UKDI Themed Competitions

Map the Gap Phase 3

Supports United Kingdom environmental monitoring innovation through gap mapping and advanced river and ecosystem projects.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

Map the Gap Phase 3 is a UK Defence Innovation competition run on behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and the British Army, seeking proposals for novel sensing technologies deployable from uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) to address two specific military mobility challenges. Challenge 1 targets remote measurement of ground bearing capacity (GBC) to assess whether terrain can support vehicle movement without requiring personnel to enter potentially dangerous ground. Challenge 2 seeks UAS-deployed sensor payloads capable of conducting underwater river profiling to identify safe crossing points for military forces. The competition builds on research conducted under previous Map the Gap phases and aims to accelerate development toward operational readiness. Total funding available is £2 million (excluding VAT) distributed across proposals addressing both challenges; the per-award range was not stated, only the aggregate pool. The submission deadline was 12:00 midday BST on 16 June 2026.

The competition is open to the full range of UK-based innovators, including academia, SMEs, individuals, and large companies. Eligibility details are set out in the full competition document (PDF) available on the competition page. Applications are submitted via the UKDI Online Submission Service. A launch webinar was held on 5 May 2026, and Q&A from that session was published on 15 May 2026. Applicants are strongly advised to submit at least one hour before the deadline; support is available at accelerator@dstl.gov.uk or by calling 01980 950000 option 3 on weekdays 09:00–12:00. Terms and conditions were updated on 30 April 2026.

Proposals are evaluated against the competition's scoring rubric published in the full competition document. Strong submissions will identify how their proposed UAS-deployable sensing approach delivers reliable GBC or river-profiling measurements under operationally relevant conditions, quantify expected measurement accuracy and payload logistics, and outline a development plan compatible with the contract timeline. Teams with prior experience in ground-penetrating radar, sonar, LiDAR, or multi-spectral remote sensing adapted for small UAS platforms are natural applicants for the two challenges.