HiddenGenius.com Will Offer Awards In Three Aviation Categories

Three aviation technology competitions aimed at helping drones avoid airplanes, pilots pass their color vision tests, and aid NASA’s search to find life in our solar system were announced at AirVenture.

The sponsoring organization for all three competitions is HiddenGenius.com. To help reduce the risk of a drone colliding with a light aircraft, the community is announcing the Drone Sense and Avoid competition. Companies from around the world will be invited to compete and demonstrate they have created technology that allows small drones to detect and avoid aircraft. “We have visited with many of the top minds in the drone industry, NASA, FAA, drone operators, companies wanting to use drones beyond line of sight, and pilot organizations. It is clear that sense and avoid is one of the most important technologies for the future of aviation. Many companies are working on this, but proving you can do it in a public competition is powerful” said Trevor McKeeman, founder and CEO of HiddenGenius.

Another competition is to develop technology that helps pilots pass the color vision test required by the FAA. The first company to prove their technology helps pilots, who have color vision deficiency (commonly called color blindness) pass the test, and is approved for use by the FAA, wins the prize. HiddenGenius proposed a color vision challenge last year at Oshkosh and received positive support. It intends to raise the sponsorship level this year and make it an official competition. The number of people with color vision deficiency in the US alone is approximately equal to the population of LA, NYC, and Dallas combined. “It is crazy, in a world where we knock down barriers for those with disabilities, that millions of people may be cut off from their dream of being a pilot,” said McKeeman. “Technology can fix this for pilots, and may also be used to help millions of kids who struggle with color based curriculum in school. I was one of those kids.”

The HiddenGenius community is also developing a competition that may help NASA find life in our solar system. NASA believes that Mars and Europa both have water, and it is possible this may contain life. The next generation of rovers must be completely sterile of earth-based bacteria before they can explore these areas. McKeeman said, “It is exciting to think that people from around the world can help sponsor a prize competition, that some HiddenGenius in their garage might find a solution to this challenge, and that we may be able to help NASA find life beyond earth. What if the tech could also be used to sterilize hospital rooms and save lives? Who wouldn’t want to help change human history?”

“Technology competitions have transformed aviation for decades. HiddenGenius is the next generation of this heritage, said McKeeman. “Now anyone can spark the next great competition for a technology that improves their life or the lives of others. If enough people sponsor the competition prize and help shape the goals and rules, it gets launched as an official competition. People love to be part of a good race or sporting event. We use tech competitions to bring visibility to those HiddenGeniuses out there who have real technology needs and the competitors racing to find solutions that improve the world.”

(Source: HiddenGenius news release)

FMI: Drone Sense and Avoid, Pilot Color Vision, Mars Rover, http://HiddenGenius.com