UNITED STATES SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
SBIR FY06.2 Proposal Submission
The United States Special Operations command (USSOCOM) is seeking small businesses with a strong R&D capability able to transition technology to provide the Special Operations Forces enhanced training and equipment. Topics have been selected on their potential to transition to an acquisition program.
USSOCOM will only accept proposals for those topics stated in this solicitation. The USSOCOM Program Executive Officers (PEOs) responsible for the research and development in these specific areas initiated the topics and are responsible for the technical evaluation of the proposals. The Phase I and Phase II proposal evaluation factors are listed below. Each proposal must address each factor in order to be considered for an award. Selection of proposals for funding is based upon technical merit and the evaluation criteria included below. Phase I and Phase II funding is limited, therefore USSOCOM will select and fund only those Phase I and Phase II proposals considered to be superior in overall technical quality and technical merit. USSOCOM may fund more than one proposal in a specific topic area if the technical quality of the proposal is deemed superior, or it may fund no proposals in a topic area.
Evaluation Criteria – Phase I & II
1) The soundness, technical merit, and innovation of the proposed approach and its incremental progress toward topic or subtopic solution.
2) The qualifications of the proposed principal/key investigators supporting staff, and consultants. Qualifications include not only the ability to perform the research and development but also the ability to commercialize the results.
3) The potential for commercial (Government or private sector) application and the benefits expected to accrue from this commercialization.
The three evaluation criteria are listed in order of importance. The first factor is weighted twice as much as factor two or three and factor two is weighted higher than factor three.
Potential offerors must submit proposals in accordance with the DoD Program Solicitation at www.dodsbir.net/solicitation. A proposal must contain the following documents: a cover sheet, a technical proposal and a cost proposal. Offerors must complete the cost proposal using the cost proposal form posted on SOCOM section of the www.dodsbir.net/solicitation site. The maximum amount of SBIR funding for a USSOCOM Phase I award is $100,000 and the maximum time frame for a Phase I proposal is 6 months. A Phase I proposal for less than 6 months and/or less than $100,000 is encouraged where low risk technologies are being proposed.
All firms shall include as part of the Phase I proposal transportation costs to travel to Tampa, Florida for two separate meetings. The first travel requirement shall be the Phase I kick-off meeting and the second travel requirement shall be for the Phase I out brief. The meetings shall take less than four hours and at least the Principal Investigator is required to attend both meetings. Notwithstanding the requirement for the Principal Investigator to attend both meetings, any other individual needed to discuss all aspects of the firm's approach to address the SBIR topic shall also attend the meetings.
All of the topics in the solicitation are UNCLASSIFIED and only UNCLASSIFIED proposals will be accepted. Reference Section 3.5.b(7), if you plan to employ NON-US Citizens in the performance of a USSOCOM SBIR contract, identify those individuals in the appropriate section of your proposal.
USSOCOM, may invite a Phase II proposal from any Phase I contractor, based on the results of the Phase I effort using the evaluation criteria above. A Phase II proposal for less than 24 months and/or less than $750,000 is encouraged. The maximum amount of SBIR funding allocated for a USSOCOM Phase II award is $750,000 and the maximum time frame for a Phase II award is 24 months. Proposals should be based on realistic cost and time estimates, not on the maximum time (months) and dollars. The cost of the project is based on the overall amount of hours spent to accomplish the work required and the overall term of the project should also be based on the same effort. In preparing the proposal, (including the statement of objectives and milestones), firms should consider that workload and operational tempo will preclude extensive access to government and military personnel beyond established periodic reviews. USSOCOM does not participate in the Fast Track program and does not have a Phase II enhancement policy. In some cases, USSOCOM will assist the small business as necessary to further/transition the results of a Phase II.
NOTICE: The offeror's attention is directed to the fact that Contractor consultant/advisors to the Government may review and provide support during proposal evaluations. Non-government advisors may have access to the offeror's proposals, may be utilized to review proposals, and may provide comments and recommendations to the Government's decision makers. They would not establish final assessments of risk, rate, or rank offerors' proposals. These advisors would be expressly prohibited from competing for SBIR awards. All advisors would be required to comply with procurement Integrity Laws and would sign Non-Disclosure and Rules of Conduct/Conflict of Interest statements.
