Project Overmatch is a high priority Department of the Navy initiative aimed at connecting platforms, weapons, and sensors together in a robust Naval Operational Architecture (NOA) that integrates with Joint All-Domain Command and Control for enhanced Distributed Maritime Operations. Critical to Project Overmatch is the development of networks, infrastructure, data architecture, tools and analytics that support the operational and developmental environment that will enable sustained maritime dominance for years to come.
The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenge focused on leveraging the latest in AI-enabled technologies to address current and future warfighting gaps.
The winner of the AI Challenge was Big Bear AI, a company focused on helping government and businesses make the decisions that change markets and define outcomes. The runner up was L3 Harris.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to have participated in such an important competition,” said Big Bear AI Chief Technology Officer Brian Frutchey. “This challenge allowed us to demonstrate how our automated course of action assessment AI can assist the Navy tin allowing warfighters to make critical decisions quickly in operationally relevant maritime environments.”
The Networks Prize Challenge focused on exploring new networking technologies that will advance the reach, capacity and resiliency of the maritime tactical network of networks.
The winner of the Networks Challenge was goTenna Inc., a startup that specializes in mesh networking technologies. Their technology is currently used for personal safety, disaster response, business continuity, special and tactical operations and industrial internet of things. The runner up was Raytheon BBN Technologies.
“It is truly an honor to be recognized as the winner of this challenge amongst such strong competition,” said goTenna Chief Scientist Ram Ramanathan. “We feel privileged to be able to support NAVWAR in addressing current and future warfighting gaps, working together to deliver solutions at speed to modernize naval warfighting networks.”
Each prize challenge awarded $100,000 in total cash prizes for the best solutions presented, with first place entries winning $75,000, and second place entries winning $25,000.
Both challenges were open to all U.S. citizens, including commercial, government and academic individuals or teams, lowering the barrier to entry and increasing the competitive landscape to identify the best solutions possible in support of Project Overmatch.
“Overmatch is unleashing the power of the platform with this AINetANTX,” said NAVWAR Science and Technology Director Carly Jackson. “The team put forward two very challenging problem sets and prize award incentivizes allowing industry to bring their innovations into our platforms, architectures, and to use our data. The participants had less than three months but the results we are seeing are quite compelling. By quickly leveraging the lab infrastructure and expertise resident across the Naval Research and Development Establishment, this new type of digital platform-powered ANTX enables us to identify and field technologies, components, or algorithms at the speed of the threat.”
About NAVWAR:
NAVWAR identifies, develops, delivers and sustains information warfighting capabilities and services that enable naval, joint, coalition and other national missions operating in warfighting domains from seabed to space and through cyberspace. NAVWAR consists of more than 11,000 civilian, active duty and reserve professionals located around the world.