • Energy per correct answer on reasoning benchmarks

Submissions must define 'useful work' with a reproducible benchmark and compare energy consumption against documented human cognitive performance on the same task class.

Track

Mobility

Match or exceed human fuel-to-motion efficiency.

Human baseline

~25% walking efficiency, ~100 W sustained

Competition goal

Fuel or electricity-to-distance ratio vs. human locomotion

The Mobility track evaluates vehicles and transport systems against human locomotion. Whether powered by gasoline, electricity, or hybrid systems, entries are scored on energy-to-distance ratios compared to a human walking or running the same route under controlled conditions.

Example metrics

  • Joules per kilometer (passenger-km normalized)
  • Well-to-wheel efficiency vs. human caloric cost
  • Energy per unit payload-distance

Measurements must account for vehicle mass, payload, terrain, and test conditions. Human baseline tests must be documented alongside machine tests.

Track

Open

Any system where efficiency can be compared to humans.

Human baseline

Domain-specific, peer-documented human baseline

Competition goal

Demonstrate human-competitive efficiency in a novel domain

The Open track welcomes creative entries from any domain — robotics, manufacturing, HVAC, prosthetics, drones, or novel systems — as long as you can define a rigorous human baseline and measure your system's mechanical energy efficiency against it.

Example metrics

  • Watts per unit of productive mechanical output
  • Energy per task completion vs. human operator
  • System efficiency ratio on a defined work unit

Open track entries require pre-approval of the proposed human baseline methodology. Contact organizers on Discord before investing in an unconventional comparison framework.

Open track entries require baseline methodology pre-approval. Review the rules, then connect with organizers on Discord before committing to an unconventional comparison.

Read the rules
Community

Join the community

Get track updates, discuss methodology, coordinate teams, and be first to know when submissions open.

discord.hmecomp.org