All proposal information must be received electronically via the DOD SBIR/STTR Submission site. To submit, proceed to http://www.dodsbir.net/submission. Once registered, a firm must prepare (and update) Company Commercialization Report Data, prepare (and edit) Proposal Cover Sheets, complete the Cost Proposal form, and upload corresponding Technical Proposal(s). The proposal submission, exclusive of the Company Commercialization Report, must not exceed 25 pages.
Paper copies will not be considered. A complete electronic submission is required for proposal evaluation. An electronic signature is not required on the proposal. The DoD SBIR/STTR Submission site will present a confirmation page when a technical proposal file upload has been received. The upload will be available for viewing on the site within an hour. It is in your best interest to review the upload to ensure the server received the complete, readable file.
For additional information about electronic proposal submission, including uploading your technical proposal, refer to the instructions on the solicitation and the on-line help area of the DoD SBIR/STTR Submission site, or call the DoD SBIR/STTR Help Desk at 866-SBIRHLP (866-724-7457).
Please note that e-mail is the only method of communication that will be used by the contracting officer to notify the submitter/proposer if they have or have not been selected for an award, therefore please include the e-mail address of the person authorized to negotiate contracts for your firm.
During the pre-release period of this solicitation, any technical inquiries must be requested through the SITIS system (http://www.dodsbir.net/Sitis/Default.asp) listed in section 1.5c of the program solicitation.
Inquiries concerning the SBIR program should be addressed to Shawn.Martin@socom.mil.SOCOM SBIR 06.2 Topic Index
SOCOM06-012 Automated Feature Extraction Capabilities for the Development of High-Resolution GEOINT Feature Data and Constructing Correlated Databases
SOCOM06-013 Maritime Surveillance Sensing Using Underwater High Frequency Acoustic Communication Receivers
SOCOM06-014 Automated Crowd Modeling / Monitoring System
SOCOM06-015 Miniature Netted Sensors
SOCOM06-016 Modular Tactical Packaging
SOCOM06-017 Camouflage Tactical Multiband Direction Finding Antenna Array
SOCOM06-018 Biologic Event Identification and Geolocation Unattended Ground Sensor
SOCOM SBIR 06.2 Topic Descriptions
SOCOM06-012 TITLE: Automated Feature Extraction Capabilities for the Development of High-Resolution GEOINT Feature Data and Constructing Correlated Databases
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Information Systems
The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of the project is to design and develop an Automated Feature Extraction (AFE) capability to develop high-resolution GEOINT vector feature data and enhance current database generation processes and products.
DESCRIPTION: Mission Training and Preparation Systems (MTPS) use various database/dataset formats for different systems and applications. These databases/datasets are built from different sources and published or compiled using various standards and techniques. The process is often labor intensive, time consuming, and can introduce correlation errors between applications. To conduct realistic live, virtual, and constructive training and rehearsal, participants need to use common, correlated databases/datasets for all system, i.e. mission planners, image generators, radar systems, computer generated forces/threat servers, weather servers, stealth systems, etc., for all components. These databases/datasets must be provided in a timeframe that can satisfy mission planning, preview, rehearsal and execution needs.
Database Generation Facilities (DBGFs) currently develop databases using a correlated data layers process. These data layers are then published or compiled into the various run-time formats required to operate the visual, sensors, semi-automated forces and stealth component viewers of mission training and preparation systems. The various run-time database formats can still introduce correlation errors across applications.
The DBGF data layer process is labor intense and requires time to produce. Vector feature extraction digitizing is the most labor intensive and time consuming process and the largest problem in the construction of correlated databases. Imagery is used in most of the databases for the visual output while sensors require correlated vector feature data. Automated feature extraction from imagery is desired to output a correlated vector feature data set. The majority of available vector data is collected/constructed at a low resolution while the imagery/raster data is collected and available at a much higher resolution creating correlation errors. A capability for AFE from imagery is needed to allow the database engineers to construct correlated databases much quicker than having to manually edit/digitize the vector data to correlate with the imagery.
PHASE I: Develop an AFE capability design that includes a specification and concept of operations.
All firms shall include as part of the Phase I proposal transportation costs to travel to Tampa, Florida for two separate meetings. The first travel requirement shall be the Phase I kick-off meeting and the second travel requirement shall be for the Phase I out brief. The meetings shall take less than four hours and at least the Principal Investigator is required to attend both meetings. Notwithstanding the requirement for the Principal Investigator to attend both meetings, any other individual needed to discuss all aspects of the firm's approach to address the SBIR topic shall also attend the meetings.
