OREANDA-NEWS. June 26, 2015. Businesses with ideas for novel products and services can win funding from the Ministry of Defence in 7 separate SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative) competitions.

If they really have potential to solve these specific problems, then those businesses can earn a further contract worth up to £1 million or more to develop their innovation.

The SBRI competitions recently opened by the Ministry of Defence are:

Non-destructive evaluation

Up to £1 million: on an open theme but also on airworthiness (air fuel and hydraulic seals) and personal protection (soft and hard body armour and helmets).

Deadline: noon on 19 August, 2015.

Open source big data insight

Up to £250,000 for phase 1: a prototype to provide an unstructured and open-source data analytics platform for defence.

Deadline: 5pm on 13 August, 2015.

Understand and interact with cyberspace

Up to £500,000: approaches to improve the way humans interact with data to allow them to understand what is going on in cyberspace.

Deadline: 5pm on 3 September 2015.

Persistent surveillance from the air

Up to £1 million: sensor and communications technologies that benefit high-altitude, low-weight, persistent aerial platforms.

Deadline: 5pm on 6 August 2015.

Agile, immersive mission training

Up to £1 million: agile, re-configurable and immersive simulation-based training, which can be readily available in response to changing operational needs.

Deadline: 5pm on 4 August 2015.

What’s inside that building?

Up to £650,000: technologies and methods of remotely gathering information about the layout and situation inside a building.

Deadline: 5pm on 10 September 2015.

Fuels and lubricants

Up to £1 million: reducing the cost of ownership of military assets through innovative approaches to fuel and lubrication use.

Deadline: noon on 5 August, 2015.