Dwayne Spradlin

Three federal agencies are trying to tap the creativity of the marketplace to develop a new breed of portable, light-weight, inexpensive sensors to better understand how individuals are affected by air pollution.

The initiative, announced June 6, is the latest in a wave of government Challenge contests that serve up difficult public sector challenges and reward creative, fast-track solutions from the private sector with prize money. Keep reading →

When scientists at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) were tasked with creating a way to stop a fleeing vehicle moving at high speed, they turned to crowd-sourcing for a solution. What they got was an ingenious idea from a retired, 66-year-old South American engineer, Dante Barbis (pictured above).

Using InnoCentive Inc.’s open innovation platform (discussed in video below), AFRL and its research partner, the Wright Brothers Institute, posted a $25,000 challenge contest last March for a viable and inexpensive means for stopping a speeding vehicle without harming any of its occupants or causing significant damage to the vehicle. Keep reading →