Team qualification for Finals has been extended to June 28, 2026 | Learn more
Transforming Combat Casualty Care
What is Triage?
Triage is the process of quickly assessing patients to determine who needs medical care first — it is one of the most critical parts of responding to a mass casualty incident. When disasters such as earthquakes, large accidents, or attacks occur, there are often far more victims than available medical responders.
In those moments, a handful of medics must make rapid decisions in chaotic, dangerous conditions. If those early decisions are wrong, people may not receive the urgent care they need in time.
With new technology, autonomous systems can quickly locate and accurately assess victims in a mass casualty incidence.
Source: DARPA | Jahyra Catala, Alissa Eckert MSMI
Why Focus on Triage
In a mass casualty event, every minute makes a difference—but today’s triage methods can’t reliably predict who needs life-saving care first. The DARPA Triage Challenge is driving new solutions to close this critical gap and ensure that limited medical resources reach the right patients at the right time.
A primary stage of MCI triage supported by sensors on stand-off platforms, such as uncrewed aircraft vehicles (UAVs) or robots, and algorithms that analyze sensor data in real-time to identify casualties for urgent hands-on evaluation by medical personnel.
A secondary stage, after the most urgent casualties have been treated, supported by non-invasive contact sensors placed on casualties and algorithms that analyze sensor data in real-time to predict need for life-saving interventions.
Timeline and Prizes
Review the schedule of past events and the roadmap leading to the 2026 Finals below. To win a prize, teams must successfully pass casualty localization and triage accuracy thresholds.
Finals
2026
Timeline
| Workshops | |
| Systems | March 14-19 |
| Data * | March 27 |
| Qualifications | Teams | |
| April 8 - June 28 | |
| Qualifications | Competitions | |
| Systems | July 28 - Aug. 30 |
| Data | June 28 - July 30 |
| Competitions | |
| Systems | Nov. 5 - 13 |
| Data * | Sept. 30 |
| Awards | |
| Ceremony | Nov. 13 |
| Expo | |
| Nov. 11-13 | |
* Submission deadline
Prizes
| Systems | Data | |
| Grand | $1,500,000** | $1,000,000** |
| 1st | $300,000* | |
| 2nd | $150,000* | |
| 1st each gate | $12,500** |
**All teams
*Self-funded only
2025
Timeline
| Workshops | |
| Systems | March 10 |
| Data | March 17 |
| Competitions | |
| Systems, Data | Sept. 28 |
| Awards | |
| Ceremony | Oct. 4 |
Prizes
| Systems* | Data* | |
| Grand | $300,000 | $300,000 |
| 1st | $150,000 | $150,000 |
| 2nd | $50,000 | $50,000 |
*Self-funded only
2024
Timeline
| Workshops | |
| Data | May |
| Systems, Virtual | June |
| Competitions | |
| Systems, Data, Virtual | September |
| Awards | |
| Ceremony | October |
Prizes
| Systems* | Data* | Virtual* | |
| 1st | $120,000 | $120,000 | $120,000 |
| 2nd | $60,000 | $60,000 | $60,000 |
| 3rd | $20,000 | $20,000 | $20,000 |
*All teams
| “ |
Time is of the essence to rapidly identify those casualties with critical but survivable injuries in order to deliver maximal lifesaving interventions as quickly as possible. – Col. Stacy Shackelford, Trauma Medical Director, Joint Trauma System (JTS) |
Overview
