Want $20K? Design a System for Sensing People at a Distance

By John Ohab

Interested in winning money for solving some of the U.S. Air Force’s toughest challenges?

The U.S. Air Force Research Lab and the Wright Brothers Institute have launched the Open Innovation Pavilion, an online innovation marketplace where more than a quarter million of the world’s brightest minds solve tough problems for cash awards. This week, we’ll run through each of the ongoing challenges, which feature more than $100,000 in prizes. Hey, count me in!

First up: Remote Human Demographic Characterization.

The Air Force Research Lab is offering up to $20,000 for a system that can determine approximate age (adult, teen, child) and gender of small groups of people at a distance. You, the Solver, will propose a system and make suggestions for a potential hardware configuration that meets the requirements and justify it with arguments and relevant references. Evidence that the proposed system will work (from previous applications, existing data, literature, etc.) will be very important. The proposal will be evaluated on a theoretical basis considering the current state of the art knowledge.

This challenge requires a written proposal only. Submit your solutions by May 2, 2011. Are you up to the Challenge?

Photo: U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt Joshua Strang