The Institute for the Future (IFTF) has launched a new contest called BodyShock The Future to develop innovative ways to improve individual and collective health over the next 3-10 years by transforming our bodies and lifestyles.

IFTF is looking for visual ideas — video or graphical entries illustrating new ideas, designs, products, technologies, and concepts. Entries will be accepted from people around the world until September 1, 2010. Up to five winners will be flown to Palo Alto, California on October 8 to present their ideas and be connected to other innovative thinkers to help bring these ideas to life. The grand prize winner will receive the IFTF Roy Amara Prize of $3,000.

“Entries may come from anyone anywhere and could include subjects such as Life extension, DIY Bio, Diabetic teenagers, Developing countries, Green health, Augmented reality, Self-tracking, and Pervasive games,” IFTF Research Affiliate Alexandra Carmichael, who is heading up the project, told KurzweilAI. “Examples might be engineering beneficial bacteria that can help boost human immunity, or a treadmill that shows a preview of your future self to motivate you to exercise. Basically some kind of technology design that can improve health in the future.

“We challenge participants to use IFTF’s Health Horizons forecasts for the next decade of health and health care as inspiration, and design a solution for a problem that will be widespread in 3-10 years, using technologies that will become mainstream.”

Judges include Joanne Andreadis, Lead of Innovation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; David Rosenman, Director, Innovation Curriculum, Center for Innovation at Mayo Clinic; Ted Eytan, MD, Kaiser Permanente, The Permanente Federation; and Jason Bobe, Director of Community, Personal Genome Project,  and Founder, DIYBio.org.