The Department of Defense wants to pay you $1 million to come up
with a lightweight "wearable power" battery pack for soldiers.
The DoD says typical soldier going out for a four-day mission
carries as much as 40 pounds of batteries and rechargers in his
pack and it wants to fix that. The goal is to reduce the weight
for the power system that drives radios, night-vision devices,
global positioning systems and other combat gear, including a
recharging system, to about 2 pounds per day The DoD is looking
to mimic the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency which has
experienced successes using contests to attract competitors to
develop innovative unmanned vehicles and other objects. Now the
Defense Research and Engineering Office is hoping to tap into
that same competitive spirit to develop longer-duration,
lighter-weight power supplies. Three prizes will be awarded in
November 2008: $1 million, $500,000 and $250,000. Competitors
have until Nov. 30 to register for the competition. Everyone --
private citizens,