New prize challenge and cross-sector partnerships aim to fast-track immersive training tools and next-gen fire response technologies to protect military installations from escalating wildfire threats.

The Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) are spending the summer engaging with industry and soliciting innovative technologies to improve proactive wildland fire management training.

Investing in innovative fire management strategies, to include prevention, detection, response, and recovery, helps protect mission-critical lands. Military installations face growing risks from wildfire that can disrupt training, damage infrastructure, and endanger surrounding communities.

In partnership with the Central Florida TechGrove Innovation Center, SERDP and ESTCP are pleased to announce the launch of a new prize challenge to identify innovative proof-of-concept solutions that enhance wildland fire training capabilities through immersive modeling, virtual reality technologies, and real-time environmental interaction tools. The submission deadline is Auguth 14, 2025.

Innovators are invited to develop portable, standalone extended reality (XR) tools that can simulate real-time interactions between fire and the environment, visualize scientific data, and allow users to explore scenarios from multiple viewpoints. From all submissions, three finalists will be chosen to present at the Prize Challenge Demo Day in September, where they’ll vie for $70,000, $50,000, and $30,000 awards. Top entries may be considered for further collaboration through Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs), Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), or other acquisition opportunities.

Kevin Hiers, SERDP and ESTCP Program Manager for Natural Hazards Adaptation, poses with the Terasynth team after a live demonstration of their fire equipment technology in May 2025. HDT Expeditionary Systems, Inc., Terasynth, and Paradigm Robotics placed as finalists for the first prize challenge hosted by Central Florida Tech Grove and SERDP and ESTCP.

This prize challenge is the latest manifestation of the collaboration between Central Florida TechGrove Innovation Center’s dynamic inter-disciplinary approach with SERDP and ESTCP’s specialization in demonstration and real-world validation to accelerate transformative solutions for defense partners. The programs recently wrapped up another prize challenge that solicited remotely operated and autonomous technologies for wildland fire response in hazardous environments.

One of the prize-winning technologies, FireBot, is a prime example of the high-impact innovation attained through industry engagement. Developed by Paradigm Robotics, FireBot is a compact, thermally insulated robot that can be remotely deployed into burning buildings to efficiently search for people or resources of interest to provide optimal effectiveness and low risk expenditure for firefighters. FireBot is built to navigate obstacles with speed, monitor conditions on the ground, and withstand heavy use and difficult conditions to ensure reliability in dangerous or unpredictable environments.

The impact of SERDP and ESTCP’s influence within the fire management community is reflected in the excitement the industry is already seeing about advancing dual purpose technology, adopting the DoD approach to innovation, and influencing policy to more effectively meet the nation’s wildfire threats.

“SERDP and ESTCP are making a concerted effort to dramatically accelerate refinement and adoption of tools and technology to address the nation’s wildfire crisis with interagency research partners. We are proud to be at the intersection of partners in the fire industry, philanthropy, and federal science,” said Kevin Hiers, SERDP and ESTCP Program Manager for Natural Hazards Adaptation.

SERDP and ESTCP currently oversee more than 30 fire-related research projects with funding exceeding $55 million. In addition to targeted industry engagement, the programs have also recently partnered with the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to launch the FIRE (Fire Science Innovations through Research and Education) program, advancing cross-sector, interdisciplinary wildfire research. Through participation in FIRE, SERDP and ESTCP are shaping cross-sector investments in advanced fire behavior modeling, wildland-urban interface resilience, and collaborative networks that include DoD practitioners and researchers. The FIRE program represents another milestone in coordinated wildfire science, amplifying DoD’s ongoing fire science work efforts by developing a broader, transformational research agenda.

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