PILOT, NAB’s technology innovation initiative, is accepting submissions for its Innovation Challenge.

PILOT Executive Director John Clark called it a “showcase for the cutting-edge ideas and innovations that can transform how broadcasters do business and serve their communities.”

The program provides mentorship and promotion to winning proposals, along with an opportunity to demonstrate products to potential customers and investors at the NAB Show in April.

The challenge seeks products or prototypes that align with three focus areas:

“Create” is focused on content creation from pre-production to post, including tools and advanced workflow options for better storytelling.

“Connect” is focused on content distribution and delivery, ranging from cloud computing to new media infrastructure.

“Capitalize” focuses on reach and ROI, including technologies for creating new revenue streams and supporting the content economy.

Individuals, teams, companies, academic institutions and nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply. Finalists will be chosen by early March, with winning proposals announced later that month.

The deadline to apply is Jan. 31 at 5 p.m. EST.

WASHINGTON—A conversational agent for broadcasters from Michigan State University and WKAR Public Media and a chatbot API for music stations from the University of Minnesota are this year’s winners of the PILOT Innovation Challenge, the NAB technology initiative announced.

“We are pleased with the quality and innovation of this year’s submissions as well as the success of our new approach to the Innovation Challenge,” said PILOT Executive Director John Clark. “We look forward to working with the winners to develop their prototypes and ultimately provide broadcasters the ability to better serve their communities through AI.”

A new feature of the program this year is providing support to the winners to develop an AI prototype of their submission to enhance broadcast audience engagement, according to PILOT.

Participants were asked to submit concepts addressing the challenge of building an AI character that can have conversations with individual viewers, listeners or consumers.

A purse of $150,000 from PILOT will be divided among the winners. They also will receive mentorship, ongoing feedback during development and a trip to the 2020 NAB Show, April 18-22, in Las Vegas, where they will demo their prototypes.

This year’s winners are:

• DeepTalk: A Conversational Agent for Broadcasters—Michigan State University (MSU), NextGen Media Innovation Lab, College of Communication Arts and Sciences; MSU’s iProBe Lab, Department of Computer Science and Engineering; and WKAR Public Media.
• Jukebot, a chatbot API capable of answering simple questions and getting feedback from users for music stations—University of Minnesota, Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

Innovation Challenge finalists included:

• AI-driven interactive news on mobile devices—Embody Design;
• Leveraging Conversational AI to Grow Audience, Deepen Engagement and Shape Content Strategy—University of Georgia: Department of Statistics, Institute for Artificial Intelligence; Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication New Media Institute;
• Kuralt.AI: 3D Broadcast Avatar—University of North Carolina, Reese News Lab, Hussman School of Journalism and Media.

More information is available on the PILOT website.

WASHINGTON—The National Association of Broadcasters is calling on innovators to take part in its first Pilot Innovator Challenge, which is run through its Pilot program and is now accepting applications. The contest will seek to recognize creative ideas that utilize new technology for the production, distribution and display of content.

The contest’s challenge question this year is “How can local television and radio broadcasters engage their communities with next generation content on any device, whether big, small or moving?”

Applicants will be required to submit a title, descriptions of their proposal concept, illustration and a business case explaining the concept’s viability. The submission will be judged based on its creativity, value proposition for both broadcasters and consumers, and its viability.

The panel of judges will be made up of broadcast, venture capital, media and technology professionals. They will select 10 semi-finalists in late September. A smaller panel will determine the winners. First place will receive $20,000 for prototyping the winning concept; second place will receive $15,000 and third place $10,000. All three winners will receive expert guidance, access to broadcast executives and exposure at industry events, including the NAB Show and NAB Show New York, per NAB.

The deadline for submission is set for Sept. 23. For information on how to submit, click here.