Robot genies meet in Zwentendorf: creative solutions wanted!

Robot genies meet in Zwentendorf: creative solutions wanted!

Nie in Betrieb gegangenes AKW Zwentendorf, Österreich - What's in Ried? The 5th European Robotics Hackathon (Enrich) celebrated its premiere on August 11, 2025 in the Nuclear Village in Austria. Over 120 robotics experts from all over Europe and Canada came together to compete against each other in an exciting environment. The event not only promises competition and innovation, but also creates a creative space for problem solutions very different. Teams from schools, universities and industry took part and showed their skills in three categories: "Search & Rescue", "Mapping" and "Manipulation".

But the hackathon was anything but easy. The challenges ranged from tight curves and narrow rooms to steep stairs to hardly any enlightened areas, which were difficulty for both humans and machines. The task was particularly tricky to detect real radioactive sources made available by the military. Around 40 cameras monitored the action in the hackathon area throughout the event and ensured that everything remained under control.

technology meets creativity

The teams rely on creative solutions. For example, the Konar team reported problems with their robot "Nomad", which had difficulties due to unstable communication. During the nights during the hackathon, the team CJT-Robotics tirelessly rackled to solve network problems and was rewarded for their efforts with the "Young Scientist Award". Innovative approaches also found space: Team Husarion decided to use fiber optic cables to ensure stable communication.

dr. Frank E. Schneider, part of the jury team, which consists of renowned radiation and robotic experts, including Dr. Michael Gustmann, noticed many interesting innovations that were observed despite the challenges of switching to Ros 2. The collegial exchange and the cooperation between the teams clearly showed that the robotics scene is alive and future-oriented.

The way forward

The preparations for Enrich 2027 have already started and it will be exciting to see which new jumps in innovation will be achieved by then. This event has once again shown how important the combination of technology and creativity in robotics is. Techniques for detection and navigation, as used by the CBRNE detection robots, give a look at where the journey is going. The interaction of sensor data and digital geodate banks is crucial in order to better recognize and locate potential dangers. This is not only important for research purposes, but also has direct applications for emergency services.

The future of robotics is promising and the European Robotics Hackathon has impressively demonstrated this. It remains to be seen which creative and technical solutions will be waiting for next time.