A British Army-backed hackathon will be hosted at the Defence BattleLab from 15-17 September, running in tandem with DSEI 2021 in London.
Technology and data experts from the British Army and Adarga are partnering on a 48-hour Defence BattleLab ‘Hackathon’ event to brainstorm future ‘battle winning’ digital tools. Teams will be tasked with developing software and algorithm-driven solutions that can address challenges faced by the Field Army.
Winning solutions will be further developed and tested in the field within three months, shifting the Army’s ability to procure technology solutions more quickly. Prototypes will be deployed on Exercise Rhino Charge in November.
British Army Head of Future Force Development Brig Matt Cansdale said: ‘The Hackathon is a really exciting venture, it fits with what we are trying to do in the wider Army, of moving to a more tech-led leap into the information age.
‘It shows the degree of critical thinking amongst our people who are ready to think outside the box and collaborate on work with much wider organisations.’ Solutions will be designed for a range of problems, including digitally understanding the routes used by military convoys, the impact of environmental factors on future missions and deployments and casualty extraction.
Adarga founder and CEO Robert Bassett Cross said the company was proud to support the approach, adding: ‘The Army’s rapid deployment of software to a real-world environment in line with realistic readiness timelines marks a hugely significant development that will shape the future of technology procurement for the whole of UK Defence.’