Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Uncle Sam has $1,000,000 for you

The Department of Defence is looking for a winning design that will assist their soldiers in wearing/carrying a portable electric power system. In return, they will give you USD$1,000,000! The winning design must be able to produce 20Watts of power for at least 96 hours and it has to weigh less than 4kg.



Here's what the DoD techincal requirements stated:

"The complete power system must weigh 4kg or less and provide a minimum of 1920Whr. The power system must operate continuously for 96 hours. During the 96 hours of operation the system must operate: (1) continuously (i.e., 24 hours a day); (2) at partial power; (3) for a number of periods of high power of up to 200W for 5 min; (4) in a non-air breathing mode in a sealed container for a time to be determined; (5) be attitude or vertical orientation and motion independent; (6) provide output voltages of 14V and 28V. The system must attach to a vest and operate while worn. The government will provide connectors for the equipment on the course with additional cables, outlets, etc."

Thanks to Gizmodo for the report.