- On Tuesday, October 26, the second in-person bootcamp of Avante 2021 took place, an open innovation challenge organized by the Chilean Navy, Know Hub Chile and AthenaLab. This time, the activity was held at the facilities of the Chilean Army, specifically at its Academia Politécnica Militar (La Reina, Santiago), a partner institution in this challenge.
The bootcamp brought together the five teams selected for this second phase of Avante 2021. It included classes and workshops led by experts from Know Hub Chile and the Navy, whose main goal is to progressively add a civilian-market focus to the already more developed defense sector.
It was also the second opportunity for the teams to learn how the other participants plan to solve the two Avante 2021 challenges, both linked to the availability of naval assets: engineering systems diagnostics -addressed by the teams PredictiveLab, Jaksol and Omnix- and remote technical assistance, with Minerva and Streltech. This also seeks to foster collaboration among the different groups.
During this second edition of Desafío Avante, the organizing institutions have sought to involve more players. “Know Hub Chile and AthenaLab have been our main allies since Avante began in 2020. This year we have added new partners, such as the Chilean Army, which makes us proud. We share more than 200 years of history with this institution and a vision for the future: that we can be a relevant player in our country’s technological development,” said Lieutenant Commander Héctor Cifuentes of the Chilean Navy, Head of Research and Innovation at the Academia Politécnica Naval (Apolinav) of the Chilean Navy.
In fact, the Avante teams had the opportunity to learn in detail about the Chilean Army’s Maintenance Division from its Commander, Brigadier General Jorge Kunstmann. This division, specifically its Department of Engineering, Research and Development (DI2D), has played an active role in Avante, attending and supporting all its activities. The DI2D team is headed by Héctor Reyes, an Army officer with a PhD in engineering.
The bootcamp was also attended by Giugliano Vallebella, Deputy Manager of Systems Development and Modernization at DTS, a company with a long track record in technology and systems integration for defense and civilian industry, who shared knowledge and inspiration about the new technologies it is developing across its different areas: electronic warfare, command and control, electronics, avionics, simulation, telecommunications and calibration.
What comes next?
The five teams selected for this second phase will receive USD 6,000 to develop their Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and will continue their Dual Tech training for seven more weeks. Throughout this process, the teams will continue to be supported by a team of experts, facilitators and mentors who will provide them with the necessary methodological and practical tools, before finally presenting again, in mid-December, to the jury that will choose the two winners.
The first-place team will receive up to USD 65,000 and the second-place team up to USD 55,000. These resources are intended to implement a six-month work plan to scale the MVP and bring the technology closer to its dual market.