PHASE II: Develop and demonstrate a prototype AFE capability in a realistic environment. Conduct testing to prove feasibility for operational use.
PHASE III: DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: This capability could be used to support the development of correlated high resolution vector feature data supporting database/dataset construction process for modeling and simulation training applications and mission planning, preview, rehearsal and operational applications for various DoD organizations. This project is an enabling capability that directly supports the strategic intent and guiding direction as outlined in the MTPS roadmap.
REFERENCES:
1. Training Transformation Implementation Plan, DEPSECDEF, June 10 2003
2. Training Transformation Implementation Plan, OUSD Personnel & Readiness, Director, Readiness and Training Policy and Programs (DRTP&P), June 9 2004
3. U.S. Special Operations Command Mission Training and Preparation Systems Roadmap, Ver 1.4, 12 July 2005
KEYWORDS: Database, Automated Feature Extraction
SOCOM06-013 TITLE: Maritime Surveillance Sensing Using Underwater High Frequency Acoustic Communication Receivers
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Sensors
ACQUISITION PROGRAM: Sea Eagle Advance Concept Technology Demostration
The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.
OBJECTIVE: Develop an integrated capability for passively sensing the passage of ships and submarines by providing a simultaneous undersea acoustic modem function.
DESCRIPTION: Undersea acoustic modems acquire high-frequency acoustic time series and include on-board digital signal processing for receiving acoustic digital communications. The availability of these resources can potentially be exploited for the sensing of radiated acoustic signatures from ships and submarines, including characteristic features of propulsion, cavitation, machinery, fathometer, obstacle avoidance sonar, etc. This topic calls for development of effective detection algorithms and classification criteria, and integration of these on an acoustic modem.
PHASE I: The contractor shall obtain relevant data sets and develop signal processing algorithms for detecting and classifying the passage of ship targets.
All firms shall include as part of the Phase I proposal transportation costs to travel to Tampa, Florida for two separate meetings. The first travel requirement shall be the Phase I kick-off meeting and the second travel requirement shall be for the Phase I out brief. The meetings shall take less than four hours and at least the Principal Investigator is required to attend both meetings. Notwithstanding the requirement for the Principal Investigator to attend both meetings, any other individual needed to discuss all aspects of the firm's approach to address the SBIR topic shall also attend the meetings.
PHASE II: The contractor shall refine the detection and classification process for automated operation. The contractor shall implement the product on a commercial modem or on a surrogate Digital Signal Processing-based device representative of a commercial modem.
PHASE III: PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL / DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Undersea acoustic modems and networks of modems have already been used for the implementation of undersea oceanographic observatories and for control of unmanned undersea vehicles. Harbor security, anti-submarine warfare, force protection, and mine countermeasures are important military defensive applications of this emerging technology. The product of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) topic will extend the utility of acoustic modems as an environmental acoustic sensor and as a surveillance sensor. This SBIR topic seeks to exploit acoustic sensing as a by-product or dual use of the modem resources.
REFERENCES:
1. J. A. Rice, “Seaweb Acoustic Communication & Navigation Networks,” Proc. Underwater Acoustic Measurements Conf., Crete, Greece, June 28 – July 1, 2005
2. J. A. Rice, C. L. Fletcher, R. K. Creber, J. E. Hardiman, and K. F. Scussel, “Networked Undersea Acoustic Communications Involving a Submerged Submarine, Deployable Autonomous Distributed Sensors, and a Radio Gateway Buoy Linked to an Ashore Command Center,” Proc. UDT Hawaii Undersea Defence Technology, paper 4A.1, Waikiki, HI, Oct 30 – Nov 1, 2001
3. K. Scussel, “Acoustic Modems for Underwater Communications,” Wiley Encyclopedia of Telecommunications, Vol. 1, pp. 15-22, Wiley-Interscience, 2003
KEYWORDS: Anti-submarine Warfare; Undersea Warfare; Seaweb; Acoustic communications; Telesonar; Maritime surveillance; Acoustic sensing; Passive detection; HF acoustics
SOCOM06-014 TITLE: Automated Crowd Modeling / Monitoring System
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Sensors, Electronics
The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.
OBJECTIVE: The development of an innovative, inexpensive device that provides the ability to construe the intent of crowds and predict hostile action as well as recognize suspicious events using light weight, low power, man portable technology.
