Five Winners of the 2022 Urban Air Mobility Innovation Challenge Announced at Defense TechConnect Innovation Summit & Expo

Defense TechConnect's six Innovation Challenges feature "Shark Tank"-style pitches by startups, universities and national labs competing for more than $500,000 in total prizes and access to more than $50 billion in prototype-level contracting authority for government customers.

WASHINGTON (PRWEB) September 29, 2022

Advanced Technology International (ATI), TechConnect and The Vertical Lift Consortium (VLC) today announced the five winners of the 2022 Urban Air Mobility Innovation Challenge. Selected from a field of 18 finalists, winners were presented a total $50,000 in cash prizes at the Defense TechConnect (DTC) Innovation Summit & Expo, the nation's largest annual gathering of non-traditional, dual-use emerging technologies aligned with government priority requirements.

Each winner presented its innovation during the conference's "Shark Tank"-style pitching; finalists were given eight minutes to present to industry and government leadership aligned with participating contracting vehicles.

The five winners and their innovations are:

• Elphel, Inc., West Valley City, Utah: A novel method for long-range, thermal 3D imaging of air vehicles that enables robust, long-range, day/night, all-weather 3D perception for air mobility operations.
• Information Systems Laboratories, Inc., Beavercreek County, Ohio: An artificial intelligence-enhanced radar for detection, classification and sense & avoid that leverages flight test data from 1-3 Unmanned Aerial Systems and multiple other objects.
• PhasorLab Inc., Nashua, N.H.: A secure, scalable and affordable wireless mesh network for frequency synchronization that provides robust mobile Assured Position, Navigation and Timing (A-PNT) services in any environment without Global Positioning System data.
• Valqari, Lombard, Ill.: A product line of patented drone vertiports that automates the delivery process between drones and infrastructure and creates a designated area for drones to safely land, keeping people and property away from the potentially dangerous drones and valuable cargo.
• Volexion, Chicago, Ill.: A graphene encapsulation solution that protects lithium battery cathode materials and drives game-changing improvements in performance – including 2x cycle life, voltage range extension, safety improvements, 5-10x power efficiency, and low temperature operation – while increasing energy density by 35% and reducing cost by 30%.

DTC's Urban Air Mobility Innovation Challenge is sponsored by VLC, a collaboration of small and large businesses, for-profit and not-for-profit entities, academic organizations and their affiliated organizations working together with the U.S. government to rapidly transition innovative vertical lift technologies and coordinate research and development programs designed for prototype aviation technologies. This years' challenge featured several areas of interest, including: electric vertical takeoff and landing (e-VTOL), innovative power generation and storage, data and systems situational awareness management, autonomous and collaborative behavior, and innovative air mobility capabilities and applications. Administrators of the Innovation Challenge encouraged applications from innovators with state-of-the-art air mobility solutions for both civilian and federal security applications.

DTC features six Innovation Challenges in energy and infrastructure, medical and biodefense, autonomy and air mobility, data and digital transformation, security and intelligence, and training and readiness. This year's six challenges attracted nearly 800 submissions competing for a total $500,000 in cash prizes and access to more than $50 billion in prototype-level contracting authority for government customers.

Held Sept. 27-29, 2022, at Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., DTC is the nation's largest annual gathering of non-traditional, dual-use emerging technologies aligned with government priority requirements. The winner of each Innovation Challenge, in addition to a cash prize, is invited to join a consortium led by DTC's parent company, ATI, the country's leading technology consortium management firm and one of the single largest funders of prototype-level innovations for its government customers and the nation.

About Defense TechConnect
The Defense TechConnect (DTC) Innovation Summit & Expo is the nation's largest annual gathering of non-traditional, dual-use emerging technologies aligned with government priority requirements. A unique bridge between private sector innovation, commercialization and government acquisition, DTC accelerates the identification and deployment of novel technologies through rapid access of vetted startups and emerging academic and federal lab innovations. In its 10th year accelerating innovation for the nation and America's Warfighter, DTC features 500 innovations and exhibitors and is one of the most well-attended defense innovation conferences of the year. DTC's attendees include military leadership, more than 250 DoD/SES/PEO scouts, representatives from over 50 contracting offices and hundreds of active duty service members. DTC is proud to be one of the original innovation hubs to support the Department of Defense and its missions. For more information, visit https://events.techconnect.org/DTCFall.

About TechConnect
With 25+ years of experience connecting emerging technologies with unique funding and partnership opportunities, TechConnect boasts the most robust research and innovation network in the world. It employs a broad scope of tools to deliver top technologies, including open innovation programs, conferences, and open-access publications. Each year, TechConnect prospects, vets, and connects thousands of emerging technologies with corporate, investment, municipal, and national defense clients. TechConnect is a division of Advanced Technology International. techconnect.org

About Advanced Technology International
ATI, a public-service nonprofit based in Summerville, S.C., builds and manages collaborations that conduct research and development of new technologies to solve our nation's most pressing challenges. Fueled by a community of experts from industry, academia, and government, ATI accelerates impact by using the power of collaboration to help the federal government quickly acquire novel technologies. ATI is a subsidiary of Analytic Services, Inc. (ANSER), a public-service research institute organized as a nonprofit corporation, which is dedicated to informing decisions that shape the nation's future. ATI.org

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