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The FAQ on the website says this:

Does Google own the intellectual property created during the competition?

No. Google is not requiring any IP or licenses be granted except a non-exclusive license to be used only for the purpose of testing the inverter and publicizing the prize. We want entrants to benefit themselves through the advancements they make in order to help grow an advanced power electronics ecosystem.

It also links to the detailed terms and conditions, which I've not read.

I'm still puzzled by the economics of these prize driven challenges. Look at the winning design: (pdf) . R&D costs of it (including expertise, etc) well exceed $1mil. And having a lot of teams working on their designs... Assuming that there are at least 3 other good teams means then expected payout is laughable $250k...

As a professional, I expect to be paid for the work I do for hire. Sure, some things are done for fun, but building entire product is rarely is... Like, look at the open source software, for example: many parts of Linux OS are interesting and fun, others are not - so if you need them to be done, you better be ready to pay.

Another angle: even if you don't need money, there are plenty of engineers who do - google can afford paying for these things full sticker.

If you had read the challenge when it was proposed (or went to read the rules), the efficiency was required to be > 95%

. Produce a DCAC conversion efficiency of > 95%

From https://www.littleboxchallenge...

Yeah... from the website:

INTRODUCING THE LITTLE BOX CHALLENGE

An open competition to build a (much) smaller power inverter, with a $1,000,000 prize.

Design and build a kW-scale inverter with the highest power density (at least 50 Watts per cubic inch).

Efficiency is not mentioned anywhere. I see somebody arguing that efficient with space is still being efficient. This is true, but is not what is commonly meant when referring to the efficient of an inverter, and misusing the word in this context is confusing.

They exclude people in various places from entering. https://www.littleboxchallenge... I can see why Cuba, Iran, N Korea, Syria & Sudan are listed. But why on Earth are Brazil, Italy & Quebec on the list?

> One question: why?

We believe that inverters will become increasingly important to our economy and environment as solar PV, batteries, and similar power sources continue their rapid growth. More broadly, similar forms of power electronics are everywhere: in laptops, phones, motors drives, electric vehicles, wind turbines, to give just a few examples. We expect that the innovations inspired by this prize will have wide applicability across these areas, increasing efficiency, driving down costs, and opening up new uses cases that we can’t imagine today. It also doesn’t hurt that many of these improvements could make our data centers run more safely and efficiently.
The Little Box Challenge