According to sources, NASA's Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI) assists in the use of crowdsourcing across the federal government. CoECI's NASA Tournament Lab offers the contract capability to run external crowdsourced challenges on behalf of NASA and other agencies. A three-phase challenge invites geophysicists, sensing specialists, nondestructive testing experts, and creative problem-solvers, including AI/ML practitioners, from any field to develop novel methods for detecting subsurface cracks in embankment dams.
In Phase 1, teams will articulate and frame their solution approach and execution vision, with a submission deadline of April 30, 2026. In Phase 2, selected teams will detail and validate their designs. In Phase 3, selected teams will demonstrate the most promising solutions in conditions that reflect real embankment dam environments.
The challenge has a total prize of $400,000 across all three phases. The specific criteria for selecting teams for Phase 2 and Phase 3 have not been disclosed. The exact dates for Phase 2 and Phase 3 deadlines remain unknown.
The challenge aims to leverage crowdsourcing to address critical infrastructure safety issues.