DAHLGREN, Va. –
The stakes are high. Don’t miss the opportunity to win $50,000 for your college or university! You may be polishing your white paper that is due Nov. 15 for the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Innovation Challenge at Dahlgren. Have questions? Ask a Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) virtual panel of experts at the Challenge Talk Friday, Oct. 28 from 2-3:30 p.m. via Zoom.
The challenge is to develop AI and ML algorithms for the automated scheduling and coordination of simulated directed energy, hypervelocity projectiles and other advanced weapon systems. It’s comprised of two phases – a white paper and an in-person event March 2-4, 2023 at the University of Mary Washington Dahlgren Campus. The goal of the challenge is to solve a problem in a way that NSWCDD has not yet explored.
The prize purse totals $100,000 – 1st place is $50,000, 2nd place is $30,000, and 3rd place is $20,000 – to the winning teams’ respective colleges or universities.
During the Innovation Challenge, the teams will use the Joint Cognitive Operational Research Environment (JCORE) the Navy’s in-house wargaming system. JCORE provides a medium-fidelity simulation of fleet-level exercises and bridges the gap between tabletop wargaming and high-fidelity modeling and simulation to provide a repeatable, faster-than-real-time solution.
Teams of five or less are invited to submit white papers demonstrating their knowledge of advanced AI/ML skills, their ability to develop and apply advanced AI/ML algorithms and their strategy and plans to approach Phase 2. In Phase 2, the teams will be asked to demonstrate the advantages of AI/ML integration into naval systems and warfighting capabilities.
Each team will develop an algorithm using AI/ML to defend their friendly ships against enemy missiles of varying capabilities. In Phase 2, the teams will be asked to demonstrate the advantages of AI/ML integration into naval systems and warfighting capabilities. Each team will develop an algorithm using AI/ML to defend their friendly ships against enemy ships of varying sizes and capabilities.
At the conclusion of Phase 2, each participant will provide NSWCDD a source code of the team’s algorithm and libraries used, build instructions for the algorithm to run on the host platform, a working executable for the host platform and a brief describing the technical approach used, key challenges conquered and overview of the results on the test area.
All winners will be recognized on the NSWCDD website at https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NSWCDahlgren/
The 1st place team will be given the opportunity to present their submission to NSWCDD for potential naval application. In-person challenge participants who identified innovative ideas, but were not selected for cash prizes, may be invited to share their ideas on NSWCDD’s website.
Up for the challenge? Meet the panel which includes Dr. George Foster, Senior Professional (ST) and NSWCDD Distinguished Engineer for Combat Control; Jennifer Clift, Senior Scientific Technical Manager (SSTM) and NSWCDD Chief Technology Officer; Dr. Jeffrey Solka, SSTM and NSWCDD Distinguished Scientist for Naval Data Systems; and Kenny Campbell, NSWCDD scientist; at the Challenge Talk which can be accessed via Zoom at https://umwsso.zoom.us/j/86226286781?pwd=amY4d0wzRmJlbGtGSlE1V0Fmbm9EZz09
Additional information about the challenge can be found at https://www.challenge.gov/?challenge=artificial-intelligence-(ai)-and-machine-learning-(ml)-algorithm-development-challenge