Non-profit group X Prize Foundation has launched another global competition for those who have what it takes to create low-cost tech that can help in exploring the wonders of the deep sea. The challenge is for teams of entrepreneurs to create new, low-cost technologies that can conduct high-resolution mapping, identify various deep-sea features and objects, and track chemical and biological signatures up to 2.5 miles below the ocean's surface, according to Yahoo News.
The prize at stake is a total of $7 million - $4 million for the team to produce the highest quality image of the ocean floor, $1 million to the second place winner, $1 million to be divided by 10 participants whose entries will be taken to the next round, and finally, $1 million to who presents tech that can best determine biological and chemical signals in the deep ocean, Business Insider reports.
"Our oceans cover two-thirds of our planet's surface and are a crucial global source of food, energy, economic security, and even the air we breathe, yet 95 percent of the deep sea remains a mystery to us. The Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE will address a critical ocean challenge by accelerating innovation to further explore one of our greatest unexplored frontiers," said Xprize head Peter Diamandis in the prize's announcement, according to NBC News.
Interested individuals and teams can register until Sept. 2016 and it is open to anyone who accepts the challenge and has ideas to submit.
"One of the main goals is to bring the deep sea to the public ... Without understanding the environment, it's very hard to value it and without valuing it, people will not care and respect it," said Jyotika Virmani, senior director at Xprize, Business Insider adds.
