ARMY AL&T
xTechSearch 3.0
Finalists demonstrate innovative technologies
by Dr. Tomoko Sano T
welve small businesses competing in the third iteration of the U.S. Army’s Expeditionary Technology Search (xTechSearch) concluded their compe-
tition at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2020 Global Force Symposium and Exhi- bition in Huntsville, Alabama, on March 19. XTechSearch is a four-phased small business contest sponsored by Dr. Bruce D. Jette, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technol- ogy (ASA(ALT)). Jette launched the competition to revolutionize the way the Army attracts small busi- nesses to its science and technology ecosystem. Tis is the third cohort since xTechSearch began in 2018.
Te 12 finalists each started their xTechSearch jour- ney in May 2019 as one of 140 submitting a white paper in the first phase of the competition. During Phase I, a panel of Army judges reviewed the white papers and selected 48 small businesses to compete in Phase II and earn a cash prize of $5,000 each.
In Phase II, the small businesses each pitched their innovative ideas to a group of judges aligned to their technology’s focus area. Te judges participating in Phase II included Army experts from the research and development, acquisition and user communities
who provided technical, application and acquisition insight with feedback and suggestions to each of the small businesses.
Moving on to Phase III and being awarded the $10,000 cash prize for winning Phase II, 24 small businesses pitched their technologies to a panel of senior technical staff from the Office of the ASA(ALT) at the Innovators’ Corner during the AUSA 2019 Annual Meeting in Washington in Octo- ber. Te top 12 finalists were selected and awarded $120,000 to develop their technologies and return for the Phase IV competition with a live proof-of- concept demonstration.
Te xTechSearch competition has been well received by both small business competitors and judges. “From feedback during the pitch process, we’ve changed some of the features on our product to align better with the application,” said one of the xTechSearch finalists, Jim Costabile, CEO and founder of Synco- pated Engineering. “And the new connections made have been incredible.”
A frequent Phase II judge, Dr. Jaret Riddick, direc- tor of the Vehicle Technology Directorate at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command
https://asc.ar my.mil 53
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