“We’re thrilled to have been chosen by NASA as a finalist and honored to be recognized among these leading space-age innovators,” said WISER CEO Dr. Elaine Rideout. “Though we’ve been working in aerospace settings since we launched our first product, this competition has allowed us to explore some dynamic new applications for our technology. It’s exciting to look at how NASA could utilize our work.”

After advancing to the semifinal round last week, WISER joins nine other finalists from across the globe to compete for the top three awards in the competition’s first cycle. These finalists will present live to space industry leaders at the NASA iTech Cycle I Forum this July. Finalists have been specifically selected for their potential to assist with future manned missions to Mars and the Moon.

NASA’s iTech competition represents the STMD’s focus on “innovative ideas that address challenges and will fill gaps in critical areas identified by NASA as having a potential impact on future exploration,” according to NASA’s website. These areas are medical breakthrough, high-performance computing, autonomy, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence. iTech also invited competitors with “x-factor innovations” for “unspecified future challenges.”

“NASA iTech provides the opportunity for companies to engage with NASA center chief technologists, investors, and industry leaders so they can continue to make an impact on Earth and in space,” NASA’s Kira Blackwell said in the announcement of the competition’s finalists. “These interactions between NASA, industry, and entrepreneurs are valuable for the entire community.”

The finalists represent many different industries and technologies from across the United States and Europe, including cutting-edge innovators in augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and wearable technology.

The NASA iTech announcement marks WISER’s second placement in a major technology competition in the past year. WISER recently secured Phase I, II, and III prizes, advancing to the top 12 nationally in the U.S. Army’s inaugural xTechSearch competition, which concluded in March of 2019.