Not a patent office. Not Kickstarter. Not an accelerator. A place where difficult ideas are explored seriously and in the open.
We don't ask people for money. We ask people for expertise.
No hype. No fake moonshots. Every challenge is grounded in science, engineering or human behaviour. Some will fail. Some may change the world.
Can batteries explain themselves?
Can products discover customers?
Can technology disappear?
Can waste prove where it went?
Can children learn from the world instead of the screen?
Can vehicles cooperate?
Can water become local again?
Can every object have a memory?
Can cardboard disappear?
Can buildings explain their energy use?
Open Challenge 011Research
Living Battery
Can a battery explain itself?
Current problem
Battery health is inferred from voltage curves and guesswork. Owners, fleets and recyclers all end up making decisions about a cell they cannot actually see inside.
Why hasn't it been solved?
- —State of health is a modelled estimate, not a measurement.
- —Manufacturers hold the data that would make it legible.
- —Second-life value collapses without a trusted record.
Current research
- —Battery passports under EU regulation
- —Impedance spectroscopy for state of health
- —Second-life storage from EV packs
What Quinn Labs proposes
A cell-level record that travels with the pack: manufacture, charge history, thermal events, remaining useful life. Readable by the owner, not just the maker.
First prototype cost
£2,000
Who could help?
Battery engineersUniversitiesAutomotive OEMsMaterials scientistsRecyclers
Open Challenge 012Research
Vehicle Kindness
Can commercial vehicles cooperate without driving themselves?
Current problem
Autonomy gets the funding. Meanwhile two vehicles a hundred metres apart still have no way of telling each other what they are about to do.
Why hasn't it been solved?
- —Cooperation has no owner: it benefits everyone and no single fleet.
- —Standards work has focused on full autonomy, not shared intent.
- —No commercial model for signalling something you gain nothing from.
Current research
- —V2X and C-ITS messaging
- —Telematics event data
- —Platooning trials
What Quinn Labs proposes
Intent signalling instead of shared control. A vehicle broadcasts what it is about to do — reversing, unloading, blocking — and nearby drivers simply know sooner.
First prototype cost
£8,000
Who could help?
Telematics companiesFleet operatorsOEMsInsurance companiesLocal authorities
Open Challenge 013Research
Invisible Phone
Can technology reduce screen time without removing capability?
Current problem
Every attempt so far removes features and calls it focus. People go back to the phone within a fortnight because the capability mattered.
Why hasn't it been solved?
- —Business models reward attention, not restraint.
- —Low-power displays force painful interaction trade-offs.
- —Nobody has agreed what to measure instead of engagement.
Current research
- —E-ink and ultra-low-power displays
- —Minimal phones and digital wellbeing research
- —Modular, repairable hardware
What Quinn Labs proposes
A device that presents only what matters now — one suggestion, then silence. Capability kept, competition for attention removed.
First prototype cost
£40,000
Who could help?
Industrial designersUniversitiesMaterials scientistsManufacturersBehavioural researchers
Open Challenge 014Open
Cardboard Replacement
Can we replace cardboard shipping boxes?
Current problem
Billions of single-use boxes every year. Most are used once, travel a few hundred miles, and are baled within a week.
Why hasn't it been solved?
- —Cardboard is astonishingly cheap.
- —Manufacturing volume is already global and optimised.
- —Reuse requires reverse logistics nobody owns.
Current research
- —Mycelium packaging
- —Moulded fibre
- —Reusable logistics crates
What Quinn Labs proposes
A flat-pack reusable shipping system that returns in the same vehicle that delivered it, priced per trip rather than per box.
First prototype cost
£250,000
Who could help?
Packaging engineersCarriers and 3PLsRetailersMaterials researchersManufacturers
Open Challenge 015Prototype
Curiosity Pebble
Can children learn from the world instead of the screen?
Current problem
Learning technology for children almost always arrives as a screen, and screens compete with the place the child is standing in.
Why hasn't it been solved?
- —No revenue model without engagement metrics.
- —Outdoor hardware must be cheap enough to lose.
- —Evidence of learning is hard to collect ethically.
Current research
- —Passive NFC tags
- —Museum and forest-school trails
- —Place-based learning studies
What Quinn Labs proposes
Physical objects placed in museums, forests, beaches and gardens. Each holds one question and no answer.
Who could help?
TeachersMuseumsDesignersParentsVolunteers
Open Challenge 016Open
Building Honesty
Can buildings explain their energy use?
Current problem
Occupants get a bill. They almost never get an explanation of which system, hour or habit caused it.
Why hasn't it been solved?
- —Sub-metering is expensive to retrofit.
- —Building management data is locked in proprietary systems.
- —Nobody is accountable for making it legible to the people inside.
Current research
- —Non-intrusive load monitoring
- —Open BMS protocols
- —Half-hourly smart meter data
What Quinn Labs proposes
A plain-language energy record per building: what used it, when, and what changing one thing would actually save.
First prototype cost
£1,500
Who could help?
ArchitectsBuilding engineersFacilities managersUniversitiesInvestors
