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Immediate Release

JAIC Partners With NSIN to Bring Hackathon to University of Michigan

The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) partnered with the National Security Innovation Network (NISN) Sept. 20 through 23 to host a hackathon at the University of Michigan School of Aeronautical Engineering aimed at using AI tools to evaluate maintenance data for military aircraft.

The three-day “Into the Dataverse” hackathon challenge brought together more than 50 hackers from academic institutions and commercial industry across the greater Detroit metro area to work alongside 30 Department of Defense (DoD) representatives to share ideas and explore AI solutions for predictive maintenance.

The hackathon challenged participants to examine two primary focus areas with data collection and user interface. Hackers were asked to present AI solutions for recognizing, classifying, and quantifying maintainer actions in the most intuitive and user-friendly manner for end users in the field.

A panel of judges evaluated the solutions based on the potential impact, validation, level of demonstration, and the viability of bringing the solution to market.

“It was an honor to serve alongside Rep. Slotkin and others as a judge at this event. This hackathon brought together a diverse group of incredibly talented and innovative people who, in a very short time, developed and presented creative solutions to a challenging problem,” Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, JAIC Director said. “The collaboration between the hackers and our military maintainers provided thought-provoking and meaningful ideas to advance AI-enabled solutions in the important field of predictive maintenance. It’s exactly the kind of relationship we want to foster across the entire JAIC.”

Judges were:

  • Myron Hohil, Senior Associate for AI, Weapons and Software Engineering Center, Combat Capabilities Development Command – Armaments Center (CCDC/AC)
  • Air Force Lt. Gen. John “Jack” Shanahan, Director, JAIC
  • Rep. Elissa Slotkin, U.S. House of Representatives
  • Vicki Selva, Deputy Director, Michigan Defense Center
  • Air Force Brig. Gen. Chad Raduege, Director of Cyberspace and Information Dominance, and Chief Information Officer, Air Combat Command
  • Paula Sorrell, Director, University of Michigan Growth Institute
  • Terry Wilson, Technical Director, Sensors Directorate, Air Force Research Lab

The winning teams received up to $15,000 to advance their concept in collaboration with NSIN, with three prizes awarded.

More information is available on Defense.gov

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About NSIN

NSIN, a DoD program office reporting to the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering through the Defense Innovation Unit, is headquartered in Arlington, Va., and has regional offices in 10 commercial innovation hubs throughout the United States. Through its headquarters, regional hubs, and embedded university partnerships, NSIN builds a national network of innovators and delivers programming that solves real-world, DoD problems through collaborative partnerships with non-traditional problem-solvers with the academic and early-stage venture communities.

About JAIC

The mission of the DoD JAIC is to accelerate the adoption and integration of AI within the U.S. military to achieve mission impact - at scale. The JAIC serves as the focal point for the execution of the DoD's AI Strategy that supports the U.S. National Defense Strategy (2018). The JAIC is guided by ethics and leadership as core foundations to its mission. The JAIC continues to attract the best and brightest people from across DoD, commercial industry, and academia to carry out its vision to transform the DoD through AI.