Mission Autonomy Hackathon
Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Vanderbilt University will join forces to host a groundbreaking hackathon focused on autonomous systems. This immersive five-day event, running from October 6th to 10th aims to push the boundaries of autonomous technology by challenging participants to develop innovative solutions that span the entire deployment cycle - from pre-mission planning to post-mission analysis.
About The Event
This national event will bring together over 100 student participants from universities across the country. Working in teams of 6–7, students will engage in a multi-phase challenge that mirrors real-world autonomous operations, spanning pre-mission planning through post-mission analysis. The autonomous missions will be based on real-world scenarios including Maritime Infrastructure Protection, Drone Swarm Reconnaissance, Disaster Response Coordination, and Supply Chain Protection among others.
Guided by expert mentors from academia, industry, and defense, participants will:
- Develop prototypes using AWS cloud services, edge AI/ML, and advanced modeling and simulation tools.
- Address complex operational problems in areas such as edge AI/ML, global infrastructure integration, and rapid capability deployment.
- Compete for a grand prize, with evaluation criteria emphasizing technical innovation, integration strategy, and critical analysis.
Prize Categories - Grand Prize – $25,000 - Runner-Up – $15,000 - Best Use of AWS Technologies – $10,000 - Most Innovative Solution – $10,000 - Best Collaboration – $10,000
The Mission Autonomy Hackathon provides students with a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience, expand their technical skills, and contribute to the future of autonomy research and innovation. Complementing the hands-on work, the hackathon will feature keynotes from distinguished experts in government, academia, and AWS, providing students with valuable insights into the state of research and practice in autonomous systems.
Organization Information
Host Organization
Vanderbilt
Partner Organization
AWS
Support Contact
katie.dey@vanderbilt.edu
Event Stats
Live Scoreboard
Current standings of competing teams
Holiday Inn Vanderbilt
| Rank | Team | Project | Technical Solution - Novel Approaches 20.0% |
Technical Solution - Working Protoype/PoC 20.0% |
Technical Solution - Edge/Cloud Integration 10.0% |
Technical Solution - Testing & Validation 10.0% |
System Integration - Solution Boundaries & Interfaces 5.0% |
Integration Strategy - Partner Integration 5.0% |
System Integration - Security & Compliance 5.0% |
System Integration - Practical Feasibility 5.0% |
Critical Analysis and Presentation - Documentation & Constraints 5.0% |
Critical Analysis and Presentation - Scalability & Security 5.0% |
Critical Analysis and Presentation - Cost & Performance 5.0% |
Critical Analysis and Presentation - Lessons & Improvements 5.0% |
Weighted Score | Judges |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Operation Duloc | 8.6 | 9.0 | 8.4 | 7.4 | 8.0 | 7.4 | 6.4 | 8.2 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 8.16 | 5 |
| 2 |
|
HUSH-Mesh | 8.2 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 8.2 | 6.4 | 8.2 | 7.2 | 7.6 | 9.0 | 8.4 | 7.74 | 5 |
| 3 |
|
access911 | 6.4 | 8.6 | 5.4 | 7.6 | 7.4 | 4.8 | 5.8 | 7.8 | 6.4 | 7.0 | 7.4 | 6.6 | 6.96 | 5 |
| 4 |
|
- | 7.4 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 5.6 | 6.8 | 4.6 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 6.4 | 5.8 | 6.8 | 7.0 | 6.56 | 5 |
| 5 |
|
- | 6.8 | 6.2 | 6.6 | 5.6 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 5.86 | 5 |
| 6 |
|
- | 6.8 | 7.2 | 6.2 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 5.8 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 5.68 | 5 |
| 7 |
|
- | 5.8 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 6.2 | 6.8 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 6.6 | 5.40 | 5 |
| 8 |
|
D | 5.4 | 4.2 | 6.4 | 4.4 | 5.8 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.84 | 5 |
| 9 |
|
- | 6.2 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 3.88 | 5 |
Outstations
Use Case Categories
- Other
- Maritime Infrastructure Protection
- UAV/UGV Counter-UAS Operations
- Drone Swarm Reconnaissance
- Disaster Response Coordination
- Supply Chain Security
Judging Criteria
-
Technical Solution - Novel Approaches (20.0%)
- How does this solution differ from existing approaches in the market?
- What innovative techniques or combinations of services are being used?
- How creative is the problem-solving methodology?
- What unique value proposition does this technical approach offer?
-
Technical Solution - Working Protoype/PoC (20.0%)
- How complete is the working demonstration?
- What AWS services are being utilized and how effectively?
- Does the solution actually solve the intended problem?
- How well does the implementation match the proposed design?
-
Technical Solution - Edge/Cloud Integration (10.0%)
- How effectively does the solution leverage both edge and cloud computing?
- What is the data flow between edge devices and cloud services?
- How are latency and connectivity challenges addressed?
- What offline capabilities are implemented?
-
Technical Solution - Testing & Validation (10.0%)
- What testing methodologies were employed?
- How was the solution validated for reliability?
- What metrics were used to measure success?
- How comprehensive is the testing coverage?
-
System Integration - Solution Boundaries & Interfaces (5.0%)
- Are the system boundaries clearly defined?
- How well are the APIs and interfaces documented?
- What integration points have been identified?
- How modular is the solution?
-
Integration Strategy - Partner Integration (5.0%)
- How easily can partners integrate with the solution?
- What standards and protocols are supported?
- How flexible is the solution for different integration scenarios?
- What documentation exists for partner onboarding?
-
System Integration - Security & Compliance (5.0%)
- What security measures are implemented?
- How are compliance requirements addressed?
- What data protection mechanisms are in place?
- How are authentication and authorization handled?
-
System Integration - Practical Feasibility (5.0%)
- How realistic is the implementation timeline?
- What resources are required for deployment?
- Are there any major technical roadblocks?
- How maintainable is the solution?
-
Critical Analysis and Presentation - Documentation & Constraints (5.0%)
- How well are the assumptions documented?
- What limitations have been identified?
- How is technical debt being tracked?
- Are the constraints clearly explained?
-
Critical Analysis and Presentation - Scalability & Security (5.0%)
- How does the solution scale?
- What security considerations are addressed?
- How is performance maintained at scale?
- What are the infrastructure requirements?
-
Critical Analysis and Presentation - Cost & Performance (5.0%)
- What is the cost analysis for the solution?
- How are performance tradeoffs handled?
- What optimization strategies are proposed?
- How cost-effective is the solution?
-
Critical Analysis and Presentation - Lessons & Improvements (5.0%)
- What key learnings were captured?
- What future improvements are planned?
- How will the solution evolve?
- What challenges were encountered and how were they overcome?
Schedule Overview
View Full Schedule| Time | Event | Location | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1: Monday, October 6, 2025 | Holiday Inn Vanderbilt | ||
|
Registration and Check-In
Grab your badge and fuel up (light breakfast and beverages)
|
Centennial Ballroom | ||
| Welcome and Opening Remarks | Centennial Ballroom | Sandeep Neema (Vanderbilt University) and Michael Almeida (AWS) |
Hackathon Sponsors
All SponsorsAmazon Web Services
AWS Provides Cloud Services
Maximus
Maximus provides citizen services
Frequently Asked Questions
Resources & Links
https://maps.app.goo.gl/vwBW5v7jieHVKZCb8