Exciting project pitches
Two of our colleagues attended the Eurodefense Hackathon (https://eurodefense.tech/) in Hamburg last Sunday and had the opportunity to view numerous project pitches. With a few exceptions, the pitched results were developed within 48 hours. Some projects are also continued from hackathon to hackathon, which was not the only reason they were impressive.
We were also able to gain a very good impression of the prevailing schools of thought. At the end of the event, the results were presented to a jury whose members came from many different military backgrounds.
Since the first prize in the hackathon was to test the developed idea at the Bundeswehr Innovation Centre, representatives of the German Armed Forces were naturally present.
Hackathons continue to be a abundant way of finding innovation and scouting for technology – they also provide an opportunity to make interesting contacts.
In our opinion, it is worthwhile to continue pursuing this type of innovation discovery and tech scouting. In addition, it allows you to make interesting contacts and gain many impressions and ideas. The next accessible hackathon will take place next month in Berlin.
Our impression of the pitched content
Several technological concepts from the fields of underwater, aerial and surface robotics were presented, with a focus on autonomous systems, sensor technology and networked operations.
One project presented a stationary underwater sensor system that uses acoustic sensors to monitor the environment, for example to protect maritime infrastructure. The sensors are used both for data acquisition and underwater communication before the results are transmitted to a buoy on the surface.
Another concept dealt with the coordinated control of drone swarms, in which a central unit (‘queen’) manages various roles in the swarm and coordinates the tasks of work and surveillance drones.
In addition, an extension of commercially available UAVs was presented, which upgrades them to autonomous interception drones through acoustic sensor technology.
Another project is researching large numbers of deployable, networked sensor nodes that could serve as a communication or detection network, for example to detect movement via connection fluctuations.
Finally, an ultra-light, electrically powered unmanned surface system was demonstrated, designed for high speeds, low signature and autonomous swarm operations. It serves as a platform for testing modern AI-supported maritime strategies and reconnaissance missions.