The theme of the DEVELOP Competition is “Buoys and Autonomous Systems” and was informed by the DISCOVER Competition.
The DEVELOP Competition invites contestant teams to compete for up to $2.4 million in cash awards by designing, building, and testing novel, wave-powered, self-charging autonomous underwater vehicle systems that, with refinement, would be suitable for a 6-month deployment in the Atlantic Ocean to monitor hurricane formation. Prototypes built during this competition are not meant to be mature systems but should demonstrate basic functionality and potential for refinement into a commercially viable product.
This theme includes, but is not limited to, ideas that use marine energy as a means of propulsion, to recharge batteries, or more generally to increase the range, duration or performance of the vehicle. Buoys, floats, tags, drifters, and other similar ocean observing platforms are typically stationary or mobility-constrained systems used for long-duration observations. They may be surface or subsurface and can host one or many instruments. This theme includes, but is not limited to, ideas that use marine energy to increase platform longevity, energy availability, or other similar performance characteristics.
Past participation in the DISCOVER competition is not required for participation in the DEVELOP Competition.
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