FREE, URGENT AND SCARCE
capital value…,” and the concept paper represents that capital investment in the competition.
Since its inception in April 2018, the Army xTechSearch program has evaluated more than 1,500 dual-use technologies for potential application to Army modern- ization priorities. Currently running its fifth open-topic iteration, which is set to conclude in the spring of 2021, xTech- Search has evolved into an overarching program including both open-topic and directed-topic competitions to tackle specific problems; an accelerator program that seeks to develop xTech competitors into viable companies; and an expand- ing set of partners across the Army, the Department of Defense and the world.
Army partners that comprise the Army innovation ecosystem, and that are actively engaged in the xTechSearch program, include Army Futures Command (AFC) and its constellation of laboratories and testing facilities, the Army Applications Lab, the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technology Office (RCCTO), the 75th Innovation Command (an Army Reserve component), the Army Corps of Engineers and Army Materiel Command (AMC). Tese organizations provide the xTechSearch program with a powerful resource of experts to power the prize competitions’ ability to rapidly evaluate science and technology proposals from a broad spectrum of disciplines across all phases of the acquisition life cycle.
URGENT As opposed to the current 15-year concept- to-fielding process, the prize competition authority model provides the Army with a rapid alternative means to discover and potentially acquire novel dual-use science and technology from virtually any source, on a compressed schedule.
Te technology-readiness level (TRL) scale is one of the metrics that xTech judges use to review and classify the maturity of proposed technology. Te scale runs from 1 to 9, with TRL 1 representing the lowest level of readiness dealing with the obser- vation and reporting of basic principles through a paper study that may contain a proposal for application. TRL 9, on the other end of the scale, would be applied to technology that can be tested and eval- uated under actual field conditions, with hardened prototypes ready to transition to full production.
As an example, in recent xTechSearch phase II technology pitches, 16 of the 20 companies selected offered examples of desired technological solutions to Army problems that the panel of Army judges rated as TRL 5 or above, meaning that the solutions were capable of demonstrat- ing their value. Tus, in the space of a few months and, at minimal cost to the Army, the xTech process documented specific technology that answered the problem statement of a sufficient maturity to move along to the prototype and testing phase.
Problem statements developed by experts, standardized review metrics, and a system- atized and automated judging structure enable xTech judges to proceed at a high level of speed and fidelity, resulting in accelerated decision making.
Te xTech program has proven to be a popular and flexible platform for technol- ogy scouting. Te open topic format has brought forward technologies as diverse as a more efficient rocket motor propel- lant to a handheld wall-penetrating radar, to topic specific competitions such as the xTechSearch COVID-19 Ventilator Chal- lenge. When faced with the cancelation of in-person programs because of COVID- 19,
that has served to extend opportunities of accessibility and participation across all the associated stakeholders.
Moving to a virtual format has further lowered event overhead costs and has increased the speed and frequency at which contest iterations can be held. “I was amazed at how interactive the virtual competition was and how much dialogue we could have on the technology in ten minutes,” said Keith Jadus, director for the Ground Maneuver/Next Generation Combat Vehicle portfolio in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (DASA) for Research and Technol- ogy (R&T) after participating in a recent xTech virtual event.
SCARCE Even before it initiated the Ventila- tor Challenge, AFC was exploring how to leverage the xTechSearch program to meet immediate Army needs. AFC’s Inno- vation Combine (See “Great American Novel Technologies,” Page 72), which took place from April 15 to July 15, expanded the topic-driven prize competition to include two very specific topics open to all business types with an option to join a consortium that has an existing other- transaction authority agreement at the end of the competition. All finalists were eligible for other-transaction authority agreement awards through the National Advanced Mobility Consortium. Two winners were selected for awards during the Innovation Combine event and the remaining six companies have their proposals placed in the “Ground Vehicle System other-transaction authority elec- tronic basket” that makes them eligible for an award until June 17, 2023.
the xTechSearch team seamlessly transitioned to virtual events, a switch
68 Army AL&T Magazine Fall 2020
Te wording and construction of the two Innovation Combine topics and problem statements are instructive to what makes a topic-driven competition work efficiently:
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196
