Shredder ChallengeCompetition for reassembling shredded documents

DARPA wants someone to reassemble these documents // Source: sodahead.com

DARPA, the Pentagon’s research arm, is conducting a competition to find the best technology for reassembling shredded documents.

The agency says that today’s troops often confiscate the remnants of destroyed documents in war zones, but reconstructing these documents is a daunting task. DARPA’s Shredder Challenge calls for computer scientists, puzzle enthusiasts, and anyone else who likes solving complex problems to compete for up to $50,000 in prizes by piecing together a series of shredded documents.

“The goal is to identify and assess potential capabilities that could be used by our warfighters operating in war zones, but might also create vulnerabilities to sensitive information that is protected through our own shredding practices throughout the U.S. national security community,” the agency says.

The Shredder Challenge comprises five separate puzzles in which the number of documents, the document subject matter, and the method of shredding will be varied to present challenges of increasing difficulty. To complete each problem, participants must provide the answer to a puzzle embedded in the content of the reconstructed document.

The overall prizewinner and prize awarded will depend on the number and difficulty of the problems solved. DARPA released the challenge problems on 27 October 2011, and will announce a winner the week of 5 December 2011 once final results are calculated.

See the rules of the competition here, and download the puzzles here.