The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has named the five finalists in the “Build” phase of the Infrastructure Vision 2050 Challenge, a competition that offers $150,000 in prizes for “innovative ideas to overhaul the crumbling infrastructure that Americans rely upon to move people, materials, products, services and information.”
The “Build” phase, which launched in July last year, is the third and final portion of the competition. It involved solicitation of plans to implement the solutions from the second phase, or “Dream Phase,” on a larger scale.
The first phase was the “Complain” phase, which involved $5,000 in prizes awarded. The “Dream” phase winners split $45,000. The remaining $100,000 is for the “Build” phase.
“Through the Infrastructure Vision 2050 Challenge, AEM turned to the world’s grassroots innovators for ideas on how we can fix our country’s infrastructure,” says AEM President Dennis Slater. “We want to thank all 42 competitors for their innovative and revolutionary solutions. Infrastructure is an important topic both for the Trump administration and our elected officials, and this challenge demonstrates that solutions to our infrastructure problems can come from both inside and outside of Washington, D.C.”
The five finalists include:
- Micheal Ahimbisibwe, Kampala, Uganda – Direct Drive System: An intelligible road infrastructure concept
- Baiyu Chen & Anthony Barrs, Berkeley, California – Hyperlane: A convergence of two transportation modes: the car and the train
- Kevin Lu, Oakland, California – Beyond Static Pavement: A unique approach that adapts highways to fit 10x more cars for one percent of the costs
- Jeremy Martinez, Los Angeles, California – Monorail 2050: Monorail trains that efficiently connect transit hubs hosting retail and residential spaces
- Peter Muller, Franktown, Colorado – Transportation Infrastructure Reinvented: A network of lightweight guideways that interconnect small stations, loading/offloading facilities and streets
These finalists will next compete for cash prizes at an event held during, ConExpo-Con/Agg, in Las Vegas, March 8 at 9:30 am. AEM says the finalists will present their concepts to three judges with technology, infrastructure and transportation backgrounds. These materials will also be on display during the show in the Tech Experience exhibit, which will showcase future technology trends in construction and infrastructure.
