The winner of the DEFINE Hackathon Powered by SAKO is Team 021

The DEFINE Hackathon Powered by Sako was held at the DEFINE Innovation Hub from May 22 to 24, 2025. As with last autumn’s edition, the hackathon was organized in collaboration with Ultrahack. Dozens of participants took part in the event, forming a total of 14 teams. The teams received support and guidance from mentors representing organizations such as Sako and the Finnish Defence Research Agency. Students from Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK), who have been interning at the DEFINE Innovation Hub since early spring 2025, also played a key role in supporting the event. In addition, security students from Hyria Vocational School, under the supervision of their teacher, helped ensure the safety and smooth operation of the event.

The challenge topics of the DEFINE Hackathon Powered by Sako were:

• Intelligent Firepower
• Identify and Observe
• Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Autonomic Systems
• AI and Machine Learning for Threat Detection

The prize pool, totaling €7,000, was sponsored by Sako Oy and CoE Group. One team took first place, while the second place was shared between two teams. The prizes were distributed as follows:

• Team 021: Henri Nuortila, Andrei Lupica, and Santeri Tirkkonen – Real-time downrange wind estimates for more accurate long-range shots. Prize: €4,000
• Team Turku UAS: Jan Tilles, Ron Rönnqvist, Jukka Pelto-aho, and Teemu Tiainen – Hackeye – AI-enhanced aiming system. Low-cost solution for semi-autonomous firing systems. Prize: €1,500
• Team Kova Robotics: Serdar Abali, Lauri Nurmi, and Benoit Schneider – Autonomous unmanned base with intelligent firepower attachments. Prize: €1,500

In addition to the monetary prize, the winning Team 021 will be interviewed by Sako Oy for a potential summer job. They will also receive a guided tour of Sako’s factory and museum, along with an in-depth discussion with Sako experts about the future of rifle systems. The jury also awarded honorary mentions to the teams DroneFinder, Hiihtoliitto, and DroneFence for their notable contributions.

Photos from the event. Feel free to use them—just remember to credit the photographer, Juho Haavisto.