LAS VEGAS, Nov. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — AFWERX — the Air Force’s program dedicated to solving some of the toughest problems it faces via collaborations between the nation’s top intrapreneurs, industry experts, academic professionals, and non-traditional contributors — recently asked for innovators to submit components, materials, or technologies that could specifically improve the USAF Fixed Wing Helmet used by its pilots and aircrew. On November 14th, they were able to showcase the 37 solutions they selected from the 100+ submissions from across the country and around the world to an audience of captivated USAF Airmen and Air Force leaders from the nearby Nellis and Creech Air Force Bases as well as local tech and a steady stream of aviation fans thrilled to experience these modern Air Force advancements firsthand.

The next day, 16 of those showcasing teams were then invited to meet with the Air Force program management office (Air Force Life Cycle Management Center) at the AFWERX Vegas Innovation Hub for individual detailed reviews and the opportunity to attain $400K of prototype funding, a $20M+ government contract, or potential SBIR funding.

Ultimately, from the 5 full-service solutions and 11 component solutions reviewed, the judging panel and program office decided to award prototyping funds to 3 of those full-service solutions, a total of $250k — Gentex’s Modular and Scalable Fixed Wing Helmet, Lift Aviation’s KOR Aviation Helmet, and Aviation Specialist LASER-Fit’s Helmet — and $150k for the exploration of a prototype that will involve several of the component solutions — Bell Racing, Specialized Bicycles Component Division, Vicis, Asymmetric, and Spotlight Labs — who will work with an integrating manufacturer to produce a full system solution. These prototypes will be submitted to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center on or before May 15th, 2019 for further assessment.

“To see these innovative solutions showcase was exciting, and we are glad to see some of these finalists head into the prototyping phase,” said Bobby Mack, Marketing Manager of AFWERX Vegas. “It has me eager to see what comes out of our next set of challenges: The Advanced Microelectronics Design and Prototype Challenge, and the Mixed Reality Platform Challenge.”

Since it was first established in 2017 by the Secretary of the Air Force, AFWERX’s core mission has been to improve Air Force capabilities by connecting innovators, simplifying technology transfers, and accelerating results to the warfighter. This most recent event has propelled the collaboration program to new heights.

To learn more about the event, as well as future challenges, visit: afwerxchallenge.com

SOURCE AFWERX