Click the button below to complete the online technical survey and upload a PDF with supporting information about your proposed solution. 

All eligible submissions will be evaluated and selected teams will be invited to present at the Final Demo Day for the opportunity to compete for a share of $550,000 in cash prizes.

(Submissions Close August 10th, 2026)

The Autonomous Control of Invasive Species Prize Challenge is open to individuals and team members of all nationalities and of all ages, with the following exceptions:

• All participants under 18 years of age require parental or guardian authorization.
• An individual, organization, or sponsor is not eligible to apply or participate if they are on the Specially Designated Nationals list.
• U.S. Government organizations and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) may participate in the Challenge but are not eligible for prizes. To the extent there is a limit on the number of participating teams, the participation by Government organizations will not prevent non-federal entities from participating in the Challenge. Government organizations that plan to participate in the Challenge in any manner are encouraged to reach out to Central Florida Tech Grove for clarification on these Terms.
• Employees and support contractors of Central Florida Tech Grove, Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD), Headquarters, United States Marine Corps (HQMC), Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program/Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (SERDP/ESTCP), and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and their spouses, dependents, and household members, are not eligible to participate.
• Federal employees and contractors acting outside the scope of their employment should consult their ethics official and appropriate management before participating in the Challenge.
• To be eligible to win a prize in the Challenge, each team must have registered to participate in accordance with the instructions outlined herein.
• Individuals may not participate on both Government-funded and self-funded teams for the same competition.
• Individuals from comprehensively sanctioned jurisdictions cannot participate in the Challenge.
• All individuals requesting to participate are subject to screening to confirm participation eligibility.
• The Challenge organizers reserve the right to disqualify a participant whose actions are deemed to violate the spirit of the competition for any reason, including but not limited to, the violation of relevant laws or regulations in the course of participation in the Challenge.

Prizes for the Autonomous Control of Invasive Species Prize Challenge are authorized under 10 U.S.C. § 4025,
subject to the availability of appropriated funds for which the payment for prize purposes can be made. 

The Government reserves the right to withhold prizes to ineligible and disqualified participants. Tax treatment of prizes will be handled in accordance with U.S. Internal Revenue Service guidelines.

To receive a monetary prize, participants must provide a U.S. social security or taxpayer identification
number (TIN). Information on how to obtain a TIN is available on the U.S. Internal Revenue website at
www.IRS.gov. 

Foreign nationals will be subject to the U.S. and local tax codes applied to prize awards.

The Challenge organizers reserve the right to cancel, suspend, and/or modify the Challenge, or any part of it, for any reason, at their sole discretion.

REPRESENTATIONS

Upon submission, the Participant hereby represents and warrants that:

• It is the sole author and copyright owner of the submission; that the submission is an original work of the Participant and that the Participant has sufficient rights to use and to authorize others, including Central Florida Tech Grove, NAWCTSD, HQMC, SERDP/ESTCP, DARPA, and the Navy, to use the submission, as specified throughout the Official Rules; that the submission does not infringe upon any copyright or upon any other third party rights of which the Participant is aware; and that the submission is free of malware.

• The submission, and any use thereof by the Central Florida Tech Grove, NAWCTSD or the Navy is not defamatory or libelous in any manner; does not constitute or result in any misappropriation or other violation of the publicity rights or right of privacy of any person or entity, or infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate any intellectual property rights, privacy rights or any other rights of any person or entity.

• It is free to enter into this challenge without the consent of any third party.

• The Participant will not attempt to undermine the legitimate operation of the Challenge and understands that doing so may result in disqualification and forfeiture of any prizes. Prohibited conduct includes, but is not limited to: providing false information during registration or regarding eligibility; failing to comply with the Challenge Terms, Guidelines, or Rules; tampering with or interfering with the administration of the Challenge or the participation of other competitors; submitting content that violates third party rights, applicable law, or is lewd, obscene, discriminatory, or otherwise inappropriate; violating the U.S. Department of Defense Social Media User Agreement when using Challenge related discussion forums; threatening, harassing, or engaging in abusive conduct toward other participants or representatives of Central Florida Tech Grove, NAWCTSD, HQMC, SERDP/ESTCP, DARPA, or the U.S. Government. The Government reserves the right to disqualify any individual or organization whose conduct or affiliations bring discredit to the Government or could reasonably be expected to do so.

