The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in partnership with the Wright Brothers Institute (WBI) is sponsoring the eighth year of a student challenge focused on Software Defined Radio (SDR) and Software Defined Networking (SDN) technology.

The key goals of the challenge are to:

1) Utilize SDR hardware and development tools to encourage hands-on skill building and experiential student learning

2) Develop novel solutions to sensing and networking challenges using SDR concepts. The challenge will run throughout the course of the 2025-2026 academic year (June 2025 – April 2026). Selected teams receive AFRL-provided base SDR kits (see below) and are encouraged to introduce additional/more capable hardware into their proposed project.

Top teams will be invited (travel reimbursement available) to demonstrate their skills and compete for prizes at an in-person final challenge event in April 2026 (Dayton, Ohio). Space will be provided for the teams to demonstrate and present what they have accomplished, interact with teams from across the country and practicing engineers/scientists from AFRL/industry. Individual student participants may also apply for travel grants to present their results at a refereed conference.

LEARN MORE and REGISTER HERE: https://www.wbi-innovates.com/sdr-challenge