Final delivery – Team 404: Building the Impossible (And What Actually Worked)

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Our mission is to connect reality in the real world to the reality in the digital world. Creating an entertainment platform building on creativity in all ways from the visual to the engineering focused requirement specification to using natural language. This approach unites all kinds of people in the game and removes most boundaries for expressing yourself creatively. It bridges age, cultures and location. It unifies the world in a time when we need it.

TL;DR: What We Set Out to Build

The Vision: Build in Minecraft using three completely different input methods:

  1. Physical blocks on a camera-monitored plate (build IRL → Minecraft)
  2. Voice commands through an AI contact center agent
  3. Web ordering via a beautiful Power Pages interface

The Reality: Two out of three ain’t bad. And what we did build? It’s pretty spectacular.

What Actually Works (And Why It Matters)

✅ The Physical Building Plate

Status: FULLY OPERATIONAL

  • micro:bit v1 PIR sensor detects motion → triggers Azure Function
  • Continuous webcam stream (Flask + OpenCV) captures snapshots
  • Stored in Azure Blob Storage with SAS tokens
  • GPT-4o Vision analyzes images for block detection
  • Custom .NET Dataverse plugin processes AI responses
  • Power Automate orchestrates the workflow
  • MCP server builds in Minecraft
  • Power Pages control center and shop

Why this is impressive: We bridged the physical and digital worlds using a device from 2015, cutting-edge AI vision, and enterprise cloud infrastructure.

✅ The Web Interface

Status: BEAUTIFUL AND FUNCTIONAL

  • Power Pages with minimalist design
  • Responsive across all devices (370px to 4K)
  • Pre-built structure templates (house, tower, castle, platform)
  • Real-time building via MCP API
  • Link Mobility SMS integration for ownership notifications
  • SharePoint-based event notification system

Why this is impressive: Low-code perfection. Template-based deployment. Setup time: 15-25 minutes.

❌ The Voice Channel

Status: PLANNED FOR V2 (wink wink)

What happened: We hit a roadblock with Copilot Studio voice features in our “Early Access” environment. The error: “Voice features are currently not available for your bot.”

Lesson learned: Sometimes “cutting edge” means you’re the one getting cut. We chose stability for demo day.

The good news: The architecture is ready. The contact center is configured. The agent is built. We just need the voice activation to work post-hackathon.

Redstone Realm: Business Solutions with AI

Our Pitch:

We built a hybrid solution that combines:

  • Power Platform (Power Pages, Power Automate, Dataverse, Copilot Studio)
  • Azure (Functions, Computer Vision, IoT Hub, Blob Storage, Automation Runbooks)
  • AI (GPT-4o Vision, Mistral-Small 2503, natural language processing)
  • Real-world hardware (micro:bit sensors, webcams, physical building plates)

This isn’t just cloud-native—it’s world-bridging. We took Microsoft 365 tools and made them control physical reality.

Measurable Impact:

  • Physical motion → Digital structure in <15 seconds
  • Multi-channel input (physical + web, voice planned)
  • Automated SMS notifications via Link Mobility
  • Event management system used by 2+ other teams

Innovation:

  • MCP Protocol (so new most devs haven’t heard of it)
  • GPT-4o Vision for spatial reasoning
  • Custom Dataverse plugin for AI response processing
  • Autonomous decision-making with safety controls

Data, AI & Analytics: Mining Data Diamonds

Our Pitch:

We built an AI-powered computer vision pipeline that:

  1. Analyzes images using GPT-4o Vision + Azure Custom Vision
  2. Detects blocks with confidence scoring (0.0-1.0)
  3. Maps coordinates from camera space to Minecraft world
  4. Processes AI responses via custom .NET Dataverse plugin
  5. Stores structured data in Dataverse for auditing and analysis

The Pipeline:

Webcam → Blob Storage → GPT-4o Vision → JSON Response → 
Custom Plugin → Dataverse → Power Automate → MCP Server → Minecraft

Why it’s sophisticated:

  • AI confidence thresholds (85%+ for autonomous action)
  • Batch processing with partial success handling
  • Comprehensive audit trail in Dataverse
  • Pattern recognition and learning capabilities
  • Image-to-block-to-coordinate transformation

Data Products:

  • Timestamped snapshots with metadata
  • Block detection records with confidence scores
  • Build history and analytics
  • AI decision audit logs

We didn’t just use AI—we built a production-ready AI pipeline with safety controls, monitoring, and transparency.

Low-Code: Power Platform Excellence

Our Pitch:

We built three complete low-code solutions without PCF components:

Solution 1: Minecraft Builder Interface

  • Power Pages responsive website
  • Copilot Studio AI chat interface
  • Power Automate orchestration flows
  • Dataverse for data management
  • Link Mobility custom connector (using paconn for advanced config)

Solution 2: Event Notification System

  • Power Pages registration
  • SharePoint agenda management
  • Power Automate scheduled checks (every minute)
  • Automatic email delivery
  • Smart “processed” logic (no code required)

Solution 3: “DO NOT PRESS” Governance App

  • Canvas App with intentional complexity
  • Power Automate integration
  • SharePoint logging
  • Azure Runbook orchestration
  • Automated email notifications

Why this demonstrates mastery:

  • Zero PCF components
  • Entirely drag-and-drop configuration
  • Custom connector creation with paconn
  • Policy templates for API manipulation
  • Template-based deployment (<30 min setup)
  • Reusable across scenarios

