Adrianna Jordan, co-founder of GENIUS NY finalist Quantifly, analyzes aerial imagery. Photo courtesy of GENIUS NY

GENIUS NY has extended to October 13 the deadline for unmanned technology entrepreneurs to enter to win mentoring and networking opportunities plus up to $1 million in start-up cash.

The international competition, now in its fourth round, picks five finalists for a year at an entrepreneurial accelerator plus a share of $3 million in prize money. The Syracuse, New York-based incubator provides the teams with office space and amenities plus workshops, training, mentoring and opportunities for networking. Four of the finalists will ultimately get $500,000 to further develop their businesses while the winner will take home the $1 million top prize.

GENIUS NY is looking for entrants who are focused on unmanned systems’ hardware, software and analytics. The contest is also open to robotics, data-to-decision platforms and, in some cases, Internet of Things (IoT)-related technologies.

The Italian firm Sentient Blue Technologies won the 2018-2019 contest in April. They are working to extend drone flight times with a more efficient and environmentally friendly micro gas turbine-based power plant. Other winners include AutoModality, a drone-based inspection firm with proprietary software that now supports automated inventory in warehouses. They are working on fully autonomous close-up infrastructure inspection software especially geared toward use in difficult-to-navigate areas where GPS may be unavailable. Fotokite of Switzerland won with a kite-like, tethered drone system for first responders that takes off and lands with the push of a button and can fly fully autonomously for 24 hours.