Individual Prize Challenge - Central Florida Tech Grove

SERDP/ESTCP

Virtual Wildfire Modeling & Immersive Training Prize Challenge

Develop VR/AR wildfire training tools to help DoD installations prepare for and respond to increasing wildfire threats through immersive, data-rich, and scientifically grounded simulations

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Prize Challenge Information

Overview

Wildfires increasingly threaten U.S. military installations due to environmental volatility, hazardous fuels, and changing climate conditions. Effective planning and response training requires immersive, data-driven tools that simulate dynamic fire behavior in realistic environments.

The Virtual Wildfire Modeling & Immersive Training Prize Challenge—hosted by Central Florida Tech Grove in partnership with NAWCTSD and SERDP/ESTCP—seeks innovative solutions that use virtual and augmented reality technologies to enhance wildfire response and prescribed fire training. Participants are challenged to create deployable, standalone XR tools that model real-time fire-environment interactions, support scientific data visualization, and enable intuitive multi-perspective user exploration.

Solutions should align with the QUIC-Fire model and demonstrate scalability, field usability, and compatibility with standalone XR hardware. Winning submissions may lead to follow-on engagement via Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs), CRADAs, and other acquisition pathways.

Key Dates:

June 13, 2025 – “Save the Date” announcement
June 16, 2025 – Challenge launch and registration opens
July 8, 2025 – Virtual Information Session - https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YzZiYWQ0ZGYtY2ZiMy00YjBlLTkzOWUtYWNiMzIxYjhkOTU4%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22bb932f15-ef38-42ba-91fc-f3c59d5dd1f1%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e2458ab2-d299-4ea8-82ec-7878e7165eba%22%7d
Recording: https://youtu.be/QNxT_yZbbDM
August 14, 2025 – Submission deadline
September 25, 2025 – Demo Day and prize awards

Top three solutions will receive cash prizes totaling $150,000 and exposure to defense innovation leaders.

Timeline

07/08/25 02:00 PM EDT: Virtual Information Session held (exact date and registration link available via SimpleTix)
08/14/25 11:59 PM EDT: Phase 1 Submission Deadline
08/29/25 11:59 PM EDT: Semi-Finalist Notification & Demo Day Materials Submission Opens
09/12/25 11:59 PM EDT: Phase 2 Submission Deadline (Demo Day Deliverables)
09/25/25 11:59 PM EDT: Demo Day Presentation Event & Prize Winner Announcements

Prizes

$150,000

The highest-ranking participant will receive a $70,000 prize, while the second and third-ranked participants will be awarded $50,000 and $30,000, respectively.

Note:

Submittals and demonstrations by all participants will be evaluated and rated by SERDP subject matter experts (SMEs). Three finalists will be chosen based on the evaluation of eligible submissions and involvement in the Prize Challenge Demo Day on September 25, 2025.

Rules

Eligibility Requirements

Participants may be individuals or teams from industry, academia, state/local government, or non-profit entities. Eligibility is subject to verification during each Phase and before award of any prize. To be eligible to win, all individual participants or members of a participating team must meet the following eligibility requirements:

Participants must have complied with all requirements set forth in the prize competition.
All participants must be 18 years or older, and a citizen of a NATO-affiliated country.
Except for employees appointed under the STEM Student Employment Program or other student employment programs, Federal employees and support service contractors are not eligible to participate.
Participants may not use Federal funds to support participation.

Rules:

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

Terms and Conditions
Representations:
Upon submission, the Participant hereby represents and warrants that:

1. 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 SERDP, Tech Grove, NAWCTSD 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;
2. 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;
3. It is free to enter into this competition without the consent of any third party.
4. 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 the Terms and Conditions.
5. 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.
6. It will comply with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations in performing under these Terms and Conditions; and
7. It otherwise meets the eligibility requirements set forth by the prize competition.

Data Rights and Marking

All data submitted under the Prize competition 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. Submission 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 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 SERDP, Tech Grove, or NAWCTSD and a Participant. Participation in the Prize competition does not imply any form of sanction, endorsement or support of the Participant by SERDP, Tech Grove, or NAWCTSD, 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 SERDP, Tech Grove, or NAWCTSD 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 way arising from participation in this competition, 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 competition, whether the claim or cause of action arises under contract or tort.
Based on the subject matter of the prize competition, 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 competition, no individual or entity participating in the prize competition is required to obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility in order to participate in this prize competition.

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 competition. 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.

