The EU is now opening registration for this autumn's EUDIS Defence Hackathon, which will be held simultaneously at eight locations across Europe. Two of the events will take place in the Nordic region, in Sweden and Norway, with a focus on autonomous systems for the defence sector.
The fifth edition of the EUDIS Defence Hackathon will take place on 15 to 17 October under the theme "Autonomy on the Battlefield", writes the European Commission's Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DEFIS). Participants will work on solutions for autonomous navigation in environments where GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) is unavailable, as well as coordination of autonomous swarms. In addition, each host organisation is allowed to formulate a local challenge.
In Sweden, the hackathon is organised by Linköping Science Park (southern Sweden) together with Norrköping Science Park, Defense Hub Sweden, LEAD, Linköping University and Saab. A total of 50 participants will be offered places in Linköping.
In Norway, the Norwegian edition is organised by Kjeller Innovasjon and Startuplab. There, the local challenge has been set as situational awareness in the Arctic. According to the Norwegian organiser's page, participants are to develop solutions that can strengthen the operational situational picture in the High North.
The two shared challenges concern autonomy. The first relates to systems that must be able to navigate and operate without GPS or other GNSS signals, using sensors and real-time situational awareness. The second concerns the coordination of multiple autonomous drones or missile systems. However, the exact description of the latter differs between the Swedish and Norwegian organisers' pages, while the European Commission broadly describes the area as autonomous swarms for purposes including reconnaissance and logistics.
According to EUDIS, the hackathons are funded through the European Defence Fund (EDF). This autumn's edition will be held simultaneously in Sweden, Norway, Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Latvia and Portugal. The European Commission is also encouraging Ukrainian citizens to take part as competitors, mentors or jury members.
Winning teams will advance to a two-month mentoring programme offering support in areas such as product development, business strategy and the defence market. In Linköping, the local organiser also states that the winning team will receive 10,000 euros and 40 hours of coaching as part of the EUDIS mentoring programme.
Since the EUDIS Defence Hackathon began, more than 2,300 people have taken part in 30 hackathons across Europe, according to the European Commission.