3 days, 30 teams and top speakers in the field of technology: how the first international Drone Hackathon in Ukraine went
On August 28, a three-day military-tech Drone Hackathon ended in Kyiv. It gathered 150 participants and top Ukrainian and international technology experts. The event's main goal is to find new digital solutions that will help raise the development of drone production and technical support in Ukraine to a high level.
"The development of military-tech is our priority for the coming years. The production of our own drones is one of the directions that we plan to develop actively. At our Drone Hackathon, we gathered great specialists working on new digital solutions for our military. The best ideas that appeared at this hackathon will be implemented and will be able to raise the level of Ukrainian military aerial intelligence," said Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov in his address to the participants.
Over three days, 30 teams consisting of design engineers, drone operators, and programmers worked on developing their own ideas.
"The production and support of drones in Ukraine will help reduce the losses of our boys at the front. High-quality and functional drones can be created by Ukrainians themselves without buying this equipment abroad. Drones are very often lost in the war, so it is important to establish our own production that will work for victory," Max Polyakov, an entrepreneur in the fields of space technology and IT, shared with the participants.
Leading IT specialists, military, economists, and businessmen joined the Drone Hackathon. Among them are representatives of Antonov State Enterprise, Ukroboronprom DC, Palantir company, Aerorozvidka NGO and others. In the role of mentors, speakers and jury, they worked with the participants on developing the proposed solutions and pushed to scale the ideas that will work for victory in the war with Russia.
"I am convinced that there is a great potential for public-private partnership in the field of UAVs. Ukroboronprom and the General Staff of the Armed Forces have already created a program for the development of unmanned systems for the security and defense forces. It answers the question of how many and what kind of drones the Ukrainian army needs, and what tactical and technical characteristics UAVs should have. Our task, for now, is to implement this program, to promote the emergence of new in-house development of unmanned aerial vehicles, the production of which should become mass," said General Director of Ukroboronprom Yuriy Gusev.
The solutions proposed by the teams related to the operation of drones, their interaction, recognition and other functions important for the detection and destruction of the enemy.
According to the pitching results of all participants, 6 teams won. Already this week, they will go to work on their ideas in the accelerator. The best business and technology mentors will be waiting for them there. In the accelerator, participants will work in three possible directions, depending on the maturity of their team and its idea. It can be the creation of a prototype of the product for its further testing, or the entry into a small or industrial production series.
We will remind you that at the beginning of July, the Ministry of Digital and Fundraising Platform UNITED24 launched the "Army of Drones" project. The partner of this project is the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the State Special Forces. This is a comprehensive programme, within the framework of which the system procurement of drones, their repair, prompt replacement, pilot training, and training for the R&D industry will be carried out. UAVs have already been contracted for almost UAH 948 million. These are 877 drones that will strengthen the Ukrainian army. The following UAVs have already been purchased: UkrJet, Skyeton, Fly Eye, WARMATE, SKIF, DJI Matrice RTK 300, DJI Mavic 3, Autel evo 2. The first UAVs purchased with this money have already arrived at the front.
The Ministry of Digitization implements the Drone Hackathon together with the Ukrainian Start-Up Fund, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, DK "Ukroboronprom" and IDI Camp.
