Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE: Nine Finalist Teams Announced
March 19, 2018
On Thursday, March 15 at the Oceanology International’s Catch the Next Wave conference in London, the nine finalist teams advancing in the $7M Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE were recognized and awarded. Alan P. Leonardi, Ph.D., director of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, serves on the Scientific Advisory Board. This XPRIZE is a three-year global competition challenging teams to advance ocean technologies for rapid, unmanned and high-resolution ocean exploration.To advance to the final round, the semifinalist teams had to pass a Round 1 Technology Readiness Test, which comprised of site visits to each team by XPRIZE staff and judges. The final Round 2 testing will take place during October and November of 2018.
A preliminary test of the $1 million NOAA Bonus Prize will take place during Spring 2018. This will give all semifinalist teams who have opted to participate a platform to test their technologies. The winners of the NOAA Bonus Prize, which incentivizes the development of technologies that can detect a chemical or biological signal underwater and autonomously track it to its source, will be determined during Round 2 testing in October and November 2018.