DESCRIPTION: Crowd Modeling / Monitoring would be a very valuable tool for military, law enforcement and commercial applications. Crowd Modeling / Monitoring technology could be utilized to alert authorities to potentially hazardous situations including unusual amassing of groups as well as presence of known hostile individuals. This technology would allow the monitoring force to predict hostilities prior to their occurrence and enable law enforcement to locate persons of interests through automated detection. Such a system could also prevent the injury of innocent civilians through indications that inaction is the best course of action in a particular situation. Crowd Modeling / Monitoring would also prove invaluable to security applications at financial institutions or the gaming industry. Over the past few years, the gaming industry has spent vast sums of money in search of an automated system to alert them to the presence of known individuals or individuals exhibiting suspicious behavior. This system would reduce the burden on security forces and improve the probability of detection. Any new technology should satisfy the following requirements:
• Modeling should be feasible in all light/environmental conditions.
• System should be capable of identifying known individuals or suspicions patterns of events.
• Any method used for modeling must be visually undetectable.
• The modeling must occur without physical contact with the individual to be monitored.
• Should be ruggedized and have a small, lightweight form factor
• Should utilize Commercial Off-The-Shelf equipment to minimize follow-on production costs
• Should be low power with the ability to use Alternating Current or Direct Current power
• Should be designed with a network environment in mind to allow for unattended operation
PHASE I: Develop a proof of concept for the proposed method of identifying individuals at range.
All firms shall include as part of the Phase I proposal transportation costs to travel to Tampa, Florida for two separate meetings. The first travel requirement shall be the Phase I kick-off meeting and the second travel requirement shall be for the Phase I out brief. The meetings shall take less than four hours and at least the Principal Investigator is required to attend both meetings. Notwithstanding the requirement for the Principal Investigator to attend both meetings, any other individual needed to discuss all aspects of the firm's approach to address the SBIR topic shall also attend the meetings.
PHASE II: Develop a working prototype that can be tested by end users in a real life working environment that resembles the form factor of the final system.
PHASE III DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Produce operation units that can be employed by the military, law enforcement and the commercial market sector.
KEYWORDS: BIOMETRICS, SENSORS, TAGGING, TRACKING, LOCATING
SOCOM06-015 TITLE: Miniature Netted Sensors
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Sensors
The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.
OBJECTIVE: Design, build, test and field demonstrate the next generation self-organizing, Miniature Netted Sensing (MNS) platform that provides low power/energy consumption, low power Radio Frequency (RF) communications, middleware services, sensing and signal/data processing required to meet requirements for persistent surveillance.
DESCRIPTION: The desired MNS design shall accommodate the ability to execute middleware services specific to an adaptive networked mini-sensor field. These middleware “services” have already been developed and are supported by an operating system called TinyOS developed by the University of California at Berkeley. The MNS must be designed to provide the platform to run these services and sensors adequate to support these services (e.g., magnetic, acoustic, seismic, optical, etc.) Middleware services include: self localization with respect to adjacent nodes, detecting and tracking targets of interest performing network aggregate analysis and reporting, tracking, categorization, self healing, power management and dynamic reconfiguration:
• Data Exfiltration/Command & Control: RF transmit & receive ranges with MNS deployed at ground-level shall meet or exceed 30 meters under all environments defined herein.
• Communications Frequency: RF communications shall make use of the 433 MHz band, or other non-commercial frequency bands, but should avoid the 900 MHz band due to worldwide interference.
• TinyOS Support: MNS shall be capable of supporting processing, memory and “program” execution to permit use of open-source TinyOS (www.tinyos.net).
• Multi-Hop Reprogramming: MNS shall support multi-hop reprogramming to facilitate updating mission profiles in the field.
• Sensor Technologies: MNS shall support a sensor package capable of detecting targets of interest while simultaneously eliminating false alarms based on the MNS missed detection level, < 1%. MNS shall provide adequate processing power and memory to support functions such as detection, tracking, and classification of targets. The sensor technologies employed shall satisfy, or exceed, all requirements stated in References A and B.
• Sensor Module(s): A modular sensor board(s) shall be provided that provides the sensing modalities and sensitivities to meet target detection/tracking and self-localization requirements.
• Power Efficiency/Design: MNS shall use readily available, commercial power sources that do not exceed a form factor greater than two (2) AA-type Batteries.
• Mission Duration: MNS shall be capable of sustaining nominal operation in excess of 90 days, assuming 24-hour duty cycles that include a Sentry mode for 20% of the time and full-up event processing for an additional 7% of the time, both defined herein.
