AI for IOT INformation (AI3) Competition

• Create an AI System to help first responders – like firefighters, police, and EMTs- leverage data from IoT devices, smart buildings, and other surrounding sources.
• Up to $360,000 in cash prizes available!
• Get a head start and review the unofficial rules document now. Please note that the content in the document below is subject to change. 

Background

The rapid deployment of 5G infrastructure, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, smart buildings, transportation, and public safety data streams benefit communities across the country. However, these technologies have created a flood of data and made it difficult for public safety leaders and individual first responders to use them.

The Smart Communities, Smart Responders: An Artificial Intelligence for Internet of Things Prize Competition (AI3 Prize Competition) seeks to address this situation by accelerating the development of real-time data visualization with rapid IoT sensor integration, accessing various IoT data streams delivered in usable formats. The objective is to help first responders solve complex problems by interoperating and integrating sensor information, thus improving situational analysis and response time.

Texas A&M University (TAMU) and US-Ignite invite members of the public to join the AI3 Prize Competition, which is funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Public Safety Communications Research Division (PSCR). The participants are expected to ingest the unknown data, evaluate it based on metadata or other contextual information, and categorize the data appropriately to utilize it on a situational awareness platform. A selected group of teams will have the opportunity to fully develop their solutions, preparing for and competing in a final, live test event at the Disaster City®.

Contest Overview

The AI3 Prize Competition consists of three phases. The key deliverable is a functioning system that can demonstrate end-to-end functionality with integrated operations by public safety professionals in a live exercise.

Objectives

• Increasing situational awareness for first responders and unit commanders
• Integrating IoT sensor data into intuitive data visualization interfaces
• Providing access to segmented and operationalizable real-time data
• Using AI to fuse, align, support, or confirm data from multiple IoT real-time sources with pre-event data
• Using IoT data and AI to alert or highlight status, changes, activities, and events
• Ingesting unknown data, evaluating it based on metadata or other contextual information

Technologies

The participants must use non-proprietary, open-source software for the development of their AI for IoT (AI3) system. The following is a list of technologies that are relevant to the competition. 

• InfluxDB Open-Source Time Series Database
• Apache Storm
• MQTT – The Standard for IoT Messaging
• Recorded live and simulated sensor data
• Data collection systems: While the exact sensors that will be used have not yet been determined, examples of what might be expected can be found below:
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
  • Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC)
  • Gas Dosimeter Systems
  • Heat Flux Measurement Gauges
  • Personal Alert Safety Systems including wearable health and location devices 
  • Surveillance/Video camera systems
  • Acoustic sensor systems
  • Climate and environmental sensors
  • Wearable health and location devices
  • Recorded live and simulated sensor data

Phases and Prizes Summary

Additional details can be found in the unofficial rules document here.

Why Participate

• Win cash prizes! Up to $360,000 in cash prizes
• Travel to key events and visit world-class training facilities for first responders
• Expand your network in the public safety community
• Test solutions by the public safety community in staged emergency scenarios during the final live event
• Receive feedback from the industry and academic leaders
• Identify data sources and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to improve emergency responder capabilities
• Identify technologies that improve the health and safety of emergency responders

How to Participate

• Contestants will use the US Ignite website (this page) to enter and for updates about the Competition, they will also be able to see competition rules on challenge.gov website. 
• Direct your questions about the AI3 Prize Competition to ai3info@lists.tamu.edu. 
• Attend the virtual kick-off webinars for each phase of the competition (At least one team member should attend) or attest to watching the recorded webinar.
• All contestants must designate one individual to serve as their Official Representative and one individual to serve as an alternate to assume the role and requirements of the Official Representative if, and only if, the first individual has resigned from their role as Official Representative or has failed to respond to NIST, TAMU, or US-Ignite communications for a period of 30 consecutive days. 
• See Official Representative requirements detailed in the Terms and Conditions section. 
• Complete the submission requirements for each phase and submit by the deadline (details of submission requirements for each phase can be found in the relevant section).
• Contestants will be able to apply for Phase 2 as a “walk-on”, even if they don’t submit a white paper for Phase 1. More details can be found here.
• Use the AI3 Competition page on the US Ignite website (this page) for submission of each phase requirement.

Eligibility

Download the unofficial rules document to review the eligibility criteria.

Questions

Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions! Email us at ai3info@lists.tamu.edu