About the Hackathon
The Icebreaker's Defence Tech Hackathon is a catalyst to jumpstart a world-class ecosystem that builds sovereign capability in Canada. Our goal is to attract top talent, rapidly prototype real-world solutions, and bridge the gap between innovators and military end-users.
By forging new startups, building critical networks, and injecting a sense of urgency into defence innovation, this hackathon lays the foundation for Canada to compete and win on the global stage. We aim to advance the grassroots spirit of current and soon-to-be defence tech entrepreneurs.
Requirements
The Challenge
Arctic shipping is increasing, but surveillance capabilities are limited. Tools that can automatically flag potential dark ships help protect Canadian sovereignty and marine ecosystems while supporting legitimate maritime commerce and tourism.
Your challenge is to develop a creative solution to automate detection and classification of vessels in Canadian waters, and notify CAF of potential dark vessels that require follow up, advanced surveillance or interception.
Obstacles: Teams should consider major obstacles that satellite monitoring currently faces including the vastness of the Arctic EEZ, practical surveillance gaps including a lack of continuous monitoring, processing delays (time and latency play a critical factor), and environmental challenges such as ability to distinguish between ships and icebergs, work in darkness and function during severe weather.
Required Tools & API’s: Teams must integrate publicly available AIS and SAR data / imagery as well as satellite imagery from SkyWatch into their solution.
Prizes
Grand Prize - 1st Place
Runner Up - 2nd Place
Honourable Mention - 3rd Place
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
The Icebreaker
The Icebreaker
Shyan Royaie
NordSpace
James Slifierz
SkyWatch
Abdullah Snobar
DMZ
Paul Harris
CSMC - Canadian Space Mining Corporation
Judging Criteria
-
Impact & Value (5 points)
Consider whether the solution has real-world applicability, if it's viable for CAF, and if it has dual-use applications beyond defence. -
Innovation & Originality (5 points)
Consider the novelty of the approach, creative use of technology and resources, and unique positioning compared to existing solutions -
Technical Implementation (5 points)
Consider the technical sophistication of the solution, proper use of required tools and data sources, as well as the functionality and reliability of the solution -
Execution & Usability (5 points)
Consider the user experience and design of the solution, project completeness within the timeframe, and how effective the tool's ability is to automate alerts for users -
Presentation & Demo (5 points)
Evaluate the clarity of explanation and pitch, overall quality of the demonstration and the team's ability to effectively communicate the value of their solution.
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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