• Modular Design: A “plug-in” type connector between the processor board and the power source is required to allow for interchangeable and varying power sources.
• Target Classes: Detection and tracking of the following classes of targets shall be provided:
o People (mounted and dismounted)
o Commercial Vehicles (cars, sport utility vehicles, small trucks)
o Military Vehicles (trucks, artillery, tanks)
• Processor Functional Performance:
o 512K flash memory (Minimum)
o 8-Million Instructions Per Second (MIPS) processor capability (Minimum)
o Serial, Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C), Universal Asynchronous Receiver – Transmitter (UART) Input/Output (I/O) ports comparable to Crossbow MICA specifications.
• Interface Interoperability: The processor board design must provide for external programming and/or diagnostics, and an internal 51-pin interface designed to accommodate current Crossbow MICA-2 sensor “boards”.
• Cost per Unit: The MNS should be designed so that cost is kept to a minimum. The target cost is $25.00/unit (sensor board, communications board, processor board, power board and power source) when purchased in lots of 1,000 units.
Detailed MNS performance requirements are provided in Reference A and B.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) topic addresses the need to develop a miniature, netted sensor required to meet persistent surveillance requirements.
There are obvious technical risks associated with this objective (e.g. power efficiency/design, mission duration and persistent surveillance), but if the SBIR requirements can be met, the resulting MNS would have a significant impact. If a technology such as that described in this proposal were deployed, it would provide a huge advantage by dramatically increasing battlefield situational awareness. Remote sensor and micro-device networks, working in concert with manned and unmanned autonomous vehicles, would provide us with around-the-clock persistent surveillance.
Proposals should reflect the vendor’s expertise, especially in antenna design, small package mechanical design, sensor design, and the advantages of their technical approach. Phase I companies will discuss their proposed research in detail and propose in general what they would continue in Phase II.
Successful proposals will use novel ideas to improve military utility, create future commercial markets, and increase functional capability. Pluses include:
• Fully demonstrating the company's past and present experience;
• Supplying references on proposing company's products/programs (particularly government program managers);
• Giving detail on its proposed technologies to show expertise;
• Showing detailed expertise in technologies related to this SBIR;
• Experience designing products for use by commercial or military customers.
The proposing company should be prepared to deliver products in accordance with the general information outlined in each of the phases as listed below:
PHASE I: Develop the preliminary design for a MNS (processing, communications and I/O) that shall meet the performance requirements provided in Reference B. Design documents must include Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) projections and theoretical performance projections, an overall concept for tactical deployment of the MNS, and a commercialization concept. Provide a final technical report, which will be evaluated to determine which Phase I company will be selected to continue development in Phase II.
All firms shall include as part of the Phase I proposal transportation costs to travel to Tampa, Florida for two separate meetings. The first travel requirement shall be the Phase I kick-off meeting and the second travel requirement shall be for the Phase I out brief. The meetings shall take less than four hours and at least the Principal Investigator is required to attend both meetings. Notwithstanding the requirement for the Principal Investigator to attend both meetings, any other individual needed to discuss all aspects of the firm's approach to address the SBIR topic shall also attend the meetings.
PHASE II: Develop an operationally capable, prototype system and conduct a user evaluation to demonstrate its capabilities in a realistic environment. Conduct testing to prove feasibility over extended operating conditions. Phase II tasks include the following:
1. Develop the detailed design for the prototype MNS.
2. Build two (2) MNS prototypes, including sensor boards.
3. Conduct developmental testing of the prototype MNS.
4. Conduct operational testing of MNS.
5. Deliver operators manual for test articles.
6. Deliver detailed characterization data of test articles.
7. Incorporate any required changes based on Developmental and Operational Test Plan feedback.
8. Build ruggedized MNS prototypes capable of supporting operational requirements as described in Reference B.
Make system design modifications, as necessary, within the proposed budget to ensure Government satisfaction with the prototype. Provide a final technical report of Phase II activities, which will be evaluated to determine if a Phase II company will be selected to continue development refinement in Phase II (Extended), or go into production in a Phase III contract. Provide the MNS prototypes and selected spare parts to the Government for Government testing and validation.
