Many innovators dream of the wild and unexpected. But how does that actually happen? One of the advantages of open innovation is the bidirectional flow of information that creates the conditions for the unexpected.
The World Magnetic Model (WMM) is embedded in thousands of systems and supports GPS for more than a billion smartphones. To ensure sustainability of the WMM, the U.S. government is taking a proactive approach to identifying new methods of data collection.
Production of the WMM currently uses space-based magnetic field measurements provided by a satellite mission, but the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) wanted to think beyond the probable solutions to discover what’s possible. What new types of spaceborne, aerial, terrestrial, or other solutions could collect geomagnetic data for the WMM?
MagQuest, a $1.2 million open innovation challenge on behalf of NGA, is designed to attract new ideas to increase the efficiency, reliability, and sustainability of geomagnetic data collection. With this prize competition, designed and produced by Luminary Labs through a contract with the NASA Tournament Lab, NGA is inspiring solvers to apply their expertise to a wide range of potential solution areas.
Today MagQuest announced 10 winners in the first phase of the $1.2 million competition, selected from novel approaches submitted by U.S. and international innovators in industry and academia. Submissions included space, aerial, oceanic, and land-based solutions. Phase 2 is open to solvers from Phase 1, as well as new solvers who did not participate in the first phase of the challenge.
Read more and meet the winners.
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