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Seppälä Teemu
Director of Technology and Innovation, Technology and Innovations area of responsibility
Administration
Defense technology is being tested for NATO use in Riihimäki
A NATO event in Riihimäki from December 8 to 10 will test new technology for possible use by the defense alliance.
NATO Innovation Range is organizing the first defense technology testing and demonstration event in Finland. The event, which will be held in Riihimäki, is part of a NATO project aimed at strengthening the deterrence and defense of NATO's eastern flank with new systems that comply with NATO standards.
"Riihimäki has a strong role as a promoter of defense and technology cooperation. We are proud to be able to bring together actors who develop solutions to strengthen the security of the whole of Europe," says Teemu Seppälä, Director of Technology and Innovation of the City of Riihimäki.
Dual-use capabilities are tested in the Defence Cloud environment, managed by RAIN.global and Millog.
HAMK's computing server enables secure testing of artificial intelligence applications
The Riihimäki testing environment uses a computing server from Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK), which enables AI computing and testing of AI applications in a secure manner.
HAMK's technology environment enables testing of artificial intelligence applications, providing the capabilities to experiment with new language models and agent-based defense applications in a secure manner. This is critical, especially in the defense sector, where external cloud services cannot be relied upon.
“Artificial intelligence is everywhere, but for security of supply reasons, we also need highly efficient, yet local and secure artificial intelligence. The equipment at the Riihimäki Test Center makes this possible,” says HAMK Research Lecturer Timo Hynninen.
“Typically, such computing servers are located in data centers around the world. However, from the perspective of the defense sector and dual-use technology, it is necessary that local computing centers exist. For example, in exceptional situations when communication connections are broken or signals intelligence is to be avoided. The use of similar servers in a defense-focused test center and business accelerator, such as Riihimäki Define, is new,” Hynninen describes.
18 companies participating in the event
The NATO Test and Demonstration Event will feature 18 companies offering solutions in areas such as artificial intelligence, autonomy, unmanned systems, and secure networks. The participating companies will test and demonstrate the applicability of their solutions in four challenge areas.
The NATO Innovation Range brings together NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) and NATO Defence Industry, Innovation and Armaments Division, as well as partners, startups and technology companies. The event is organized by the Define ecosystem and Crazy Town.
The Define innovation ecosystem (Defence Innovation Network Finland) is an ecosystem launched by the City of Riihimäki, within which an internationally high-level defense and security network is being built. The ecosystem brings together the best military and civilian experts to create new innovations that serve both military needs and society as a whole.
Additional information
Contact information
For more information on HAMK, please contact Jukka Pulkkinen, Head of Research Unit, HAMK Tech, jukka.pulkkinen@hamk.fi, tel. 050 461 8927, and Timo Hynninen, Research Lecturer, timo.hynninen@hamk.fi, tel. 050 326 9507.