PHASE III/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: The MNS could be used in a broad range of military and civilian security applications where persistent unattended surveillance and tracking are necessary -- for example, in homeland security operations or in enhancing security in industrial facilities. The netted sensor systems described in this SBIR Topic would also enable wireless sensor networks for smart buildings, industrial automation, predictive maintenance, corrosion detection and asset management.
REFERENCES:
www.tinyos.net
KEYWORDS: wireless communications, sensors, tactical surveillance, persistent unattended surveillance, tagging tracking and locating
SOCOM06-016 TITLE: Modular Tactical Packaging
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Materials/Processes, Electronics
The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.
BACKGROUND: Tactical users currently have a signals intelligence system that provides a threat warning and force protection capability. The system combines components such as receivers, high-speed scanners, PC/104+ computer cards, power supplies, a CompactFlash adapter, Universal Serial Bus (USB) and Ethernet hubs to form a modular system for both body worn and manpack use. The current system is comprised of various modules that reside on one of two bases, depending on the number of modules required. The base modules contain the power supplies and cabling that distribute the control signals amongst the various components. The ultimate goal of this Small Business Innovation Research is to eliminate the current base in which all modules must reside. Having a base in the system dictates a minimum and maximum size without respect to the number and type of modules required for the mission. The immediate goal is to establish a configuration standard for small tactical systems that will allow future plug and play modularity and mission tailoring.
OBJECTIVE: Investigate technologies, prevalent and emerging commercial standards, mechanical advantages, and military utility to design a new technical approach for interfacing electronic components from various vendors in small body worn system. Research and create a new packaging and electronic interconnection design for this system that will allow total modularity of the component modules while at the same time retaining the ruggedness and waterproof capabilities of the current system. The design shall facilitate easy configuration (i.e connection/disconnection) of modules without the need for tools. Innovative cabling schemes that minimize exposed wires or cabling shall be explored. Novel methods for spreading heat among modules that eliminate or minimize ¡§hot spots¡¨ shall be investigated. The design shall take into account electromagnetic interference that affects sensitive receiving equipment within the system. This configuration will allow our soldiers to customize their Modular Tactical Packaging (MTP) for each specific mission reducing unnecessary weight and size. The MTP must be ¡¥plug and play¡¦ so that components from various vendors meeting the vendor proposed standards can be connected and operate at full capability once software drivers are installed. The MTP must be small, light weight, and not exceed 10 lbs. for a minimal capability of ¡¥slices¡¦ (components/cards). Ideally, the components will operate interchangeably in either the body worn or hand carried MTP versions. The overarching concept is to be able to build or tailor the tactical system in the field to perform the desired mission.
DESCRIPTION: New generations of tactical body worn and hand carried electronics components are being developed that provide radical new combat capabilities. These new components are currently conceptualized as stand-alone capabilities that the developer or some other vendor will have to integrate into a tactical system to be able to use effectively. We are looking for new, innovative technical approaches that will allow/enable the soldier to use the component ¡¥building block¡¦ approach to tailor his system with a family of components to perform the mission at hand.
In order to keep up with the fast pace of technology advancement, the system would ideally utilize commercial-off-the-shelf components that can be integrated into a rugged package scheme. This allows new and different capabilities to be added in the future.
Proposals should reflect the vendor¡¦s expertise, especially in electronics system design, small package mechanical design, and the advantages of their technical approach of connecting components together to tailor a tactical system. The proposal should concentrate on electrical/mechanical interfaces and address software interfaces in only general terms as they influence the electrical/mechanical design approach. Phase I companies will discuss their proposed research in detail and propose in general what they would continue in Phase II.
Design Considerations:
„« Performance is the primary concern.
„« Size and weight are the secondary concern for development.
„« Innovative ideas for heat management are desired.
„« The MTP design should take maximum advantage of current and emerging interface standards.
„« The use of light weight materials while retaining effective electromagnetic interference shielding among the receiving components is desired.
„« An innovative interconnection design should be investigated.
„« A rugged, waterproof design that can be submerged to 1 meter for up to 30 seconds without leaking is desired for Phase II.
„« The use of standardized interface protocols such as Ethernet, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394, and USB 2.0 are encouraged.
„« A design that will support Radio Frequency (RF) daisy chaining without significant degradation to the RF phase inputs to the various receiving components.
„« Innovative connectorization to minimize required operator knowledge and allow easy connection of the components. The proposing vendor must take into account the tactical environment including dirt, sand, water and the lack of tools available in their technical approach.
„« A design that should not require a specific order of component interconnection is desired.
