Need

Wazoku, the Seeker for this Innocentive Challenge, which is being posted in connection with an active Innovate UK challenge, is seeking innovative solutions capable of measuring the exact time elapsed between two specific events, such as voltage pulses or signal edges, and recording those measurements over extended periods..

The capability should effectively act as a highly precise digital stopwatch, calculating delays, pulse widths and timing variations with picosecond-level resolution.

Your submission requires a solution overview, a 12 month project plan and project costings for a Proof of Concept (POC).

Collaboration Opportunity

There is the potential for a number of POCs to be contracted from a share of $4.5M UK Government funding to develop their POC solution (managed and supported by Wazoku), over a 12-month period starting March 1, 2027.

This Challenge seeks a Solver to provide a solution concept overview, project plan outline and costings for a POC; the Solver is invited to submit an initial written proposal to be evaluated first by Wazoku and then finalists by UK government partners, leading to a potential invitation to pitch (mid-October 2026) with Wazoku to secure eligibility to apply this year for substantial funding, with the goal of establishing a collaborative partnership with Wazoku to deliver the POC.

The challenge first requires your solution overview, a project plan outline and project costings for a POC that can be completed within 12 months, the POC to take place starting March 1, 2027, with ~10% of the funding reserved for you, the Solver, if UK Government funding is secured.

If ultimately selected for funding to deliver the POC, the Solver will provide their solution idea creator guidance and intellectual input during the POC to Wazoku. Wazoku will arrange, resource and look after the delivery of the POC; because this work must be undertaken in the UK. Solvers will need only to grant non-exclusive license rights to the Intellectual Property in their solution.

UK Government envisages a subset of these POCs will be taken through to initial trials and integration tests into a final development / productization stage. The intention is to purchase a number of these products directly in 2029/30.

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on September 6th, 2026.

Please review the later Participation Guidance section before submitting a proposal.

- Login or register your interest to solve!

Seeker/Eligibility

Wazoku is an innovation ecosystem platform encompassing AI, market intelligence, venture building, patent analysis and open talent networks. It centralises data, talent, and tools to make innovation measurable, impactful and able to solve pressing challenges.

Wazoku also operate Innocentive open innovation Challenges like this one, supporting the preeminent problem solver community who have delivered breakthrough results for organisations like NASA, the International Rescue Committee, and ExxonMobil.

The National Positioning, Navigation and Timing Office (NPNTO) is part of the UK Government, Department for Business Innovation Science and Trade (BIST).

This challenge is open to individual entrepreneurs, academia, start-ups or SMEs.

If ultimately selected to deliver the POC, the Solver will provide their idea creator guidance and intellectual input during the POC to Wazoku. Wazoku will arrange, resource and look after the delivery of the POC; because this work must be undertaken in the UK.

Challenge

Background

The UK has leading expertise in areas including timing, telecommunications, sensing, navigation and quantum technologies, providing a strong foundation for the development of next-generation PNT solutions. As demand grows for more resilient and assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) capabilities across critical infrastructure, transport, telecommunications, defence and other sectors, there is an opportunity for innovators to develop products and services that address emerging user needs and compete in growing domestic and international markets.

Through this challenge, the UK Government aims to support the development and demonstration of innovative PNT solutions with the potential for future commercial adoption. The program is intended to contribute to the growth of a vibrant and internationally competitive UK PNT ecosystem.

The Challenge

A Time Interval Data Logger (TIDL) is a precision timing instrument used to measure and record the time difference between signals or events with extremely high accuracy. These systems are used to characterise clocks, oscillators and timing networks, helping engineers understand stability, synchronisation performance and long-term timing behaviour. High-performance time interval measurement is an important capability in sectors including telecommunications, scientific research, satellite systems and critical national infrastructure.

We are seeking innovative solutions capable of measuring the exact time elapsed between two specific events, such as voltage pulses or signal edges, and recording those measurements over extended periods. The capability should effectively act as a highly precise digital stopwatch, calculating delays, pulse widths and timing variations with picosecond-level resolution. Solutions should support the evaluation of clock performance, timing distribution systems and resilient timing architectures.

