Tech Grove and AFAMS finish 2024 with an AI-driven prize challenge

By Shane Klestinski, Associate Editor

 

The Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation (AFAMS) and the Central Florida Tech Grove collaborated to conduct the “AI-native Approach for the Immersive Technology Planning App (ITPA) Challenge” to help track immersive technologies and their training implementations to alleviate the Air Force’s personnel shortfalls in late 2024.

 

The first-place winning team was iPerformX, who received a cash prize of $70,000. Terasynth took second place and Microsoft Federal placed third, winning $50,000 and $35,000 in prize money, respectively.

 

The motivation for this prize challenge originally came from the Air Force’s conclusion that training efforts required faster development and better quality. Training officials recognized new, immersive tech, to include innovations involving virtual, augmented, mixed and extended realities, as significant aspects in furthering these efforts. AFAMS has been exploring AI-driven solutions to expedite its review of an ever-evolving market for the latest in immersive tech, and improve its efforts to collect, identify and present them to Air Force decision-makers.

 

AFAMS developed the ITPA, a prototype knowledge management tool to train implementors Air Force-wide. ITPA delivers recommendations for immersive technology use based on established project criteria. Air Force officials intend for the ITPA to act as a concept demonstrator to execute initial technology scans, explore various technologies, and engage in collaborative projects with partners.

 

The prize challenge release and application portal opened in early September, and contest officials held a virtual information session later that month. Candidates entered to participate by the application deadline in October and submitted their prototype solutions in November. Shortly before Thanksgiving, semifinalists received notification that they would be giving virtual presentations on “Demo Day” in December.

 

The Air Force’s ideal solution would perform automatic technology scans, gather, catalog and evaluate any data necessary to support ITPA, as well as improve decision-making mechanisms that assist end-users in tech planning efforts. The overall goal would result in an AI-native application architecture of, and an initial prototype for, an updated ITPA concept demonstrator for AFAMS.

 

“For anyone involved in planning or executing a training event, this tool will put up-to-date information at their fingertips on a near-real-time basis,” said Carol Ann Logue, Central Florida Tech Grove director. “[This includes] specifications, use cases, and all the information they will need to assess what hardware or software meet the parameters to conduct the most effective training.”

 

After the semifinalists virtually pitched their solutions in mid-December, judges evaluated the submissions using criteria that focused on impact, expansion, feasibility and innovation, the latter of which was the most heavily weighted consideration. Contest officials notified the winners, Dec. 19.

 

Logue emphasized that this prize challenge on which AFAMS and Tech Grove collaborated, was a strong example of the value that such competitions provide, given the relatively short time frame and low costs involved.

 

“Our customers are increasingly coming to us [for these kinds of challenges], because in a matter of literally four months, we executed this challenge to give the Air Force viable options to address a need they have, and position itself to move forward with other acquisition instruments with the winners who continue to develop and implement the solution,” Logue said.

 

Tech Grove’s next two prize challenges will involve another Department of Defense (DOD) entity, the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP), which is the DOD’s environmental and resilience science and technology program. The DOD plans and executes this program through its partnership with the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, and that partnership also involves the participation of various other federal and nonfederal organizations.

 

The first of these upcoming SERDP challenges will center on robotic firefighting equipment that is expected to begin near the end of January 2025. The other will focus on virtual reality training for firefighters, which coordinators have tentatively scheduled to begin in late spring/early summer 2025.