„« Current input power supports 9 ¡V 28 volts Direct Current (DC) and provide a maximum 12 volts DC to each module. The maximal power required shall support 40 watts of distributed power. A lower voltage power architecture is desired and shall be investigated. (Any other required voltages shall be accommodated by a separate power converter within the appropriate module.)
„« Future maximum current drain is envisioned to be less than 10 amps.
„« Military environmental standards are relaxed for development.
„« Keep in mind that tactical users usually manpack or parachute into an area.
Successful proposals will use novel ideas to improve soldier usability, create future commercial markets, increase functional capability and lower future costs of upgrades to the system. Pluses include:
„« Fully demonstrating the company¡¦s past and present experience
„« Supplying references that can attest to the proposing vendor¡¦s expertise (particularly government program managers)
„« Giving detail on its proposed technologies to show expertise
„« Showing detail on its proposed technologies related to this Small Business Information Research topic.
„« Experience designing products for use by military customers
The vendors should be prepared to deliver products in accordance with the general information outlined in each of the phases as listed below:
PHASE I: Develop an overall system design that includes proposed standards (component size, weight, power, data, and data and electronic interfaces), a detailed description of the proposed packaging scheme along with detailed drawings, Human-Mechanical Interfaces (HMI), electro-mechanical interfaces, human operational factors, low noise operation, low heat signature, and military operational requirements. A heat and power analysis along with cabling and circuit diagrams (with associated product sheets for electrical components selected) should also be provided. Any logical, power, or mechanical limitations of the system design will be documented in the final technical report, (i.e. how many modules can be linked together without mechanical or electrical failure). Design documents must include Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) projections, a maintenance concept, an overall concept for a family of lightweight body worn and hand carried tactical electronics systems, and a commercialization concept. Provide a final technical report which will be evaluated to determine if a Phase I company will be selected to continue development in Phase II.
All firms shall include as part of the Phase I proposal transportation costs to travel to Tampa, Florida for two separate meetings. The first travel requirement shall be the Phase I kick-off meeting and the second travel requirement shall be for the Phase I out brief. The meetings shall take less than four hours and at least the Principal Investigator is required to attend both meetings. Notwithstanding the requirement for the Principal Investigator to attend both meetings, any other individual needed to discuss all aspects of the firm's approach to address the SBIR topic shall also attend the meetings.
PHASE II: Develop, build, and demonstrate a prototype system of each MTP variant in a realistic military field environment. Conduct extensive testing to prove feasibility over varied extended operational conditions, to refine/validate MTPF data, validate HMI and mechanical design, establish power efficiency data, and to validate the total system design. Make system design modifications, as necessary, within the proposed budget, to ensure Government satisfaction with the prototype. Provide a final technical report of Phase II activities which will be evaluated to determine if a Phase II company will be selected to continue development refinement in Phase II (Extended), or go into production in a Phase III contract. Provide the MTP variant prototypes and selected spare parts to the Government for Government testing and validation.
PHASE III: At the completion of successful Government test and validation a limited production run is envisioned for our requirements. This component packaging system could be used in a broad range of military, law enforcement and civilian security applications where personnel are required to use electronics systems of various functionality to perform their mission, yet require hands free for weapons use or vehicle operation, for example, in homeland security operations, civilian disaster relief, or in enhancing security in industrial facilities.
KEYWORDS: THREAT WARNING, GSK, SIGINT, BODY WORN, OPERATING SYSTEM, RECEIVER, SCANNER, MODULAR, COMPONENTS, TACTICAL, BATTERY, LIGHTWEIGHT, INTERFACE, CONNECTIVITY
SOCOM06-017 TITLE: Camouflage Tactical Multiband Direction Finding Antenna Array
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Electronics
The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.
OBJECTIVE: To research, develop, build, and test a tactical ground deployed multiband radio Direction Finding (DF) antenna array that is able to sense and exploit low power, short duration, tactical communications from fixed site, semi-permanent, tactical locations in a wide variety of terrain, vegetation, and temperature conditions. The frequency bands of interest are from 30 MHz to 10 GHz. When deployed the DF antenna array must be in a configuration whereby its function is not apparent, e.g., as a tent, a shelter, as a tree or vegetation, etc. The antenna array must be light weight, durable, simple to set-up and tear-down in less than 30 minutes, and accurate to 5 degrees Root – Mean – Square over the entire band of interest.
