2021 Submissions

Expression of Interest Deadline: January 31, 2021

Academic institutions are strongly encouraged to submit an expression of interest to compete prior to submitting entries. Teams who indicate interest by the stated deadline will be invited to participate in an exclusive Question and Answer (Q&A) Session with the Challenge program staff and judges prior to the proposal due date. Expressions of interest must be submitted by 11:59 PM ET on January 31, 2021 via the online submission form. The expression of interest is non-binding. The following information will be requested and is required to be submitted as part of the Expression of Interest:

1. Name of lead academic institution
2. Partnering industry or academic institutions (if any)
3. Name and contact information of faculty advisor from lead institution
4. Name and contact information for student team lead(s)
5. If applicable, name and contact information of each additional academic/industry advisor
6. Selected Theme (if known)
7. A synopsis of the concept, limited to 500 words, providing a high-level overview of the proposed project

Note: It is understood that EOIs are due early in the development process and that teams will still be in the process of fleshing out the details of their concepts.

Technical Paper Deadline: June 6, 2021 at 11:59 PM EDT

Technical Paper Formatting Instructions:

• Papers will be electronically delivered as PDF files.
  • File size cannot exceed 100MB
• Papers should be single spaced and single column.
• Papers should have a standard 1” margin on each side.
• Papers must use fonts common to Macintosh and PC platforms, i.e., Times, Times New Roman, Helvetica, or Arial for text; Symbol for mathematical symbols and Greek letters.
• Font size should be either 11 or 12 point
  • For charts, graphs, etc., font size minimum is 10
  • Note: all charts, tables, graphs, schedules, budgets and calculations should be easy to read without magnification.
• 15 pages minimum; 20 pages maximum
  • Judges are not obligated to look at anything beyond the 20-page limit, and submission of a Technical Paper beyond this page limit will be considered non-compliant.
  • The Cover Page, Table of Contents, and Appendices will not count toward the minimum or maximum page limits.
    • References should be included as an appendix and will not count toward the minimum or maximum page limits. Appendices are to be used for references and calculations ONLY.

Finalist teams will develop a 15-20 page technical paper that describes their concept. The paper must include the following sections:

1. Cover Page (not included in the 15-20 page limit) which must include:
• University name
• Project title
• Industry partners (if any)
• Full names of all team members [including faculty and industry advisor(s)]
• Major course of study for each student
• Academic level of each student (undergraduate or graduate)
• Graphic or Image of concept
2. Technical Paper Quad Chart (not included in the 15-20 page limit)

(Please use the Technical Paper Quad Chart Template found on the 2021 Resources webpage)

• Teams must insert the chart as an image into their proposal. Quad charts must address:
  • The title of the project with an image/graphic of the concept
  • Objective, Description of Effort, and Technical Approach
  • Key Findings/Potential Benefits (i.e., how the proposed solution impacts the passenger’s experience in a smart airport environment)
  • Schedule and Cost
3. Executive Summary (not included in the 15-20 page limit)
• An overall summary of the innovation which includes a title of the project, a one paragraph synopsis of the problem statement, the problem-solving approach, and a statement of the potential innovative impact the research concept will have on the problem.
4. Table of Contents (not included in the 15-20 page limit)

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5. Body of Report (limited to 15-20 pages):
• Problem Statement and Background
  • Challenge being addressed, overall approach, and research conducted
• Project Description
  • Description of the proposed concept and how it works. The team should demonstrate a clear understanding of the issues surrounding the challenge as well as the current conditions and state-of-the-art approaches to seeking solutions. Include a description of both interdisciplinary and systems engineering approaches as appropriate.
    1. The team should describe in reasonable detail the concept lifecycle, including all design assumptions, and address development, testing, and implementation. What would it take to make the concept ready for users?
    2. The team should consider inherent risks and describe how these risks would be addressed to ensure safe and efficient operations and execution.
       • The team should address physical and cyber security, where appropriate.
    3. The team should address the impact on the passenger experience, commercial potential for the solution(s) presented and expected benefits compared to costs to implement.
    4. The team should include visual (i.e., photos/drawings) and written descriptions of any relevant parts, where appropriate, as well as explanations behind design decisions.
• Research/Testing
  • Describe what type of data you used or collected, and how it informed your solution
  • Describe your testing process
  • Describe any challenges you faced and how you mitigated them
  • Include justification for any design changes/improvements made since the proposal
• Conclusions/Key Findings
  • What conclusions are you able to draw about the problem and your solution? How does the proposed solution benefit the passenger experience in a smart airport environment?
• Technical Demonstration
  • Teams are required to perform a Technical Demonstration during their Oral Presentation, and the information provided in this section will help the coordinators facilitate logistical requirements needed for your demonstration.
  • Teams must describe how their concept will be demonstrated during the Forum in June. Include detailed description of the materials used (simulated or otherwise) as well as the operation and logistics of the tech demo. Any equipment (A/V or otherwise), and any special logistics requests needed to support your tech demo must be clearly outlined in this section.
    • Note: NIA and the FAA reserve the right to deny any special requests they are unable to physically accommodate, for any reason.
• Project Timeline
  • Provide a detailed timeline of your project, including concept design and development, testing, and implementation.
• Budget
  • Include all costs (if any) associated with building, testing, and transportation of technical demonstration materials.
  Estimate travel expenses incurred to participate in the Forum in Atlantic City.
  • Note: Although teams cannot receive travel reimbursement for more than the $6,000 maximum reimbursement allowed per competition guidelines (based on submission of qualifying receipts), we do want to know if you anticipate incurring additional travel costs outside of that $6,000. (Specific details on qualifying receipts will be communicated directly to each team).
  • Recognize all sponsors and/or partners
    • Quantify any sponsorships and/or in-kind contributions
6. Appendices (not included in the 15-20 page limit)
• Appendices should be for references only. It is important to note that the judges are not obligated to consider lengthy appendices in the evaluation process.

