Sky High Relief Challenge

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) needs an improved bladder relief system that allows female aviators to hydrate adequately and relieve themselves during flight without interfering with operations or compromising flight safety. Current mission profiles and air refueling ability up to 16 hours have led to longer flight times for aircrew who need to urinate multiple times during flight without removing restraint systems and flight equipment. As a result, many female aircrew resort to “tactical dehydration” to avoid the difficulties and potential dangers of having to relieve themselves inflight. This challenge aims to address the unmet bladder relief needs for female aircrews flying sky high. It seeks to find innovative solutions that provide comfortable, form-fitting interface options and significantly improved bodily fluid processing and disposal capabilities.

An improved bladder relief system will enhance the overall quality of life for female aviators on and off the job by leading to fewer physical and mental health issues. During flights, dehydration negatively impacts pilots by lowering their G-tolerance by up to 50%. Dehydration can result in a variety of medical problems, including reduced physical and cognitive performance, decreased situational awareness, intense headaches, altered vision and possible G-induced Loss of Consciousness (GLOC). Other physiological effects include the development of kidney stones, recurring skin irritations, long-term incontinence and urinary tract infections.

Moreover, the focus on addressing women's needs at the highest levels of the Air Force demonstrates USAF's commitment to developing superior aircrews while simultaneously fostering inclusion and supporting gender equality. Addressing female-specific equipment and female aviators’ wellbeing is a top USAF priority. The outcomes of this challenge will help improve retention rates, advance recruitment practices and eliminate gender gaps. For female aviators, the confidence in knowing their equipment performs safely, reliably and is designed for their bodies will allow them to focus on their missions and perform at optimal levels.

Whether you design a comprehensive solution, component, material or develop an entirely novel bladder relief system, we welcome you to the AFWERX Challenge crowdsourcing process. In partnership with USAF, AFWERX invites you to submit your product, service or idea to help develop an improved inflight bladder relief system. Your solution could potentially provide female aviators the relief needed to navigate the skies with the ease and comfort they deserve!

Participation in this challenge requires a completed submission using the web form on the AFWERXchallenge.com website for this topic. The web form for this challenge can be found here: https://afwerxchallenge.com/andmore/inflightbladderreliefequipmentequality.

The Government reserves the right to award prize challenges to one or more performers for each category   at a minimum amount of $100,000.00 in the following categories (up to 10 in total):

-Comfortable, Form-Fitting Interfaces

-Urine Transfer and Storage Technology

-Compact, High-Flow Rate Pump Technology

A minimum of $250k Prize Money for the following full system category (up to 2 in total):

-Complete Pump-less Bladder Relief System

If challenge contestant is not selected for prize money, the Government still reserves the right to award an OTA to further develop the performer's system/design.

In order to participate in the prize challenge a contestant (whether an individual, team, or legal entity) must have registered to participate and complied with all of the requirements under section 3719 of title 15, United States Code as contained herein. At the time of entry, the Official Representative (individual or team lead, in the case of a group project) must be age 18 or older and a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States or its territories. In the case of a private entity, the business shall be incorporated in and maintain a place of business in the United States or its territories. Multiple individuals and/or legal entities may collaborate as a group to submit a single entry and a single individual from the group must be designated as an Official Representative for each entry. That designated individual will be responsible for meeting all entry and evaluation requirements.

Contestants may not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within the scope of their employment. A contestant shall not be deemed ineligible because the contestant consulted with Federal employees or used Federal facilities in preparing its submission to the Challenge if the Federal employees and facilities are made available to all contestants on an equitable basis. Employees of any official co-sponsoring entities are not eligible to enter.

Contestants, including individuals and private entities, must not have been convicted of a felony criminal violation under any Federal law within the preceding 24 months and must not have any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability. Contestants must not be suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded from doing business with the Federal Government.

By registering for the prize competition, the participant and any related entity agrees to assume any and all risks, and waive claims against the government, associated with the competition except: (1) in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from their participation in a prize competition, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise and (2) the unauthorized use or disclosure of the intellectual property, trade secrets, or confidential business information of the participant.  The term “related entity” means a parent company, subsidiary, contractor or subcontractor at any tier, and a supplier, user, customer, cooperating party, grantee, investigator, or detailee.”

The Federal Government shall not, by virtue of offering a prize competition or providing a cash prize purse or non-cash prize award under this section, be responsible for compliance by registered participants in a prize competition with Federal law, including licensing, export control, and nonproliferation laws, and related regulations.

The Air Force will not gain an interest in intellectual property developed by a participant in this prize competition without the written consent of the participant.  By participating in this competition, the participant agrees to negotiate in good-faith a license for the use of intellectual property in the event the Air Force wishes to pursue the participant’s solution.

The submissions will be judged by a qualified panel of expert(s) selected by the Division Chief of WNU. The panel consists of government, medical, aircrew flight equipment and technology experts who will judge the submissions using the judging criteria identified below and will select winners. Judges will not (A) have personal or financial interests in, or be an employee, officer, director, or agent of any entity that is a registered contestant in a challenge; or (B) have a familial or financial relationship with an individual who is a registered contestant. Members of the judging panel are required to complete an Agreement of Nondisclosure, conflicts of interest and rules of conduct. The decisions of the Judging panel for the challenge will be announced in accordance with the dates noted in the "What’s Next" section of these rules. Contestants’ evaluation results from the Judging panel will not be made available to Contestants or the public.

To support collaboration and the development of technology and systems in the In Flight Bladder Relief System (IBRS), interested participants of this challenge will need to include in submission of interest a statement acknowledging agreement to sign an Associate Program Performer Agreement (APPA) if selected as awardee on an Other Transaction Agreement Prototype. The APPAs are intended to ensure appropriate coordination and potential integration of work done by program performers.