What do you get when you dare the world to create a real life Tricorder and offer $10M dollars to the winning team? The Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, of course.
Imagine a device that can allow you to accurately diagnose 16 health conditions, capture real-time vital signs and fits in the palm of your hand? Now stop imagining it and listen up. The XPRIZE Foundation have now selected the 10 teams well on their way to achieving just that.
Today, mobile devices are more ubiquitous than personal computers. Much of the developing world rely on their mobile devices for education and commerce. A device that could be used to detect HIV, for example, would be immensely disruptive to the status quo.
The global impact of such an empowering device is even more exciting when you consider our technological context. A first generation device may start with 16 diagnostic determinations, but it would not be difficult to imagine a future where nearly every significant medical condition could be tamed. The propagation of infectious diseases, STDs and even the common cold could be mitigated with the awareness a tricorder-like device would provide.
The XPRIZE Foundation was founded by physician and entrepreneur, Peter Diamandis, who also co-founded Singularity University. Diamandis is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think.
