Ideas Challenge Advanced Research Projects Agency - Infrastructure.

Build America's transportation future - bold ideas for ARPA-I's Ideas Challenge transform how we move, build, and connect!

Final Four Announced - See Below for the Latest

Stage 1 Winners holding plaques on a stage standing with U.S. DOT Leadership.
Stage 1 Winners and U.S. DOT Leadership

What's New?

 

  • The U.S. DOT ARPA-I Ideas Challenge Finals Event will be held at U.S. DOT Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on September 25, 2026.
  • On May 27, 2026, U.S. DOT ARPA-I announced the Ideas Challenge Final Four teams.
  • On February 26, 2026, U.S. DOT ARPA-I announced Stage 2 of the Ideas Challenge, open only to Stage 1 winners.
  • On December 2, 2025, U.S. DOT announced 15 winners of Stage 1. The Innovation Workshop (“Ideas Bootcamp”) with the Stage 1 winners will be held on December 9, 2025 at U.S. DOT Headquarters in Washington D.C.
  • The application period closed at 5 PM ET on September 17, 2025. We received 448 submissions and are encouraged by the enthusiastic response for the Challenge!
  • View the Stage 1 Webinar recording (passcode: @9G?n$zY) and slides from August 20, 2025.
  • View the Stage 1 kickoff U.S. DOT Press Release and video from August 18, 2025.

 

ARPA-I's $1 Million Prize Competition

Stage 1

Submit a Concept Paper with your breakthrough transportation ideas. Up to 15 winners will be awarded $20,000 each for a total of $300,000 in prizes.

Stage 2

Winners from Stage 1 submit full R&D project proposals for a chance to win one of five prizes that total a further $700,000. More details on Stage 2 coming soon.

 

Download the full Challenge document here

 

 

The total value of all Stage 1 and Stage 2 prizes awarded will be a maximum of $1,000,000.

 

ARPA-I's Strategic Thrust Areas

Knowledge

Tools that allow infrastructure operators to understand everything they need to know about their transportation infrastructure systems.

Construction

Constructing infrastructure safer, faster, more cost-effectively, and with a longer lifespan.

Optimization

Optimizing the movement of people and goods at scale in real time to radically increase system safety, enhance performance, and decrease costs, leveraging connectivity and automation.

Enabling and Foundational Technologies

Enabling and other foundational technologies that create the basis for future technologies.

Other ARPA-I Programs and Projects

 

INSIGHTS

The Infrastructure Systems Insights through Geospatial-sensing for Holistic Transportation Solutions (INSIGHTS) project is ARPA-I's first step towards enabling development of practical, cost-effective, continuously updated digital models of America's infrastructure at scale, including streets, highways, ports, rail lines, airports, and pipelines.

ARPA-I INSIGHTS

X-BRIDGE

The ARPA-I eXceptional Bridges through Innovative Design and Groundbreaking Engineering (X-BRIDGE) program is focused on creating transformative materials, designs, and construction techniques that can deliver bridges at half the cost, in half the time, and with twice the lifespan.

ARPA-I X-BRIDGE

 

What Are the Heilmeier Questions?

At ARPA-I, we leverage the Heilmeier Catechism to assess and think through proposed research programs.

  • What are you trying to do? Articulate your objectives using absolutely no jargon.
  • How is it done today, and what are the limits of current practice?
  • What is new in your approach and why do you think it will be successful?
  • Who cares? If you are successful, what difference will it make?
  • What are the risks?
  • How much will it cost?
  • How long will it take?
  • What are the mid-term and final “exams” to check for success?
 

Learn more

ARPA-I

See the latest on ARPA-I projects and initiatives.

ARPA-I Home Page

 

Send your questions to ideas.ARPA-I@dot.gov.