Innovation in ADAS calibration doesn’t usually start in a conference room; rather, it starts in a service bay, when a technician runs into the same problem for the umpteenth time and decides the existing tools aren’t good enough.
At ADAS Depot, we work closely with calibration professionals across North America. Over time, a pattern has become impossible to ignore: some of the most effective ADAS solutions aren’t commercially available, they’re built inside shops.
Some examples of things we’ve seen include: custom tools used in alignment, adapters for sensors, measurement devices, target or equipment storage solutions, and software designed to solve one very specific problem.
The ADAS Innovation Contest 2026 was created to bring those ideas into the open, and for creators of these ideas to have a path to commercialization with ADAS Depot. We wanted to show that we could give back to the technician community and emphasize how the spirit of experimentation and R&D is alive and well within shops today.
The Gap Between Real-World Problems and Market Solutions
ADAS calibration is evolving faster than the tools that support it.
Technicians today deal with:
- Increasing system complexity
- Tighter tolerances and documentation requirements
- Physical space limitations
- Liability concerns tied to verification and repeatability
Yet many available solutions are either over-engineered, too generic, or disconnected from day-to-day shop realities.
Meanwhile, we know many technicians and shops who quietly develop solutions that:
- Save time setting up the calibration or save space in setting up the calibration
- Save time in the calibration itself, without cutting corners
- Are a major improvement in ease-of-use over existing tools
- Improve consistency across technicians
- Reduce re-checks and comebacks
- Increase confidence that a calibration was performed correctly
Most of these ideas never leave the shop where they were created.
How Submissions Will Be Evaluated and What Winners Receive
While the Best New ADAS Product Contest (2026) is designed to surface real-world innovation, it’s equally important that submissions are evaluated fairly, transparently, and by people who understand the work.
Submissions will be reviewed using a structured scoring rubric that focuses on practical impact rather than presentation.
Key evaluation areas include:
- Problem relevance: How common and significant is the issue being addressed?
- Effectiveness: Does the solution clearly improve accuracy, safety, repeatability, or efficiency?
- Real-world usability: Can this realistically be implemented in working shops?
- Scalability: Could the idea be adopted or adapted beyond a single location?
- Risk reduction: Does it help reduce uncertainty, liability, or re-checks?
This approach ensures that strong, practical ideas are recognized, even if they aren’t polished or commercial-ready.
In addition to internal review, selected submissions will be evaluated with input from external industry professionals, including experienced ADAS technicians and subject-matter experts.
Bringing in outside judges helps ensure:
- Balanced evaluation across different shop environments
- Feedback grounded in real calibration experience
- Credibility and independence in final selections
Winning submissions will receive tangible rewards, including:
- First prize: trophy, $200 DoorDash gift card, and $250 gift card to ADAS Depot
- Finalists (2 others): certificate and $100 DoorDash gift card, and $100 gift card to ADAS Depot
- Industry recognition through ADAS Depot channels
- Visibility across the ADAS professional community
For select submissions, ADAS Depot may also explore opportunities to:
- Further develop the concept
- Prototype or refine the solution
- Evaluate paths toward broader distribution
But beyond the prizes, winners earn something harder to measure, credibility.
Participation alone doesn’t guarantee commercialization, but strong ideas won’t be ignored.
Why a contest and not a product launch
The contest is designed to identify practical, technician-driven innovation, including:
- Fixtures, frames, or adapters
- Target handling and positioning solutions
- Measurement, alignment, or verification aids
- Workflow improvements, in the shop or administratively
- Verification concepts that reduce uncertainty and liability
Some submissions may be fully built, while others may be rough but proven. For ADAS Depot, both are valuable.
By keeping the initial submission lightweight, the goal is to encourage honest, real-world ideas – polished marketing concepts are not necessary here.
Why This Matters for the Industry
ADAS calibrations are growing very quickly. Our recent survey highlighted how participants were seeing 30%+ growth in ADAS calibration revenues. The industry is still expanding quickly, and sharing ideas, innovations, and recommendations is a large part of the ADAS technician community. Let’s keep moving our industry forward.
Learn More or Submit an Idea
If you received our email invitation, the submission form contains everything needed to participate.
This page exists to explain the thinking behind the contest, not to oversell it.
Because the best ADAS innovations don’t start as products.
They start as solutions.
Submission due date of March 1, 2026
