Army Brain Operant Learning Technology competition accepting applications until Sept. 15 | Article

WASHINGTON — A competition held by the U.S. Army to find and develop new tools and concepts that can locate, track and trace different learning traits — also known as "Brain Operant Learning Technology" — is accepting applications from the public until Sept. 15, 2020.The xTechBOLT competition is offering up to $1 million to incentivize industry to develop and demonstrate the use of BOLT tools that use neural pathways to capture emotions and empathy, as well as proof-of-concept mechanisms that could be developed to promote optimal retention and access to memories.The goals for this competition are to better understand the effects of emotion and empathy on learning and memory, and the functions and interactions of various brain regions in relation to emotional and empathetic processing and learning. Understanding these effects will help build the U.S. military of the future by revolutionizing how we teach and train warfighters, how we build better medical providers and how we utilize novel brain operant learning technologies.The aim is to find early-stage innovations with the potential to dramatically improve military training outcomes with novel hardware and/or software-based technologies.All eligible entities shall submit a concept white paper and accompanying video up to three minutes in length outlining their use of one or more tools. The white paper must clearly communicate understanding of the topic, tools and technologies related to the neurobiology of operant learning, considering and applying emotion and empathy factors, and fully describe a proposal to deliver a technical solution based on emerging science, novel discovery and modern detection methodologies.Each white paper will be reviewed by an xTechBOLT panel, and up to 10 applicants will receive $10,000 and will advance to the semifinals. Up to five semifinalists will receive $25,000 and will advance to the finals for a chance to win up to $500,000.For more information, including detailed entry rules, please visit https://www.arl.army.mil/xtechsearch/competitions/xtechBOLT.html.For more information, please write to [email protected].