Judging

Phase 1: Prototype Submission and Evaluation

Participants will deliver the below by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on 8/14/2025 via the designated process above:
· Link to final Video Demonstration of the Front and Back end of the Solution compliant with the Technical Requirement detailed below.
o YouTube or link to a video, NOT an mp4 or anything that needs to be downloaded to view.
· Presentation outlining:
§ Solution description and justification
§ Summary of solution capabilities and functions
§ Matrix showing % of technical requirements satisfied by the solution
§ Potential expansions to include additional tasks and/or additional job categories
§ What potential barriers might there be for implementation of the proposed solution by SERDP?
§ Recommended next steps and needs to further develop the solution

Judging Criteria:

Category
Unsatisfactory (0 pts)
Satisfactory (10 pts)
Exceptional (20 pts)
Increasing the Utility/Usability of Wildland Fire Simulation Data
Minimal value added beyond current commonly-produced fire maps or 3D fire model simulation visualization.
Moderate improvement in data utility beyond more traditional visualization such as maps or 3D visualization (e.g. enhanced interpretability, perspective, awareness)
Substantial increase in data value for a broad set of audiences through large improvements in interpretability, perspective, awareness.
Real-World Field Usability
Requires tech support, additional equipment, or multiple steps to engage
Requires some additional equipment but is plug and play and has fewer steps to engage
Requires no additional equipment, is one-touch startup and few/no steps to engage.
Cybersecurity Measures
Inadequate cybersecurity and insufficient data protection.
Basic cybersecurity practices implemented.
Advanced cybersecurity with robust data protection fully compliant with standards.
XR Hardware Compatibility
Requires cloud connection; impractical for standalone XR use. Requires tethered use; Specific headset brand/model required.
Functions with cloud support but limited standalone capabilities. If tethered use only, mobility of user not impaired. Able to use with limited list of headset brands/models
Fully usable with standalone XR hardware; no cloud dependency required. Ability to use untethered; Able to use with multiple headset brands/models.
Visual Fidelity and Interaction
Visuals unclear or fail to represent key fire behavior distinctions.
Adequate visual clarity; users can differentiate basic fire behaviors.
Exceptional clarity and engagement; clearly demonstrates and differentiates complex fire behaviors.
Speed and rendering
Visualizations are jumpy or speed of scene/visualization prepration is a serious impediment to use
Smooth visualizations and speed of building the visualization is reasonable if done prior to use of the visualization
Smooth visualizations that can be produced and visualized simultaneously.
User exploration of Fire environment
Single set of fire environment variables presented with no ability for user to investigate/explore different combinations of elements of fire and fire-environment.
Limited flexibility to explore or highlight various combinations of fire and fire environment in order to enable explanation of complex events with multiple environmental contributors
Great flexibility and suite of standard defaults for visualizing interplay between fire and various fire-environment factors. Enabling flexible use in training and explanation of complex events
Multi-Angle and Perspective Visualization
Single viewpoint only; limited interaction.
Multiple viewpoints available but limited navigation control.
Comprehensive, intuitive multiple viewpoints (first-person, oblique, third-person), adjustable freely.

Potential for Operational Relevance

Based on sum of above factors, end product is insufficient for supporting development of relevant ignition scenario training.
Based on all factors, end product has some potential for supporting development of relevant ignition scenario training with minor adjustments.
Based on all factors, end product has high potential for supporting development of relevant ignition scenario training with little need for adjustments.

Grand Total: ### of 180

Phase 2: Demo Day and Final Judging

Semi Finals Submission Requirements for Demo Day:

Semifinalists selected from the First Round Submissions and confirmed to participate in the exercise for demonstration will deliver the below by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on 9/12/2025 via the designated process that will be provided via email on TBD:
· Link to final Video Demonstration of the Front and Back end of the Solution compliant with the Technical Requirement detailed below.
o YouTube or link to a video, NOT an mp4 or anything that needs to be downloaded to view.
o Final version of Pitch Presentation outlining:
o Solution description and justification
o Summary of solution capabilities and functions
o Matrix showing % of technical requirements satisfied by the solution
o Potential expansions to include additional tasks and/or additional job categories
o What potential barriers might there be for implementation of the proposed solution by SERDP?
o Recommended next steps and needs to further develop the solution
The judging criteria for Demo Day will be provided to the semi-finalists upon notification of advancement to the final round of the prize competition

Technical Requirements:
Materials Provided:
The following materials are available to potential participants at this link:
https://tier2.wfsi-data.org/CPO22_Tech_Challenge_QUICFire_Data/
Globus Account Login
https://app.globus.org/file-manager?origin_id=095b965e-aa6f-4774-83f8-bf49706d753c&origin_path=/CPO22_Tech_Challenge_QUICFire_Data/
To ensure proper evaluation, submitted solution prototypes must align with one or more of the following criteria derived from expert fire modeling insights:

