On 25 April, Kozminski University in Warsaw hosted the national final of the global Red Bull Basement programme. Out of 3,196 submissions from across Poland, the jury selected the 10 best projects, which were presented during the final. After a series of pitches and Q&A sessions, the winning project – SwarmHub – was announced. Its creators will present their solution during the global final in San Francisco, taking place on 1–4 June. The winning team will compete there for funding of USD 100,000 to further develop the project.
Red Bull Basement is a global programme addressed to young innovators who want to use artificial intelligence and new technologies to drive positive change – including in the economy, medicine, education and the social environment. The programme connects young creators with experts, mentors and resources needed to turn their ideas from concepts into real-life solutions.
During the national final at Kozminski University, the 10 best projects were evaluated by a jury composed of: Nikodem Rudziński – an internet creator specialising in technology, artificial intelligence and applications, as well as a lecturer; Kacper Szklarczyk – founder of the TeenCrunch Foundation; Prof. Franjo Mlinarič from Kozminski University; and Łukasz Serek – specialist representing AMD.
The winning project, SwarmHub, was developed by Michał Szajner and Piotr Piwowarczyk, students of the Warsaw University of Technology. Their solution is based on an intelligent plug-in that allows a single operator to control many drones at the same time. The system is designed to reduce both the cost and duration of such operations. It may be used primarily in the security sector, including searches for missing persons and support for rescue services.
“Our solution allows drones to communicate with one another and with the ground station, making it possible to control an entire swarm as one system,” says Piotr Piwowarczyk.
“We are active in the university drone club, so we have very close contact with this technology. That naturally led us to this idea,” adds Michał Szajner.
During the global final, the winning team from Poland will join participants from around the world and take part in an intensive programme of workshops and mentoring. The aim will be to prepare the finalists for the final pitch, during which they will present their projects on the international stage. The competition in the United States will also be covered on social media by Nikodem Rudziński.
The partners of the national Red Bull Basement final were Kozminski University, Kozminski Business Hub, AMD, Microsoft, Microsoft Copilot and Red Bull Ventures.
