Big reward for good ideas

The initiative is called The Competition of Ideas. Projects will be funded with 100% grants of £50,000-£250,000 to support work over 12-month periods. The ideas must help the MOD to meet four challenges. The first, called ‘The Prediction of Intent’ is defined as “the ability to predict an action or event and maximise the forewarning of its occurrence”. This might help to prevent another 9/11 or 7/7. The second topic is about protecting people and assets from the effects of weapons. The third is ‘automatic object recognition based on the physical attributes and behavioural traits of objects’. For years, scientists have been trying to train computers to tell the difference between a tank and a truck – or distinguish friendly vehicle from foe. The fourth is called ‘ad hoc networking’, which the MOD defines as “spontaneous formation of networks of people, equipment, media and information in support of collaboration and decision making”. Competition of Ideas