NASA Tournament Lab

The NASA Tournament Lab was originally established in 2010 as a joint initiative between NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI), Harvard Business School, and the Institute for Quantitative Social Science, to design and field challenges and contests to create code, data analytics solutions, ideas, and creative content for NASA and other federal government agencies. We continue to work with CoECI to support their crowdsourcing challenges. Read more about our history with the NASA Tournament Lab here and see a selection of the challenges below.

REALM ISS RFID Localization Challenge

The goal of this 2018 challenge was to develop an optimized User Interface for the RFID Auto Logistics Management (REALM) software used to manage logistics onboard spacecraft. Based on specific requirements, the challenge looked for a solution that would address... Read more about REALM ISS RFID Localization Challenge

USSOCOM HF Geolocation Algorithm Challenge

How do planes geolocate radio signals on the ground? This 2019 USSOCOM Geolocation challenge hoped to find an algorithm that could optimize the capability of a transmitter that develops and fields signals across the air, ground, and sea.... Read more about USSOCOM HF Geolocation Algorithm Challenge

CDC Text Classification Challenge

Every day, work-related injury records are generated and collected by the CDC. In order to alleviate the human effort expended with coding such records, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health,... Read more about CDC Text Classification Challenge

USSOCOM Urban 3D Challenge

This 2017 USSOCOM Urban 3D challenge sought an algorithm that could provide reliable, superimposed satellite images of buildings. Providing an orthorectified color image, Digital Surface Model (DSM), and Digital Terrain Model (DTM) for the geographic areas,... Read more about USSOCOM Urban 3D Challenge

NIST: Differential Privacy Challenges

This series of challenges from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) had the goal to create an algorithm that could de-identify data in data sets associated with buildings, enabling the protection of personally identifiable information... Read more about NIST: Differential Privacy Challenges

Detection of Radiological Threats in Urban Areas

The Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Detection of Radiological Threats in Urban Areas challenge took place in 2019 over the course of two months with a $100,000 prize purse... Read more about Detection of Radiological Threats in Urban Areas

Asteroid Data Hunter Challenge

As part of the Asteroid Grand Challenge Series, NASA ran a two-phased project in 2014 to 1) develop an algorithm that cleans the output of the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) algorithm, detecting the asteroids on space images and screen out false positive detections 2) develop an... Read more about Asteroid Data Hunter Challenge

Asteroid Tracker Challenge

As a part of the NASA Asteroid Grand Challenge Series, the 2014 Asteroid Tracker Challenge attempted to optimize the use of an array of radar dishes when tracking Near Earth Objects (NEO) from the time they become visible over the horizon until the point at which they cease... Read more about Asteroid Tracker Challenge

International Space Station Longeron Shadowing Challenge

The goal of this 2013 NASA challenge conducted on Topcoder was to optimize the position of solar collectors on the International Space Station to generate as much power as possible during the most difficult orbital configurations.... Read more about International Space Station Longeron Shadowing Challenge

ISS-FIT App

Sponsored by NASA, the goal of this 2013 series of challenges was to develop an iPad application for astronauts to use on the International Space Station (ISS) to track food intake. Astronauts on ISS have busy daily schedules and needed a simple way to record what they eat and drink in... Read more about ISS-FIT App

Robonaut 2 Challenges

The goal of this series of NASA challenges was to create algorithms to train and control Robonaut 2—the first humanoid robot in space. Robonaut 2 is used on the International Space Station (ISS) to help perform dangerous or routine tasks instead of astronauts. Run in 2016, this particular challenge... Read more about Robonaut 2 Challenges

Cassini Images Challenge

This 2014 Planetary Data System NASA challenge asked competitors to help find anomalies and features of interest in the rings of Saturn that are not otherwise detectable by computer due to false-positives. The Cassini spacecraft took images during the orbit of Saturn. Competitors were... Read more about Cassini Images Challenge

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Challenge Series

This 2013 series of challenges was to develop a software module for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that could be used across multiple states. Working with the Medicaid office of the state of Minnesota, these challenges developed... Read more about Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Challenge Series

Collective Minds and Machines Exploration Challenge

This 2013 challenge was developed in partnership with NASA; University of California, San Diego; and National Geographic. Conducted on Topcoder with a $15,000 prize purse, this machine learning contest asked competitors to develop an algorithm that learns from... Read more about Collective Minds and Machines Exploration Challenge

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Algorithm Challenge

Historical patents are a difficult target for digitization. Figures and labels are central to patents and present complex combinations of image and text elements. Sponsored by the CoECI in 2011, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Algorithm Challenge tasked competitors... Read more about U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Algorithm Challenge

Quest for Quakes

QuakeFinder, an R&D project within Stellar Solutions Inc., has collected a decades worth of data along major faultlines using specialized sensors. The goal of this 2015 NASA challenge was to characterize pre-earthquake electromagnetic signals and develop a forecasting algorithm capable... Read more about Quest for Quakes

2012 Venus Transit Video Time Capsule Challenge

Conducted on Tongal, this 2012 NASA competition asked participants to submit ideas, pitches, and video content to create a 60-second video on the Venus Transit. The winning video combines provided footage of the 2012 Venus Transit with original footage... Read more about 2012 Venus Transit Video Time Capsule Challenge

Zero Robotics Video Challenge

Participants in this 2012 NASA contest through the Tongal platform were tasked to submit ideas, pitches, and create videos for the Zero Robotics program, which invites students to compete in robotics competitions through NASA. Results can... Read more about Zero Robotics Video Challenge

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