Theme & challenges
The 2026 AUTUMN Edition Theme
Autonomy on the Battlefield
The 2026 Autumn EUDIS Hackathon will focus on a strategic theme reflecting Europe’s most urgent defence and security priorities. Participants are invited to develop innovative solutions responding to the specific challenge they are most equipped to solve.
Overview of the theme
‘Autonomy on the Battlefield’, focusing on autonomous systems and robotics to gain an operational advantage in the air, on land, at sea and in space.
This theme contains a set of defined challenges that participants are invited to explore. These examples are indicative rather than exhaustive, and teams are encouraged to think creatively, propose dual-use innovations and contribute to practical, deployable solutions.
Challenge 1
GNSS-Denied Navigation
The 2026 autumn Edition Challenge
Autonomous systems that can navigate and operate effectively without GNSS, using onboard sensors and real-time perception. Develop or use data from quantum sensors (e.g. accelerometers, gravimeters and quantum imaging), which offer advantages such as navigation without GPS, the detection of underground structures, and enabling non-line-of-sight perception.
Challenge 2
Swarm Coordination
The 2026 autumn Edition Challenge
Develop a multi-agent drone or robot swarm that can collaborate to complete a mission (e.g. search and rescue, mapping or target tracking) with minimal human control and include optimisation using quantum simulation.
Challenge 3
Local Organiser–Defined Challenge
The 2026 AUTUMN Edition Challenge
In addition to the common challenges under the “Autonomy on the battlefield” theme, Local Organisers will have the possibility to define a third challenge tailored to their specific local or regional context. This challenge will be designed by each Local Organiser to reflect local defence ecosystems, industrial strengths, research capabilities, and operational realities.
By allowing Local Organisers to propose a dedicated challenge, the Hackathon encourages solutions that are closely aligned with regional needs and opportunities, while remaining connected to the overarching objective of advancing autonomous systems in defence. This approach supports greater relevance, stakeholder engagement, and the development of practical solutions that can be tested, demonstrated, or further developed at local level.