Why are we running the Challenge?

Advancing proven underwater inspection technologies for smarter lock maintenance.

This challenge is to identify proven underwater inspection technologies that can provide actionable, high-resolution information on submerged lock infrastructure without requiring dewatering. 

Today, many of the most critical lock components are underwater, and understanding their condition often requires draining the lock which is a costly process that disrupts navigation and commercial activity. This challenge is designed to help surface mature, market-ready solutions that can improve visibility into underwater concrete and steel components, including lock walls, floors, sills, miter gates, and valves, while the infrastructure remains in service. 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is seeking mature, field-ready underwater inspection and imaging technologies capable of generating high-resolution, actionable data on submerged lock infrastructure. Submitted solutions must also include an assessment capability sufficient to identify likely defects, interpret infrastructure conditions, and support maintenance decision-making — all without requiring dewatering.

Current inspection methods and in-water visibility limitations hinder the timely identification of cracks, defects, wear, and other conditions critical to maintenance planning and infrastructure readiness. Through this challenge, USACE seeks proven solutions that can operate in real-world lock environments and deliver reliable inspection data to enable faster, safer, and more informed decisions regarding submerged infrastructure without disrupting lock traffic operations. Eligible solutions may include imaging-based inspection technologies as well as non-image-based approaches capable of detecting cracks, defects, and structural wear.

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Challenge overview

A two-phase challenge to identify and validate field-ready underwater imaging solutions.

The U.S. Army Engineer Resarch and Development Center (ERDC) is seeking mature, field-ready technologies that can assess submerged lock infrastructure without dewatering, and that can generate high-resolution, actionable information on underwater concrete and steel components, including lock walls, floors, sills, miter gates, and valves. The challenge is structured to evaluate established technologies that can help engineers and maintenance specialists identify cracks and other issues while infrastructure remains submerged and in service.  

The challenge will take place in two phases. In Phase 1, participants submit applications describing their solution and its capabilities. Up to eight finalists may be selected to advance. In Phase 2, finalists will participate in live demonstrations at a designated lock site in July 2026, immediately ahead of a scheduled dewatering event, allowing USACE to compare demonstrated performance with actual conditions. The goal is to surface credible, market-ready technologies that can operate in real-world lock conditions and provide inspection data that supports a shift from reactive maintenance to more informed, proactive planning.

Key Elements:

• Purpose: Informing planning for future maintenance activities, not real-time operational decision-making
  
• Timeline: Inspection typically occurs 6 months to 2 years before the maintenance event.
  
• Vendor/Contractor model: Future services may be contracted, using participant-owned technologies, and delivering written reports with findings.
  
• Data product expectations: Should include interpretation and expert findings, not just raw data outputs.
  
• Real-time field access: Valued as a capability so inspectors can adapt on-site (e.g., take additional measurements).
  
• Scope: All inspection technologies are in scope; the use case is specifically pre-maintenance planning.

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Who Should Participate?

U.S.-eligible providers with mature underwater inspection, imaging, sensing, and robotics capabilities.

This challenge is best suited for established U.S.-eligible technology providers with mature underwater inspection capabilities [TRL8-9] and proven, field-ready solutions. Strong candidates may include companies and teams working in underwater imaging, robotics, sensing, marine operations, and related data-collection technologies that can assess submerged infrastructure without dewatering. USACE is especially interested in mature solutions that can deliver useful inspection data in real-world lock environments.    

Participants should be prepared to describe their technology clearly, demonstrate operational readiness, and, if selected as finalists, support a live demonstration in July 2026. The challenge is limited to U.S. participants, and eligibility requirements will apply. Companies with proprietary methods are encouraged to participate, as IP protections are built into the challenge agreements. Participants retain ownership of their intellectual property; the challenge requires a participant agreement stating that IP remains with the participant, while the Government may later choose to negotiate a license to use a resulting solution.

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What Comes Next?

