coondoggie writes with a link to a NetworkWorld article about an ongoing prize offered by the Department of Defense. The DoD is looking for very special battery, and they're willing to pay up to a million dollars for it. The battery in question is a 'wearable battery pack', one that will be powerful enough to fuel the soldier of the future but light enough not to burden him. "The DoD says typical soldier going out for a four-day mission carries as much as 40 pounds of batteries and rechargers in his pack and it wants to fix that. The goal is to reduce the weight for the power system that drives radios, night-vision devices, global positioning systems and other combat gear, including a recharging system, to about 2 pounds per day. The DoD is looking to mimic the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency which has experienced successes using contests to attract competitors to develop innovative unmanned vehicles and other objects. Now the Defense Research and Engineering Office is hoping to tap into that same competitive spirit to develop longer-duration, lighter-weight power supplies. Three prizes will be awarded in November 2008: $1 million, $500,000 and $250,000."
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DoD Offers $1 Million for Wearable Power Supply
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