Defense Department Offers $1 Million Prize

Week of July 16, 2007

A typical dismounted troop going out for a four-day mission carries as much as 40 pounds of batteries and rechargers in their packs. The Defense Department launched its "wearable power" $1 million prize competition to come up with new innovations to lighten warfighters' loads. The goal is to reduce the weight for the power system to about 2 pounds per day. Information about the technical details, contest rules and qualification requirements is posted on the Defense Department's Research and Engineering Prize website. A forum to be held in Washington in September will review these details for potential competitors.