Code Connoisseur: When You Need Code

Our Pitch:

Sometimes low-code isn’t enough. When that happened, we wrote production-quality code:

Custom .NET Dataverse Plugin (C# .NET 4.6.2)

csharp
// ImageBlockUpdatePlugin - Processes AI vision responses
- Triggers on Dataverse Update event
- Deserializes GPT-4o Vision JSON
- Batch updates with partial success handling
- Comprehensive error logging
- 80%+ success rate in production

MCP Server (TypeScript/Node.js)

typescript
// Minecraft Builder MCP Server
- Full Model Context Protocol implementation
- RESTful API (10+ endpoints)
- Docker-ready deployment
- Open-sourced on GitHub
- Used by multiple teams

PowerShell Automation

powershell
# Azure DevOps CI/CD Pipeline
- Automated Minecraft plugin deployment
- mcrcon for graceful server management
- Scheduled tasks for continuous deployment
- Zero-downtime updates

micro:bit Python (MicroPython)

python
# Extreme memory optimization
- 16KB RAM constraint
- Manual garbage collection
- AT command serial communication
- Edge detection algorithms
- Rate limiting implementation

Why this is impressive:

– Full stack expertise (C#, TypeScript, Python, PowerShell)
– Production-ready error handling
– Performance optimization (memory, network, compute)
– Open source contribution (MCP server) – CI/CD automation

Digital Transformation: Measurable Impact

Our Pitch:

We didn’t just automate—we **transformed how people interact with digital spaces.

Problem: Building in Minecraft requires keyboard skills, technical knowledge, and time.

Solution: Three input channels, zero Minecraft knowledge required.

Impact 1: Physical Building Accessibility Before: Kids/non-gamers can’t participate After: Place physical blocks, see digital results instantly Measurable: Less than 15 second latency from motion to build

Impact 2: Event Automation Before: Manual email reminders, missed sessions After: 100% automated, 1440 checks per day, zero manual work Measurable: Used by 2+ other teams, 100% delivery success

Impact 3: Build Democratization Before: One person building, team watching After: Multiple inputs (physical + web), collaborative creation Measurable: Shared MCP API, multiple concurrent builders

Impact 4: Developer Efficiency Before: Manual plugin deployment, server downtime After: Full CI/CD with Azure DevOps, graceful shutdowns, player notifications Measurable: 15-minute deployment cycle, zero failed deployments

Business Value: Time saved: 90% reduction in manual notifications Accessibility: Non-technical users can build complex structures Collaboration: Multiple input channels, team building Developer productivity: Automated deployment pipelines

Real-world applicability: Architecture visualization (physical models to digital twins) Remote collaboration (distributed teams building together) Educational tools (teaching coding through visual building) Accessibility solutions (multiple interaction modes)

Building in Minecraft after recieving instructions from the web portal.

The Technical Achievement

What We Actually Built:

Core Stack:

  • 5 Azure services (Functions, Blob Storage, Computer Vision, IoT Hub, Automation)
  • 6 Power Platform components (Pages, Automate, Dataverse, Copilot Studio, Custom Connector, Plugin)
  • 4 custom code projects (.NET, TypeScript, Python, PowerShell)
  • 3 input channels (2 working, 1 in progress)
  • 2 complete plug-and-play solutions 1 open-source contribution (MCP server)

Integration Points: 

micro:bit → ESP8266 WiFi → Azure Function → Blob Storage → GPT-4o Vision → Custom Plugin → Dataverse → Power Automate → MCP Server → Minecraft Plugin → Minecraft World

Safety & Governance:

  • AI confidence thresholds
  • Action limits (10 blocks autonomous)
  • Audit trails (full Dataverse logging)
  • Kill switch (physical button override)
  • Rate limiting (5 req/sec)

What We Learned and why this matters

We didn’t build everything we planned. Server capacity ran out. Voice integration hit roadblocks. Some features had to wait for V2.

Three days. Five developers. Two working input channels. One spectacular demonstration of what happens when you combine:

  • Power Platform low-code simplicity
  • Azure cloud scalability
  • Custom code excellence
  • AI vision intelligence
  • Physical world interaction
  • Open source collaboration

This is hybrid development at its finest.

Wins:

✅ MCP Protocol works brilliantly for AI-to-game integration
✅ GPT-4o Vision can do spatial reasoning
✅ Power Platform scales from simple to complex
✅ micro:bit from 2015 can still be cutting-edge
✅ Open source collaboration speeds everyone up

Challenges:

⚠️ “Early Access” environments are risky for demos
⚠️ 16KB RAM requires extreme optimization
⚠️ Server capacity planning is critical
⚠️ Integration debugging takes longer than expected

Proud Moments:

🎉 First successful physical-to-digital build
🎉 MCP server used by other teams
🎉 AI confidence system working in production
🎉 Zero failed deployments
🎉 Other teams using our notification system

For the judges:

We know you’re evaluating across multiple categories. We’ve built solutions that demonstrate excellence in:

  • Redstone Realm: Multi-cloud Microsoft stack with AI
  • Data & AI: Production computer vision pipeline
  • Low-Code: Three template-ready solutions
  • Code Connoisseur: Four custom code projects
  • Digital Transformation: Measurable business impact

We didn’t finish everything. But what we finished? It’s exceptional 😉

The Team

404: Diamonds Not Found

We may not have found all the diamonds, but we built something that creates them automatically.

Morten, Erik, Esther, Per og Kariann.