XPrize Founders Launch Tech Innovation Competition

metlin writes "The organizers of the Ansari X-Prize have launched the equivalent of the X-Prize in a variety of technology areas, called the WTN X-Prizes. The idea is to have a series of prizes for important technology challenges facing humanity in the 21st century, which will be judged by the World Technology Network. The website mentions that, 'The concept of the WTN X PRIZES is to utilize the concepts, procedures, technologies and publicity developed X PRIZE Foundation's Ansari X PRIZE competition for space and the global science and technology innovators identification process and community developed by the World Technology Network (WTN) to launch a series of technology prizes seeking to meet the greatest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century.' Sounds like a good idea, maybe this will help make that flying car a reality?"

Comments

Re:crappy article

[91degrees]

From the "Click for more information" link:

Here is a very rough and incomplete list of the sorts of challenges that might be appropriate:

• Medical challenges, such a cure for cancer or other major diseases.
• Technological "holy grails", such as artificial intelligence, teleportation, molecular assemblers (true nanotechnology), cold fusion, or a believable virtual reality system
• Major global challenges, such as the various UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) announced by the world's leaders at the UN in 2000 at the Millennium Summit.

Idea for important technological innovation

[Denver_G]

Can they make one of the 1st prizes some of the X-ray specs so I can see through womens clothing! (Yes, it must have a gender filter)

Cool

[ender1598]

Instead of fusion power constantly being 10 years in the future, it'll now be stuck at 5!

Important technology challenges

[Advocadus Diaboli]

like e.g. making Microsoft Windows secure? :-)

SCNR

Re:Important technology challenges

[Capt'n Hector]

it's as simple as unplugging the ethernet cable and using a Linux or OS X box to surf.

Zooming out

[n54]

I'm getting a bit worried that the X-Prize people have lost focus. Better to do one thing right at the time as they have with the Ansari X-Prize.

Prize for Fuel Cells?

[antivoid]

I feel someone should offer a nice prize for creating an efficient and clean way of producing hydrogen for fuel cell technology. Fuel cells already exist, but the cost, pollution and work involved in producing the hyrdogen required to run a fuel cell is prohibitive. If cheap and clean hydrogen production was achieved, we would be able to stop burning fossil fuels, the world would be a cleaner place, and stuff like flying cars could very well become a reality due to the sheer amount of power fuel cells can produce.

Where's the opposite prize?

[thrill12]

Wherever a prize was awarded, anti-prizes where tought of: the golden raspberry(anti-Oscar), ig-nobel prize('anti'-NobelPrize), etc.

Where is this "Anti X-prize" then ?
My personal idea for the contents for such a prize would be:

Prize for the craft that crashes most spectacular (without people, duh)

Prize for the most useless invention on (name your territory here)

Prize for the worst overshoot of a set target (wanted to the moon, went to Mars)
Any more ?