Seeking Experts for an Assignment to develop Ultra-Wideband Antennas at TRL4

OVERVIEW

Wazoku, the Seeker for this Innocentive Marketplace Expertise Challenge, on behalf of the UK national security community, is seeking innovators in materials and antennas to apply to take part in an assignment focused on the latest developments in antenna technology.

To apply for this assignment, you must have the relevant expertise and are developing, or could develop, the dielectric materials enabling ultrawideband antennas with frequency agility, to a minimum viable product (MVP) with at least Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 – ready for basic validation in a lab environment.

Most likely your expertise will represent the technology themes of antennas, communication systems, electronic engineering, materials science and engineering, or radio frequency science and engineering.

This is a Marketplace Expertise Challenge seeking a partner or supplier to apply to take part in an assignment for the UK national security community, to develop MVP ready for basic validation in a lab environment. The Solver is invited to submit a written application proposal to be first evaluated by Wazoku, and then finalists by the UK national security community, with the goal of establishing a collaborative partnership for the assignment with funding up to $80,000.

Solvers with a viable application will be supported by Wazoku:

• With the potential to be invited to pitch their application to the UK national security community
• Up to 2 applications could be selected for the assignment with funding up to $80,000 to develop the MVP to a minimum Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 – ready for basic validation in a lab environment
• The UK national security community will provide funding for time, materials, overheads and other indirect expenses for successful projects
• The assignment must be delivered over a 12-week period; this 12 weeks can be spread (in 4 week sprints) across a longer period, for example 18-24 weeks, to allow for fallow periods
• The target for starting the assignment is mid-April 2026

In return, Wazoku will retain a share of 20% of any financial benefits you are paid for the assignment and afterwards for your technology, as a result of the assignment.

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on January 27th, 2026.

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

- Login or register your interest to apply!

ABOUT THE 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 UK Ministry of Defence, the International Rescue Committee, and ExxonMobil.

This challenge is open to sole innovators, industry, academic and research organisations of all types and sizes. There is no requirement for security clearances.

Applications from Solvers in countries listed by the UK government as being under trade sanctions and/or arms embargoes are NOT eligible.

THE CHALLENGE

Background

UK national security needs antenna technology for communications systems which have to send data securely and discreetly – often when there is a lot of signal congestion. For this reason, they need antennas to be able to function at many different frequencies, so they can be used reliably, even in busy environments.

Antenna technology is critical for successful communications in national security and defence. There is always a trade-off between many factors when designing antennas, including footprint available, transmitted bandwidth and energy efficiency.

Recent publications* have suggested that using novel, solid and uniform materials with frequency dependent dielectric constants could widen the bandwidth of antennas, giving many advantages. Hence, this challenge which seeks to identify experts in the field who are developing, or could develop, ultrawideband antennas to a minimum Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 – ready for basic validation in a lab environment.

Patch antennas are commonly used in devices where low size and weight are key requirements. But there are several limitations to consider:

• There is a trade-off between size and frequency. There is often a narrower bandwidth especially when using materials with a higher dielectric constant
• As a result, site surveys are often required to tailor antennas to the appropriate frequency
• Environmental factors, such as body worn antennas, can cause frequency shifting
• Software defined radios offer wide operational bandwidth, but typically multiple antennas are used for different bands, which result in size, weight and power increases.

* X. Yang, E. L. Bennett, I. Calisir, Q. Hua, J. Xiao and Y. Huang, "A Study of Wideband Dielectric Resonator Antennas Loaded With Special Dispersive Materials," in IEEE Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 1658-1670, Dec. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1109/OJAP.2024.3436557

* Ilkan Calisir, Xiantao Yang, Elliot L. Bennett, Jianliang Xiao, Yi Huang, "Enhancing the bandwidth of antennas using polymer composites with high dielectric relaxation," Materials Today Electronics, Vol 3, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtelec.2023.100026

The Challenge

This challenge focuses on you applying for this assignment to research, discover and then develop the next generation of materials to be used for ultrawideband patch antennas. Due to the low maturity of existing technology, the minimum aim of this 12-week assignment is TRL 4 – technology basic validation in a lab environment.

This will allow an assessment of feasible technology that could be invested in further, or technology roadmaps pivoted if not feasible.

