Could Your Next Step Be an Innovation Competition?

Advances in optics and photonics span a broad range of applications that can affect the lives of countless people. And sparks of scientific inspiration can give rise to new avenues of research, as well as to companies devoted to commercializing it.

So how can your great idea or prototype become a reality? One path forward is to join a competition. Websites like Technology.org feature pages with recently announced competitions in a variety of areas that can serve as a great catalyst for further developing your work, getting it into the public eye or even launching your own company. Here are a few notable competitions, including several still accepting applications and some to scope out for next year:

• In a twist on the autonomous-vehicle trend, the ride-sharing platform Taxify is teaming up with Robotex International 2018 in Tallinn, Estonia, to open a Self-driving Fleet Optimization Challenge. Instead of developing the car itself, interested teams will build “an optimal dispatching system for a self-driving car fleet” with an emphasis on getting the most value for the time the cars spend driving passengers and waiting to be hailed by the next passenger. The team with the best solution will win €4,000. The Robotex festival, which runs from 30 November to 2 December 2018, will also feature a number of other robotics competitions, including a timed “Girls’ Firefighting” challenge in which firefighter robots must locate and extinguish four candles.
  
   
• In the area of signal processing, the Army Signal Classification Challenge, hosted by the U.S. Army, is looking for “technologies that apply artificial intelligence and machine learning to signal identification and classification.” Participants will submit advanced algorithms and AI implementations, which are tested against two datasets, and a brief technical paper of the methodology, model architecture and training processes. The winners will split an award of US$150,000. Registration opened on 30 April 2018 and the first test dataset submission deadline is 20 July 2018.
   
• The global water innovation accelerator Imagine H20 has launched the Urban Drinking Water Challenge 2018, which focuses on identifying water solutions for megacities. Entries in the areas of alternative drinking water sources; distribution and purification methods; and managing the health of waterway ecosystems are encouraged. The application window closes on 2 July 2018 and three winners, eligible for US$85,000, will be announced during the August 2018 World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden.
   
• In the United Kingdom, the BT Infinity Lab has opened the Better World Innovation Challenge 2018, for start-ups or small companies that have a technological innovation that improves the lives of others. The parameters for this competition are quite broad, with an entry period of 8 May through 18 June 2018 and a finalist presentation to the panel of judges on 26 July 2018. Winners will receive an opportunity to market test the solution, six months of resource support, a six-month workspace and a £10,000 prize.
   
• The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) created the Inclusive Innovation Challenge (IIC), the first component of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE), for “technology-driven solutions enabling greater economic opportunity for working people around the world facing the challenge of rapidly advancing digital progress.” Qualifying solutions must be beyond the idea phase and fit into one of four categories: skill development and opportunity matching; income growth and job creation; technology access; or financial inclusion. Now in its second year, the IIC has expanded into five regional competitions; registration is now closed in Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America and the deadline for Africa is 1 June 2018. Twenty winners in each region will be announced throughout August and September 2018 and will progress to a final global round in which four grand prize winners will each be awarded US$250,000.
   
• Connected devices is the theme of 2018 GIX Innovation Competition, and focuses on the applications of innovative technology in areas such as the Internet of Things, wearable devices, intelligent hardware, virtual reality, augmented reality, ubiquitous computing, intelligent sensors and combating identity fraud. Teams may include only full-time university or high-school students or those who have graduated within the past five years. This year’s finalists will present their functional prototypes in Beijing, China, on 26 August 2018, and winners will share a prize of 1 million RMB.

Finally, if you’re interested in STEM competitions for grade-school students, check out STEM resource websites like The Maker Mom and Science Buddies.