Register:

• The first step is to register for the competition. Registering early is the easiest way to stay informed and can be completed on the Registration link.
• Visit the Schedule page to view important events, submission due dates, and winner announcement timelines.

Understand the competition:

• Background: Familiarize yourself with the background information.
• Competition Structure: Be aware that the competition has 2 phases, with specific requirements and deadlines.
• Eligibility Requirements and Participation Agreement: Review the Eligibility Requirements and familiarize yourself with the Participation Agreement.
• Judging Criteria: Ensure your submissions align with these judging criteria.
• Frequently Asked Questions: See the FAQs, which we will update throughout the competition.

Stay informed:

• Join Slack to keep up-to-date on relevant announcements, important tips, share resources, connect with teams and other mentors, and event staff.
• You may also reach out to us through email at submerged@expeditionhacks.com

Prepare and submit Phase One products:

• Prepare a 10-page Submission Paper:
  
  • Adhere to the provided formatting guidelines, including font size, margins, and content organization. See formatting instructions here.
  • A suggested submission paper template is provided here.
• Prepare a 3-Minute Pitch Video:
  
  • Adhere to the provided video rules. See instructions here.
  • Suggestions for an effective video are provided here.
• Prepare a 2-page Technical Data Sheet supporting the Key Capabilities and Specifications of your solution.
• Submit: Ensure all materials are submitted by the specified deadline.

If selected as a Finalist, more information will follow.

Good luck to all participants!

Background

About ERDC

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is the research and development arm of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, supporting civil works, water resources, infrastructure, environmental, and geospatial missions through applied science and engineering. ERDC’s mission is to deliver engineering solutions that help secure the Nation, energize the economy, and reduce disaster risk. Within this challenge, ERDC serves as the technical project owner to ensure that the challenge outputs are useful for real-world lock maintenance and infrastructure decision-making.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) manages and maintains more than 200 navigation locks across the United States. Many of the most critical and costly lock components are located underwater, including concrete and steel elements such as lock walls, floors, sills, miter gates, and valves. Assessing the condition of these submerged components is difficult, yet essential to keeping navigation infrastructure safe, reliable, and operational.    

Today, identifying necessary underwater repairs often requires a lock to be drained, or “dewatered.” Dewatering is expensive, time-consuming, and disruptive. It removes a lock from commercial service, interrupts navigation, affects stakeholders who rely on waterway access, and requires significant financial and operational resources. Considering those constraints, USACE has a strong interest in technologies that can improve visibility into underwater infrastructure before a lock is drained.  

This challenge intends to help close that gap by seeking established technology providers with proven, market-ready solutions that can assess submerged lock infrastructure without dewatering. The goal is to identify mature underwater inspection and data-collection technologies capable of generating high-resolution, actionable information that engineers and maintenance specialists can use to detect cracks and other issues, prioritize repairs, and better understand infrastructure conditions while the lock remains submerged and in service.    

The challenge is also designed to support a broader shift in maintenance strategy, moving from reactive maintenance toward more informed, proactive planning by gathering reliable evidence ahead of scheduled maintenance events, supporting future maintenance planning.  

Two-Phase Competition

The challenge uses a two-phase structure.

In Phase 1, participants submit applications describing their solution and its capabilities. Up to eight finalists may be selected to advance.

In Phase 2, finalists will demonstrate their technology at a designated lock site in July 2026, immediately ahead of a scheduled August 2026 dewatering event, where the results of the Demonstration Event will be evaluated against a visual inspection.

***Note: Ownership and use of intellectual property arising from this competition remains with you. Submission components only support the Challenge Judges' technical evaluation of your solution.

Submissions will be evaluated per the challenge Judge Criteria. Following the Judge evaluation period, up to 8 Finalists will receive a $10,000 prize each and be invited to the in-person Demonstration Event.

The Grand Prize winner of the Demonstration Event will receive a $150,000 prize.

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