Defense Technology Simulations — Atlantia STEM Olympiad

Scenario & Scope

Simulate and Analyze Defense Technology

The Defense Technology Simulations category challenges students to model, simulate and analyze critical technologies used in security and defense within a computer environment.

Teams choose a domain such as radar detection, electronic warfare, cybersecurity, missile defense or tactical communications and develop a computer-based simulation environment. Projects must be based on real-world scenarios and produce measurable results.

Evaluation considers the technical depth of the simulation, innovative approach, quality of data analysis and the impact of the presentation as a whole. The goal is to guide young people interested in defense engineering toward a path of research and innovation.

Project Areas

Simulation Topics

Teams can develop their projects by selecting one of the areas below. Each area covers different engineering disciplines.

Air Defense Systems

Simulation scenarios on air defense radars, early warning systems and aerial threat detection. Target tracking, threat classification and response algorithms.

Radar & Sensor Fusion

Projects on merging data from different sensor types, increasing target detection probability and reducing false alarm rates.

Cyber Defense Simulation

Projects on network security, intrusion detection systems (IDS), firewall simulation and critical infrastructure protection scenarios.

Missile Defense Models

Interception scenarios against ballistic and cruise missiles, trajectory calculations, engagement window analysis and multi-layered defense models.

Tactical Communications

Secure communication protocols, frequency management, signal jamming/anti-jamming and field communication network design simulations.

Electronic Warfare (EW)

Signal analysis, frequency jamming and countermeasure simulations in electronic attack, electronic protection and electronic support areas.

Participation Rules

Project Requirements

2–4 People Team Size

Required Working Simulation

Max. 20 Pages Technical Report

7 Minutes Presentation Time

Simulation Tool

MATLAB, Python, NetLogo, AnyLogic or any similar simulation environment may be used. Open source is preferred but not mandatory.

Originality & Ethics

Projects must be entirely original; plagiarism results in disqualification. No real weapon designs or harmful applications are permitted.

Data & Scenarios

Scenarios used in simulation must be realistic but fictional. Open source data or team-generated synthetic datasets should be used.

Competition Process

Competition Stages

Teams go through a five-stage evaluation process with their projects. Each stage tests different dimensions of the project.

Stage 1

Pre-registration

Project Proposal Submission

Teams submit a proposal document (2-3 pages) summarizing their chosen defense technology area, simulation tool and overall project scope.

Stage 2

Development

Simulation Development

Teams develop the simulation environment, code scenarios and run test simulations. Mentor support is provided at this stage.

Stage 3

Report Submission

Technical Report & Documentation

A max. 20-page technical report detailing the simulation's technical infrastructure, parameters, algorithms used and results obtained is submitted.

Stage 4

Finals Day

Live Demo & Presentation

Teams run the simulation live before the jury, analyze results and deliver a 7-minute presentation followed by 3 minutes of Q&A.

Stage 5

Evaluation & Awards

The jury scores all criteria to create rankings. Gold, Silver and Bronze medals along with special awards are distributed.

Scoring

Evaluation Criteria

Projects are evaluated out of 100 points across the following six criteria.

Criterion	Weight	Description
Simulation Quality	%25	Model realism, parameter accuracy, scenario complexity and output consistency.
Technical Depth	%20	Algorithm suitability, code quality, modular architecture and computational efficiency.
Innovation	%20	Original approach, creative solutions, ideas that go beyond existing methods.
Data Analysis	%15	Statistical analysis of results, graph/table quality, interpretation of findings.
Presentation & Defense	%10	Presentation fluency, visual design, live demo performance and Q&A competency.
Technical Report	%10	Report structure, academic language, proper citation and technical accuracy.

Deliverables

Project Outputs

Working Simulation

A simulation environment that can be run live before the jury with adjustable parameters. Submitted together with source code.

Technical Report

A max. 20-page report covering project objectives, methodology, technologies used, simulation parameters, results and analyses.

Presentation Video

A 3-minute introductory video for the preliminary stage, showing the simulation in action and the team's vision.

Data & Result Files

Simulation outputs, statistical analysis files, charts and tables submitted digitally.

Rules Booklet