• There is no suit, proceeding, or any other claim pending or threatened against the Participant, nor does any circumstance exist, to its knowledge, which may be the basis of any such suit, proceeding, or other claim, that could limit or impair the Participant's performance of its obligations pursuant to the Terms and Conditions.
• It will not infringe, violate, or interfere with the intellectual property, publicity, privacy, contract or other right of any third party in the course of performance of this agreement or cause NAWCTSD or the Navy to do any of the same.
• It will comply with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations in performing under these Terms and Conditions, and it otherwise meets the eligibility requirements set forth by the prize challenge.

DATA RIGHTS AND MARKING

All data submitted under the Prize Challenge will be made available to the Central Florida Tech Grove, NAWCTSD and parties authorized to act on behalf of NAWCTSD. By accepting these Terms and Conditions, the Participant consents to the use of all data submitted by a participant to NAWCTSD.

The use of protective markings such as “Do Not Publicly Release – Trade Secret” or “Do Not Publicly Release – Confidential Proprietary Business Information,” or similar restrictive markings are authorized, and their use is strongly encouraged where appropriate. However, Participants should be aware that the use of protective markings is not dispositive as to whether information will be released publicly pursuant to a request for records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, et seq., as amended by the OPEN Government Act of 2007, Pub. L. No. 110-175. Any information received from the Participant is considered to be a federal agency record, and as such, subject to public release under FOIA. Decisions to disclose or withhold information received from a Participant are based on the applicability of one or more of the nine FOIA exemptions, not on the existence or nonexistence of protective markings. The agency's designated FOIA Officer will determine if information sought under a FOIA request will be withheld pursuant to one or more of the nine FOIA exemptions. All FOIA requests received are processed in accordance with 32 C.F.R. Part 286. Participants will be notified of any FOIA requests for their submissions in accordance with 32 C.F.R. § 286.10. Following notification by a FOIA processor, participants will be provided the opportunity to review their materials that were requested under FOIA and provide the FOIA processor with comments regarding whether the Participant believes any or all of the materials are exempt from release.

RELATIONSHIP OF THE PARTIES

Nothing contained in these Terms and Conditions is intended to create or constitute a relationship between Tech Grove, NAWCTSD, HQMC, SERDP/ESTCP, or DARPA and a Participant. Participation in the Prize Challenge does not imply any form of sanction, endorsement or support of the Participant by these organizations, nor does it grant either party any authority to act as agent, nor assume or create any obligation, on behalf of the other party. A Participant may not use a Tech Grove, NAWCTSD, HQMC, SERDP/ESTCP, DARPA, or Department of Defense logo or official seal in their submission.

PARTICIPANT LIABILITY AND INSURANCE

All Participants agree to assume and, thereby, have assumed any and all risks of injury or loss in connection with or in any way arising from participation in this challenge, or development of any submission. Upon registration, except in the case of willful misconduct, all Participants agree to and, thereby waive and release any and all claims or causes of action against the Federal Government and its officers, employees and agents for any and all injury or damage of any nature whatsoever (whether existing or thereafter arising, whether direct, indirect, or consequential and whether foreseeable or not), arising from their participation in the challenge, whether the claim or cause of action arises under contract or tort. Based on the subject matter of the prize challenge, the type of work that it will require, as well as the unlikeliness of claims for death, bodily injury, property damage, or loss potentially arising from or related to participation in the prize challenge, no individual or entity participating in the prize challenge is required to obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility in order to participate in this prize challenge.

DISPUTES

Participation constitutes each Participant's full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Terms and Conditions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the challenge. The final scores and determinations are final and binding on all Participants. The final scores of the Judging Panel and the final determination of all Winners may not be challenged by the Participants.

GOVERNING LAW

This Prize Challenge is conducted pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 4025. These Terms and Conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with Federal law. Any claims arising under or related to this Challenge shall be resolved in accordance with applicable Federal statutes and regulations. To the extent permitted by law, jurisdiction and venue for any claim not otherwise resolved shall lie exclusively in the United States federal courts.

FOLLOW-ON ACTIVITIES

This Open Call Announcement is considered to have potential for further efforts that may be accomplished via FAR-based contracting instruments, Other Transaction Authority (OTA) for Prototype Projects 10 USC 4022 and Research 10 USC 4021, Prizes for advanced technology achievements 10 USC 4025, and/or Prize Competitions 15 USC 3719. If a prototype OTA is awarded and considered successfully completed, follow-on production may be pursued in accordance with 10 USC 4022(f). The public open call announcement made at https://centralfloridatechgrove.org/ is considered to satisfy the reasonable effort to obtain competition in accordance with 10 USC 4025(b), 15 USC 3719(e) and 10 USC 4022(b)(2).

View and Download Full Judging Criteria Here:

Download Judging Criteria