Code Metal’s Metal Ops Hackathon Unveils Cutting-Edge Smart City Concepts for USSOCOM

Boston-based event brings together top talent from academia and defense to reimagine urban technology, with Project LANTERN clinching $10,000 top prize

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Metal Ops: Smart City Hackathon, hosted by Code Metal in downtown Boston from March 14-16, 2025, has successfully concluded. The event showcased innovative concepts for smart city operations in special missions. Bringing together 14 diverse teams from prestigious institutions and the Department of Defense, this hackathon focused on leveraging urban infrastructure to enhance security, resilience, and operational readiness for the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).

The first prize winner was Team Medarus with Project LANTERN. This team was composed of the following members: David Neary (RF/Cyber R&D Program Manager), Anton Njavro (Boston University – Computer Science), Ryan Nguyen (Harvard – Statistics), and Djordje Ivanovic (Harvard – Computer Science).

Project LANTERN is a conceptual covert, city-wide surveillance network that proposes leveraging passive sensor nodes hidden in everyday objects, along with existing urban infrastructure, to track vehicles using data such as tire pressure signals. The concept envisions forming a low-power mesh network to relay information back to a command center, enabling near-continuous monitoring even in traditionally unmonitored areas. With an open design and minimal cost, LANTERN is designed to potentially integrate seamlessly into smart city systems or specialized operations, providing scalable, persistent tracking capabilities for government, defense, and municipal stakeholders.

“Metal Ops wasn’t just a hackathon—it was a fast-paced innovation environment where brilliant minds from defense and academia joined forces to address some of the most complex challenges in urban operations,” said Peter Morales, CEO of Code Metal. “The ingenuity we saw—like Project LANTERN—demonstrates how smart city technology can be reimagined for mission-critical use. This event proves that when the right people come together, the future accelerates.”

Among the 14 teams that participated, notable mentions include First Runner Up: Team C:4 (MIT Students) with Project Code Three – from bodycam to briefing in seconds, and Second Runner Up: DOD - Special Forces with Project Unsanitized Inputs. The projects presented were evaluated based on impact, function, feasibility, and scalability. At the event’s conclusion, the Presentations and Award Ceremony were telecast live to members of USSOCOM, DARPA, and the Department of Defense (DOD). This event was made possible through the support of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), Venture partners: J2 Ventures, Shield Capital, and Fulcrum Venture Group, The City of Boston, The Steel Group, Mass Robotics, J.P. Morgan, and Re:build Manufacturing.

About Code Metal

Code Metal is the leading company for AI-powered development workflows at the edge. Drawing on years of experience from leading AI labs at MIT and industry giants like Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon, the Code Metal team has mastered the science of translating sophisticated research algorithms for cutting-edge platforms, from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to the Microsoft HoloLens. Now, Code Metal is bringing its algorithmic breakthroughs to hardware applications to accelerate development at the edge. Code Metal is backed by Shield Capital, J2 Ventures, and others. Learn more at https://www.codemetal.ai/.