Submitting the Technical Paper

To upload your team’s Technical Paper (.pdf only), please click the button below to complete the online Technical Paper Submission Form.

No revisions can be accepted on your Technical Paper, so please proof your file very carefully before submitting it. If there are any technical problems with the content of your submission (for example, your file was corrupted), we will try to contact you immediately, so it is very important that you provide us with up-to-date contact information on the submission form.

Presentation Files (Video Presentation, Chart Deck, and Digital Poster) Deadline: June 20, 2021 at 4:00 PM EDT

The video presentation and technical demonstration is limited to 45 minutes per team, followed by a 30-minute Q&A session; however, teams do not need to use the full 45 minutes if they are not needed. Although teams may choose who speaks and who doesn’t speak during the presentation, we encourage all team members to participate in the Q&A session to answer questions, even if they are not presenting.

It is expected that the video presentations will incorporate a simulated or otherwise functional demonstration of their solution. Teams can showcase their solutions through a variety of visual and physical modalities, including but not limited to: a modeling and simulation experience (including Virtual Reality), application software demonstration, supported by slides, charts, graphic representations, video, animations, data visualizations, etc.

Video Presentation Files Must Include:

Theme
• Project title
• University name
• Faculty Advisor’s name

Special Notes about the Video Presentations

Video presentations should reflect the technical papers. If errors were discovered after the technical paper was submitted, teams should take this time to address them. Significant information discussed during the video presentation that was not included in the technical paper will be penalized for scoring.

Digital Poster Guidelines

Each team is required to submit the digital file of their poster. Digital posters will be displayed on the FAA Challenge Website and during the Virtual Forum Livestream. Digital posters must follow standard guidelines:

• Posters must be 16:9 ratio
• Posters must be horizontal
• Poster file size limit is 100MB
• Poster file must be submitted as a .PDF file
• Images and graphs should be clear, legible, and appropriately sized for the poster
  • Images and graphs embedded within the poster should be “print-ready,” with a minimum DPI of 150 whenever possible
• Links or redirects in the body of the poster are not permitted
  • This includes redirecting to a webpage, video, or any other content
  • All content should be included in the text or directly embedded within the .PDF file
  • All content must be static (i.e., embedded videos are not permitted)
  • If the poster has a References section, links may be included in that section only. Links should be typed out, not hyperlinked.

Submitting the Video Presentation, Chart Deck, and Digital Poster Files

To upload your team’s Presentation Files, please click the button below to complete the online Presentation File Submission Form.

No revisions can be accepted on your Presentation, so please proof your file very carefully before submitting it. If there are any technical problems with the content of your submission (for example, your file was corrupted), we will try to contact you immediately, so it is very important that you provide us with up-to-date contact information on the submission form.

Teams should upload BOTH their 45-minute and their 15-minute pre-recorded video files to YouTube as either “Public” or “Unlisted,” with the following naming convention:

• 45-Minute Video: “University Name: “Project Title” – 2021 FAA Challenge (Full)”
• 15-minute Video: “University Name: “Project Title” – 2021 FAA Challenge (Condensed)”

Make sure your YouTube account has been verified before attempting to upload your video. YouTube will not allow videos of this length to be uploaded until the user’s YouTube account has been verified. Please allow sufficient time to upload the video to YouTube prior to the deadline.