Should the funding application be successful, the following outcomes will need to be demonstrated:

• Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5/6 at the end of the POC phase
• POC phase should be no more than 12 months
• Post POC, solutions should be deployable for field testing.

UK Government envisages a subset of these POCs will be taken through to initial trials and integration tests into a final development / productization stage. The intention is to purchase a number of these products directly in 2029/30.

Solution Requirements

The challenge requires your solution idea summary, a project plan and project costs to carry out a POC that can be completed within 12 months.

Technical

The nominal operating temperature of the laboratory environment housing the capability is in the range of 20°C to 23°C.

The maximum operating range for the solution shall be 10°C to 40°C.

The solution must meet the technical specifications detailed below:

The challenge is NOT interested in solutions that:

• Have Bluetooth/ Wi-Fi capability or any other remote connectivity function.

Costs

A rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate for an initial annual demand of 4 to 7 units can be used for you to compile the cost breakdown for expected POC development activities, include a reasonable breakdown of materials/equipment.

Note: Project costings – labor, materials, equipment, overheads, reasonable travel and subsistence

All project work will need to take place in the UK, with the subsequent intention to exploit the project outcomes from or within the UK.

The following outcomes will need to be demonstrated by the POC:

• TRL 5/6 at the end of the POC phase
• POC phase should be no more than 12 months
• Post POC, solutions should be deployable for field testing
• The end of POC solution will need to be supported by Reliability and Maintainability data
• The final solution should have a Life Expectancy of no less than 10 years in full-time operation.

Solutions with Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 1-4 are invited.

Applications will be assessed on:

• Feasibility/economic viability
• Innovative nature
• Ability to launch in line with expected timescales
• Credibility of Solver (pre-evidence of experience is mandatory)
• Development potential
• Suitability for the intended market

Your Submission

Please log in and register your interest, to complete the submission form and add attachments.

The submitted proposals must be written in English and include:

1. Participation type – Are you participating in this challenge, as a Solver (Individual) or Solver (Organization).
2. Idea Summary - Please describe your solution and its innovation and benefits for the challenge (Keep this summary under 300 words. Below, you can also upload up to 3 supporting documents - PDF, Word, PowerPoint and images (jpg and png), Max 10MB per file).
3. Concept Solution Level at start – Please select the TRL of your idea (before the POC)
4. Concept Solution Level after POC – Please select the target TRL of your idea (after the POC has completed)
5. Solution Readiness - Describe your solution readiness level (Keep the description under 300 words).
6. Intellectual Property - Describe your intellectual property (IP) status. Have you, or do you intend to, protect the IP status associated with your technology? Please identify the IP status for any supporting technology. (Keep the description under 300 words).
7. Expertise and Use Cases - Expertise, skills and real-world use cases you or your organization have, to support providing guidance for the POC of your idea; pre-selection evidence will be required (up to 300 words).
8. Mandatory Supporting Attachments – Please separately attach your project plan, project cost breakdown and personal/ organization profile. (Word, PowerPoint, PDF are required, max 10MB per file).

Participation Guidance

1. Submission Close Date: Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on September 6th, 2026.
2. Late submissions: Late submissions will not be considered.
3. Multiple submissions, One Maximum: In case of multiple submissions by the same Solver, only one submission – the final one submitted – will be considered. Any other submissions will be deleted prior to evaluation.
4. Submission form and attachments: Your initial submission will first be evaluated by Wazoku and finalists by the Innovate UK and Government partners evaluation team, reviewing the information and content you have submitted at the submission form; with separate attachments for the project plan and cost breakdown.
5. Evaluation notification steps: After the Challenge submission close date, Wazoku will review and select the solutions it will propose and position with Innovate UK, according to the timeline in the Challenge header. Everyone who submits a proposal will be notified about the status of their submissions.
6. Next stage: Solution proposals that are subsequently invited to pitch (mid-October 2026) will be supported by Wazoku, with the joint goal to secure eligibility to apply later this year for substantial funding, and establishing a collaborative partnership with Wazoku to deliver the POC in 2027.
7. Use of AI: Please note that any submissions produced solely with generative AI are not of interest.
8. Learn more: Find out more about participation in Innocentive Challenges.