Details
Welcome to Action Space. Boston's first anti-drone swarm defense hackathon. Hands-on weekend. Claude, computers, and hardware that actually flies.
The theme is counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS): the policies and hardware that keep hostile drones off a site. Keep a swarm off a mock commercial site, a data center, a campus, whatever the high-value target is this round. Detect. Track. Defeat. Nothing reaches the perimeter.
You're not locked into one drone punching another drone. Build a defender swarm. Run tag-along interceptors with nets. Mix policy, multi-agent, and physical catch. Whatever holds the site.
Day one: Isaac Lab, PPO, multi-agent in sim. Day two: each team gets a chance to run on multiple drones. Nobody owns a drone all weekend. Sim first.
Your mission: have fun. Build something awesome (or break it in spectacular fashion). Deny the swarm. Protect the site.
18+ only. Teams should have at least one person who knows software, hardware, or robotics so things keep running. We'll try to pair people with NVIDIA GPUs with people who don't. Seats are limited because of hardware. Rolling applications, final approvals by Oct 17.
We'll have more than $1,000 in prizes, and all food is included. Grand prize gets announced later.
Main goal isn't just competition. It's growing the local robotics and physical AI community, and getting this work outside of sketches.
Created by
Hosted in
Boston, MA
Hardware
Day one is Isaac Lab for everyone. Day two, teams get to use the drones. Approximate and subject to change.
Tello drones
Ten Tello drones. Teams get to use them on day two, on multiple drones, in a shared window. Not one drone parked at your table all weekend.
Intel RealSense
We have an Intel RealSense camera for depth and tracking work.
Isaac Lab
Sim first. PPO, multi-agent, detect-track-defeat loops. All teams train here before they fly.
Nets + tag-along
Don't want pure drone-on-drone? Fine. Tag-along teams with nets. Escort the intercept. Catch the inbound before it hits the base.
GPUs + pairing
Bring a laptop. We'll try to pair people with NVIDIA GPUs with people who don't. If a sponsor wants to help with compute, we'd love that.
Schedule
Subject to change.
Saturday, Oct 24
Opening ceremony
Isaac Lab lessons + PPO
Setup, Isaac Lab, and PPO agent work, all in the same block. Train defender policies in sim.
Lunch and office hours
Form teams. Pair GPU / no-GPU. Mentors available.
Hacking continues
Keep iterating in Isaac Lab. All hacking stays in sim today.
Dinner
Hacking ends for the day
Sunday, Oct 25
Doors open
Live C-UAS window
Swarm inbound on a mock commercial site. Teams run on multiple drones. Nets, defender drones, mixed stacks. Your call.
Lunch
Live C-UAS window
Back on multiple drones after lunch. Deny the inbound.
Demos and judging
Judges go table to table.
Final submissions
GitHub, project docs, and a one-minute video.
Awards
That's a wrap
Judges
Judges will be announced soon.
To be announced
Judge
Names and bios drop here when the panel is locked.
To be announced
Judge
Names and bios drop here when the panel is locked.
To be announced
Judge
Names and bios drop here when the panel is locked.
Apply
Registration is on Luma. Approval required. 18+ only. Final approvals by Oct 17.
Sponsors
Looking for partners on hardware, compute, food, prizes, and venue. Compute especially. We'll pair NVIDIA GPU laptops with teams that don't have one, and we'd love help covering the rest. Want in? Open the sponsorship tab and send an offer. It emails jaromero3rd@gmail.com.
Creator
Jaime A. Romero
Creator · MSE Robotics, University of Pennsylvania GRASP Lab
Graduate student at Penn GRASP, Master's in Robotics (expected May 2027). ML engineer on WHOOP's Sensor Intelligence team. Previously built autonomous-vehicle fleet systems at General Motors. B.S. Mechanical Engineering with a Robotics minor, Carnegie Mellon University. Work spans deep RL, machine perception, and autonomous drones, including PPO drone racing and Isaac Lab sim-to-real deployment.
FAQ
What is Action Space?
Boston's first anti-drone swarm defense hackathon. Train in Isaac Lab, then run on multiple drones. Hold a mock commercial site against a swarm.
What is C-UAS?
Counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS): the policies and hardware that keep hostile drones off a site. Detect, track, defeat. Not a 1v1 dogfight.
Do we have to use drones to stop drones?
No. Defender swarms, tag-along interceptors with nets, mixed stacks. If it keeps the inbound off the base, it's in.
Does every team get a drone?
No. Day one is Isaac Lab for everyone. Day two, each team gets a chance to run on multiple drones. Ten Tello drones, shared.
Who can apply?
18+. Teams of four. At least one person who knows software, hardware, or robotics. Hardware seats are limited, so applications are reviewed on a rolling basis with final approvals by Oct 17. We'll try to pair people with NVIDIA GPUs with people who don't.
What do we get?
Isaac Lab lessons (PPO, multi-agent), ten Tello drones on day two, an Intel RealSense camera, nets if that's your defeat method, food, and more than $1,000 in prizes. Grand prize gets announced later.
How do I sign up?
Use the Apply section or go straight to luma.com/xl77cp4v. Approval required.
How do I sponsor?
Open the sponsorship page and send an offer. Compute help especially welcome. It emails jaromero3rd@gmail.com.
What if I still have questions?
Email jaromero3rd@gmail.com.