BOULDER, Colo. — The Tech to Protect Challenge, a national hackathon to create new technology for emergency responders, is accepting submissions for its National Online Contest now through November 15, 2019.
The public safety community are encouraged to register to participate in the National Online Contest here and submit entries here by the deadline.
All participants who submit a solution will have an opportunity to compete for cash prizes awarded by the National Institute of Standards in Technology’s (NIST) Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division in Spring 2020.
“We recently concluded 10 Tech to Protect regional hackathons across the country and recognized 13 winning teams who developed impressive prototype solutions,” said Dereck Orr, Division Chief of NIST PSCR.
It’s inspiring to see how motivated participants are to help advance the dedicated work of emergency responders and we welcome them to continue to be a part of the program’s success,” he continued.
Evaluation for the National Online Contest will occur November 15 to January 25, 2019. Judges will identify the top solutions for each of the 10 contest areas and invite finalists to a National Award Event in Spring 2020.
In total, up to 50 teams will be invited to attend the in-person event to compete for first, second and third place within each contest.
Additionally, up to 12 participant winners of the National Award Event will be invited to further develop and deploy their solutions thought a six-month Seed and Progress Contest. NIST PSCR anticipates awarding up to $2.2 million in prizes to winning teams.
The 10 contests include technical areas spanning artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality, secure communications, location-based services, public safety data analytics, mission-critical voice and user interface/user experience (UI/UX).
The Tech to Protect Challenge is proudly supported by the First Responder Network Authority, FirstNet Built with AT&T, Motorola Solutions, IBM, Bespoken, DotProduct 3D and Topcoder.
About the Tech to Protect Challenge
The Tech to Protect Challenge is a national hackathon program designed to help emergency responders—including EMS, firefighters and law enforcement—meet their mission to serve and protect communities nationwide with new technology. The program is a federally funded initiative led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and its Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division. The Tech to Protect Challenge is supported by SecondMuse, the global innovation accelerator behind NASA’s International Space Apps Challenge, and RedFlash Group, a national public safety consulting firm.