Multiple Fire Behaviors and Environmental Interaction:
Clearly represent passive/active crown fires, surface fires, and transitional fire behaviors horizontally and vertically across vegetation.
Allow users to manipulate critical environmental factors including wind speed/direction, fuel moisture/load, temperature, and relative humidity.
Real-Time Immersive Interaction:
Provide intuitive and engaging visualization methods to differentiate various fire intensities and behaviors.
Enable interactive tools to adjust and visualize the intensity and progression of fire in response to user actions.
Visualization & Perspectives:
Support multiple viewing angles and altitudes (first-person, oblique, third-person).
Offer fixed and free camera controls for comprehensive spatial understanding.
Ensure clarity from coarse to fine scale data visualization (from voxel-level approximations to ultra-high definition).
Hardware and Platform Flexibility:
Compatibility with standalone VR sets, with optional adaptability to cell phones and TV screens to maximize accessibility and usability.
Scientific Data Visualization:
Leverage advanced visualization methods to effectively communicate scientific and physical aspects of fire behavior, including invisible atmospheric interactions such as wind vectors and shear layers.
Deployment Readiness:
Demonstrate ease and rapidity of deployment in operational environments with minimal setup and configuration requirements.

How to Enter

Phase 1: Prototype Submission and Evaluation

Registration Opens June 16, 2025:
https://forms.monday.com/forms/d612d6b9fe85967f5d65a00035961904?r=use1
Submissions must be submitted by August 14, 2025:
https://forms.monday.com/forms/d612d6b9fe85967f5d65a00035961904?r=use1
Both Registration and Submission are required to be considered for the challenge.

Initial Submission Requirements:
Participants will deliver the below by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on 8/14/2025 via the designated process above:
· Link to final Video Demonstration of the Front and Back end of the Solution compliant with the Technical Requirement detailed below.
o YouTube or link to a video, NOT an mp4 or anything that needs to be downloaded to view.
· Presentation outlining:
§ Solution description and justification
§ Summary of solution capabilities and functions
§ Matrix showing % of technical requirements satisfied by the solution
§ Potential expansions to include additional tasks and/or additional job categories
§ What potential barriers might there be for implementation of the proposed solution by SERDP?

§ Recommended next steps and needs to further develop the solution

Phase 2: Demo Day and Final Judging

Semifinalists selected from the First Round Submissions and confirmed to participate in the exercise for demonstration will deliver the below by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on 9/12/2025 via the designated process that will be provided via email on TBD:
· Link to final Video Demonstration of the Front and Back end of the Solution compliant with the Technical Requirement detailed below.
o YouTube or link to a video, NOT an mp4 or anything that needs to be downloaded to view.
o Final version of Pitch Presentation outlining:
o Solution description and justification
o Summary of solution capabilities and functions
o Matrix showing % of technical requirements satisfied by the solution
o Potential expansions to include additional tasks and/or additional job categories
o What potential barriers might there be for implementation of the proposed solution by SERDP?
o Recommended next steps and needs to further develop the solution
The judging criteria for Demo Day will be provided to the semi-finalists upon notification of advancement to the final round of the prize competition

Technical Requirements:
Materials Provided:
The following materials are available to potential participants at this link:
https://tier2.wfsi-data.org/CPO22_Tech_Challenge_QUICFire_Data/
Globus Account Login
https://app.globus.org/file-manager?origin_id=095b965e-aa6f-4774-83f8-bf49706d753c&origin_path=/CPO22_Tech_Challenge_QUICFire_Data/
To ensure proper evaluation, submitted solution prototypes must align with one or more of the following criteria derived from expert fire modeling insights:

Multiple Fire Behaviors and Environmental Interaction:
Clearly represent passive/active crown fires, surface fires, and transitional fire behaviors horizontally and vertically across vegetation.
Allow users to manipulate critical environmental factors including wind speed/direction, fuel moisture/load, temperature, and relative humidity.
Real-Time Immersive Interaction:
Provide intuitive and engaging visualization methods to differentiate various fire intensities and behaviors.
Enable interactive tools to adjust and visualize the intensity and progression of fire in response to user actions.
Visualization & Perspectives:
Support multiple viewing angles and altitudes (first-person, oblique, third-person).
Offer fixed and free camera controls for comprehensive spatial understanding.
Ensure clarity from coarse to fine scale data visualization (from voxel-level approximations to ultra-high definition).
Hardware and Platform Flexibility:
Compatibility with standalone VR sets, with optional adaptability to cell phones and TV screens to maximize accessibility and usability.
Scientific Data Visualization:
Leverage advanced visualization methods to effectively communicate scientific and physical aspects of fire behavior, including invisible atmospheric interactions such as wind vectors and shear layers.
Deployment Readiness:
Demonstrate ease and rapidity of deployment in operational environments with minimal setup and configuration requirements.

FAQ

Virtual Information Session Link - https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YzZiYWQ0ZGYtY2ZiMy00YjBlLTkzOWUtYWNiMzIxYjhkOTU4%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22bb932f15-ef38-42ba-91fc-f3c59d5dd1f1%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e2458ab2-d299-4ea8-82ec-7878e7165eba%22%7d

Virtual Information Session Recording- https://youtu.be/QNxT_yZbbDM