Consider this use case as your opportunity, for applying to this challenge: Harry is deploying a sensor in a remote, contested area, to be left in place for several years, with the aim of detecting and transmitting critical information. It must not be discovered by an adversary. To ensure reliable communication, Harry works with you to design a bespoke patch antenna that would fit within the sensor’s small footprint. To ensure maximum efficiency, a site radio-frequency (RF) survey is conducted. But because of the contested area and location, site surveys are not straightforward and can result in significant planning and risk management. Harry feeds this information back to you, but he also notifies you of a possible future environmental change that could affect the RF situation. With limited time to deployment, there must be mitigation against this risk in the engineering design stage. You have recently taken delivery of new dielectric materials, used to provide ultrawideband frequency for antennas. These have little impact on the size of the antenna, still allowing deployment within the specified space available. A clear benefit of using the materials is they allow remote frequency agility and reduce the likelihood of being intercepted by adversaries. You rapidly develop this bespoke antenna, with tests in an RF range, and deliver it to Harry, ready for integration with the sensor, and further deployment.

SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS

To be selected for the assignment you must have the relevant expertise and are developing, or could develop, the dielectric materials enabling ultrawideband antennas with frequency agility, to a MVP with minimum TRL 4 – ready for basic validation in a lab environment.

Must-have requirements for the assignment:

• Materials that enhance bandwidth of traditional antenna structures
• Dielectric material must be a solid
• Frequencies within the range of 200MHz – 6GHz
• Demonstrate technical feasibility – either through physical testing or robust computer modelling
• Material investigated must be viable. For example, must not use extremely rare materials that will likely be cost or process prohibitive.
• Power handling of at least 1W

Nice-to-have requirements for the assignment:

• If developing new materials, the final milestone should include delivery of a working prototype for assessment purposes
• The development of multiple material options, which can be narrowed down as the project progresses

 Out of Scope for the assignment:

• No fluids in the material
• No moving parts in the material
• Not full antenna systems

Out of Scope for this application:

• Not solely a literature review

Applications will be scored 1-5 on the following criteria:

• Scope - Does the proposal fit within the challenge scope, taking into consideration cost and benefit?
• Innovation - Is the technical solution credible, will it create new knowledge and IP, or use existing IP?
• Deliverables - Will the proposal deliver a full or partial solution, if a partial solution, are there collaborations identified?
• Timescale Will the proposal deliver a minimum viable product within the project duration?
• Budget - Are the project finances within the assignment scope?
• Team - Are the organisation / delivery team credible in this technical area?

YOUR SUBMISSION

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

The submitted applications must be written in English and include:

1. Participation type – you will first be asked to inform us how you are participating in this challenge, as a Solver (Individual) or Solver (Organization).
2. Do you have relevant expertise and are developing, or could develop, the dielectric materials enabling ultrawideband antennas with frequency agility, to a minimum Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 – ready for basic validation in a lab environment.
3. Can you start the assignment from mid-April 2026?
4. Which of these fields does your expertise come from? antennas, communication systems, electronic engineering, materials science and engineering, radio frequency science and engineering.
5. Maximum 6-page Application attachment  (PDF format - max 10MB) describing how you would deliver the assignment;
   • Scope - Describe how the project aligns to the challenge scope and solution requirements stated above
   • Innovation - Describe the innovation and technology intended to be delivered in the project, along with new IP that will be generated or existing IP that can be used
   • Deliverables - Describe the project outcomes and their impacts
   • Timescale - Detail how a minimum viable product (MVP) will be achieved within the project duration
   • Budget - Provide project finances against deliverables within the project duration
6. Supplementary Attachments - Key team personnel CVs and expertise, organisational profile if applicable.

PARTICIPATION GUIDANCE

1. Submission Close Date: Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on January 27th, 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 primary application attachment should be no longer than 6 pages.
5. Evaluation notification steps: After the Challenge submission close date, Wazoku will review and select the solutions it will propose and position with the UK national security community, according to the timeline in the Challenge header. Everyone who submits a proposal will be notified about the status of their submissions.
6. Use of AI: Please note that any submissions produced solely with generative AI are not of interest.
7. Learn more: Find out more about participation in Innocentive Challenges.