NASA already has a pool of the brightest minds in the industry but it is still in search of some help, posting a contest on Freelancer.com for a smartwatch app.
The agency receives billions from federal funding every year and it's allocating $1,500 to entice anyone interested to create a smartwatch app astronauts at the International Space Station can use. Those who want to participate have four weeks to send in their entries using the Samsung Gear 2 as their hardware reference.
"We are interested in the emerging world of smartwatch technology and are looking to leverage this technology to create a smartwatch app that could be helpful to astronauts," said the post, which was created by the Centre of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI) at NASA.
All entries must show wireframes highlighting the participant's design, which should follow a layout for a single app with several functions. In particular, the design should direct attention to information needed for a certain task, helping boost efficiency, as well as providing appropriate feedback while presenting data visibly on a smaller smartwatch screen. Innovation is highly encouraged so participants should think outside the box when thinking of how to present data.
According to the post, the smartwatch app will be used for several applications, including displaying: a timeline of the crew's agenda, with controls allowing for navigation to a past or future date, color-coded cautions and warnings, communication status, showing whether or not a connection is present to communicate via voice or video and timers for procedures.
Some images have also been attached to the contest post to guide participants.
This is not the first time that the agency has used Freelancer.com to address its needs. Earlier in July, NASA Tournament Labs, also a CoECI project, used the site's crowdsourcing platform to create tools that will aid exploration efforts in space. Specifically, the tools will be used by Robonaut 2, or R2, the first humanoid robot in space.
"We are honored to welcome NASA to the 16m strong Freelance.com community. We look forward to collaborating with NASA to help them ... with tool designs our freelancers produce for Robonaut 2," said Matt Barrie, CEO for Freelance.com.
Photo: Maurizio Pesce | Flickr
