Artificial intelligence, programming, and real-world engineering challenges defined the two-day AI SkyRun Hackathon held at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
Six teams comprising 23 eleventh-grade students and recent school graduates from Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine developed autonomous navigation algorithms for aerial vehicles.
Over the course of two days, participants tackled engineering challenges and gained hands-on experience with modern AI tools:
🔹 combined 3D simulation in Blender with programming using Claude Code;
🔹 trained algorithms to account for an aircraft's mass, inertia, and limited thrust while navigating obstacles;
🔹 worked alongside university lecturers and industry mentors to develop their own AI solutions before even beginning their university studies.
🤝 The event was supported by the Abitly platform, DataRoot Labs, and the Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment.
Discover how the participants combined AI and physics through code in the video.