Judging Panel Announced for ANA Avatar XPRIZE

May 21 2019

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XPRIZE has convened seven top minds in robotics and related technologies (including Haptics, VR, Computer Vision, Engineering, Sensors, AI and Ethics) to serve as judges for the $10M ANA Avatar XPRIZE.

Given the unprecedented nature of the competition, it was necessary to identify judges from a diverse range of disciplines to assist in developing the competition rules and regulations. XPRIZE courted various companies, research labs, universities, trade associations and conferences to identify and recruit the following seven expert judges:

  • Bill Borgia, Director of Mission Systems at Draper – Borgia has expertise in precision navigation and guidance, autonomous navigation and precision sensing and instrumentation.
  • Ed Colgate, CEO of Tanvas, Inc., Neuroscience and Robotics Professor at Northwestern University –Colgate’s principal research interests are haptic interfaces and human-robot interactions.
  • Dr. Corinna Lathan, Co-Founder and CEO of AnthroTronix, Inc. – Dr. Lathan is a global thought leader in the relationship between technology and human performance.
  • Dilip Patel, Retired, Former Engineering Manager and College Professor – Dilip spent 15 years at General Robotic Systems and 17 years at BAE Systems focusing on teleoperate and autonomous systems and wheeled and tracked robotic systems.
  • Jerry Pratt, Senior Research Scientist at IHMC – Pratt is an expert in the understanding and modeling of human gait and the applications of that understanding in the fields of robotics, human assistive devices and man-machine interfaces.
  • Justin Manley, Technical Director at AiiM Partners – Manley has been working with marine technology and robotics for three decades.
  • Nell Watson, AI and Robotics Faculty at Singularity University, Co-Founder and Chairman of EthicsNet.org – Watson pioneered Deep Machine Vision which enables fast and accurate body measurement from just two photos.

The judges will meet for the first time in person at the upcoming ANA Avatar XPRIZE Judges Summit in Geneva this month, where they will assist in the creation of the rules and regulations and judging criteria that govern the competition.

The ANA Avatar XPRIZE is currently recruiting competing teams, and will close registration on September 30, 2019. After registration, judges will review all qualifying submissions and select up to 150 semifinalist teams to proceed forward in the competition by spring 2020. After teams have field tested their technologies, judges will then evaluate the viability of each team’s solution and announce teams advancing to the final round of the competition by summer 2021, ultimately declaring a winner by spring 2022.  

As the robotic avatar industry evolves and the competition continues to progress, XPRIZE will continue to seek and recruit additional judges in areas where additional expertise can be utilized. 

For more competition information, please visit avatar.xprize.org or contact the team at [email protected]