You really should be very grateful. You might not know it, but across the world – even as you read this – students, researchers and fledgling companies are beavering away in laboratories trying to come up with inventions that could one day save your life.
And boy, do you need them. If you believe the media, we’ve set ourselves up for a future that’s more violent, more diseased and generally more terrifying than we’d like. But instead of letting the endless talk of extremism, pandemics and melting ice caps get to them, these innovators are keeping their heads down, coming up with real solutions to the problems that could have serious repercussions for our future security.
Money, money, money
The trouble is, cutting-edge research doesn’t come cheap and, in the UK at least, our most talented scientists are often preoccupied with paying back massive student debts. So how can we unlock their potential and expose their ideas to a worldwide audience?
The Global Security Challenge, back for a third successive year, could be the answer. Its organisers have once again called on innovators around the world to submit their ideas to an expert judging panel in the hope of winning a $500,000 grant. While that’s obviously not a sum of money to be sniffed at, it seems the real cash starts flowing once the event is over.
According to organisers, four of the finalists from the previous two competitions have subsequently raised $20m in new venture capital, grants and investments.
“Our top-selected start-ups have also secured large contracts with government clients, such as the US Department of Energy, the US Navy and the US Department of Defense, and with industry leaders such as Bayer AG,” a Global Security Challenge spokesperson said.
Night light
Last year’s winner, NoblePeak Vision, developed innovative night vision technology that operates over the visible short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectrum. In simple terms, it can help detect and identify people in conflict zones – even when there is zero ambient lighting. The Massachusetts-based firm fought off fierce competition from four other finalists, which had developed lightweight blast mitigation fabrics, an eye scanner that can detect changes in health, a highly-accurate facial recognition system and a computer program that learns to identify users through their typing habits.
Both NoblePeak Vision and Ingenia Technology, which won the inaugural contest two years and half years ago, have reported substantial growth since being involved.
NoblePeak Vision’s founder, Cliff King, said, “Customer interest in our night vision technology soared from the publicity we received after winning the 2007 Global Security Challenge. As a direct result we are now developing new camera systems with major original equipment manufacturers and systems integrators”.
Biometric clothing
However, the Global Security Challenge isn’t just about potentially life-saving inventions. It’s about protecting assets, too.
Back in 2006, Ingenia Technology’s winning solution showed how the biometric principle used to differentiate between humans could also be applied to inanimate objects like documents, clothes and packaging. Just like fingerprints, materials all have a “naturally-occurring randomness”, which Ingenia’s Laser Surface Authentication technology can take snapshots of to help protect the intellectual property of brand names.
Several large European brands are now piloting or planning to pilot the technology and in 2007, Ingenia qualified as a US Government contractor.
“Significant interest”
A new twist this year means there will be prizes in a number of different categories, including one for ideas, and each inventor will receive feedback on their submission. The launch of the 2008 contest is also backed up by a new website featuring blogs, research articles and a message board for users to discuss security-related news on.
According to Janeen Chupa, co-president of the Global Security Challenge, significant interest has already been shown in this year’s contest by start-ups around the world.
She said, “The Global Security Challenge is proving to be a very successful competition, with the number of entries increasing with each year and the entrants gaining access to a deep network of government, venture capital and corporate organisations – as well as academics.”
To enter this year’s competition, innovators have to submit their ideas online before June 15th 2008. Regional semi-finals will be held in Europe, Asia and North America and the competition will culminate with a grand final and conference in London on the 13th November.
If you would like to find out more about the event, or how to get involved, just visit the Global Security Challenge website.
