ROADS Prize Challenge — Robotic Operation for Autonomous Delivery and Sustainment

ROADS Prize Challenge

Connects teams delivering high impact prototypes with milestone support for ROADS Prize Challenge in robotics, defense innovation, and transport and mobility.

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

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) launched the ROADS (Robotic Operation for Autonomous Delivery and Sustainment) Prize Challenge to source commercially derived autonomous vehicle solutions for the Department of Defense's fleet of more than 150,000 non-tactical vehicles. The program carries a total funding pool of $30 million distributed across finalists and top performers, structured as a three-phase competition with a primary submission deadline of 11:59 PM ET on 8 June 2026. Up to ten companies are selected at Phase 1 (proposal-only, no payment); Phase 2 awards up to $500,000 per company for live demonstrations at the company's own facilities; Phase 3 awards up to $10 million per company for on-installation pilot deployments lasting three to four or more months.

Solutions must demonstrate SAE Level 2 or higher autonomy at submission time and present a credible technical path to SAE Level 4 autonomy within 12 to 24 months. The technology must operate on paved and maintained unpaved roads, integrate with commercially available vehicles (sedans, SUVs, trucks, and minivans), and include teleoperation fallback capabilities. Phase 2 and Phase 3 awards are issued as Other Transaction prototype contracts — non-dilutive, milestone-based, with intellectual property retained by the company.

Eligibility is open to both US and international organisations; SAM.gov registration is required before submission, and all participants must pass a security screening. The submission package is a 15-slide maximum PDF pitch deck (maximum 10 MB) covering company overview, solution architecture, safety protocols, deployment approach, cybersecurity, and pricing. DIU evaluates submissions against technical capability, commercialisation maturity, and deployment readiness, making prior DoD or commercial fleet autonomy deployment experience a meaningful differentiator.