DESCRIPTION: There is a definite need within the Signals Intelligence community for a direction finding antenna array that is light weight, man portable, air droppable, and does not make apparent to trained observers its function or what tasks are performing in its vicinity. Camouflage techniques that can be changed to conform to a wide variety of terrain, vegetation, and temperature conditions are most desirable. Size and weight parameters have not been established, but the antenna array must be able to be easily carried by one man and set-up within 30 minutes. Several small packages of components are more desirable than one or two large packages. As a weight saving technical approach, potential vendors should seriously research and propose the use of fiber optical cable or other small cable to connect the DF antenna array to a DF receiver/processor. Potential vendors must recommend the physical configuration of the antenna array (i.e., number of elements for each antenna and number of antennae with frequency band breaks), as well as the DF technique to be used (Watson-Watt, Time Difference of Arrival, etc) at the conclusion of any Phase I contract.
Technical Parameters:
• Frequency: 30 MHz to 10 GHz
• Polarization: Vertical
• Receive Radiation Pattern: Omni-directional for angles between nadir and +100º
• Impedance: 50 Ohms
• Gain: >/= 0dB
• Operational temperatures: 150º+ C to -40º C
Proposals should reflect the vendor’s expertise, especially in antenna design, small package mechanical design, and the advantages of their technical approach. The proposal should concentrate on antenna design characteristics, electrical/mechanical interfaces, and proposed DF technique. Phase I companies will discuss their proposed research in detail and propose in general what they would continue in Phase II.
Successful proposals will use novel ideas to improve military utility, create future commercial markets, and increase functional capability. Pluses include:
• Fully demonstrating the company's past and present experience;
• Supplying references on proposing company's products/programs (particularly government program managers);
• Giving detail on its proposed technologies to show expertise;
• Showing detailed expertise in technologies related to this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) topic;
• Experience designing products for use by commercial or military customers.
The proposing company should be prepared to deliver products in accordance with the general information outlined in each of the phases as listed below:
PHASE I: Develop an overall design of the DF antenna array that includes antennae materials; number, design, and placement of antennae elements; electro-mechanical interfaces; human operational factors in tactical installation and removal of the array; low visual profile projections when deployed based upon proposed camouflage technique; and military requirements for man portable land movement, and parachute insertion. Discuss proposed DF technique, reasons this technique is proposed, and processing algorithms required. Discuss alternative DF techniques that could theoretically be used with the proposed antenna array and reasons not preferred. Design documents must include Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) projections and theoretical performance projections, a maintenance concept, an overall concept for tactical deployment of the DF antenna array, and a commercialization concept. Provide a final technical report which will be evaluated to determine which Phase I company will be selected to continue development in Phase II.
All firms shall include as part of the Phase I proposal transportation costs to travel to Tampa, Florida for two separate meetings. The first travel requirement shall be the Phase I kick-off meeting and the second travel requirement shall be for the Phase I out brief. The meetings shall take less than four hours and at least the Principal Investigator is required to attend both meetings. Notwithstanding the requirement for the Principal Investigator to attend both meetings, any other individual needed to discuss all aspects of the firm's approach to address the SBIR topic shall also attend the meetings.
PHASE II: Develop, build, and demonstrate two prototypes of the proposed DF antenna array and demonstrate all aspects of performance in a tactical military field environment. Conduct extensive testing to prove feasibility over varied extended operational conditions, to refine/validate MTBF data, validate human machine interface and mechanical design, establish DF accuracy data, and to validate the total system design. Make system design modifications, as necessary, within the proposed budget to ensure Government satisfaction with the prototype. Provide a final technical report of Phase II activities which will be evaluated to determine if a Phase II company will be selected to continue development refinement in Phase II (Extended), or go into production in a Phase III contract. Provide the DF antenna array prototypes and selected spare parts to the Government for Government testing and validation.
PHASE III: At the completion of successful Government test and validation a limited production run is envisioned for our requirements. This antenna system could be used in a broad range of military, law enforcement, and civilian disaster relief applications.
KEYWORDS: ANTENNA ARRAY, DIRECTION FINDING, DF, TACTICAL, INTELLIGENCE, CAMOUFLAGE
SOCOM06-018 TITLE: Biologic Event Identification and Geolocation Unattended Ground Sensor
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Sensors
The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.
OBJECTIVE: Design, develop, build, and test an inexpensive, disposable, broadcast capable, biologic and weather sensor that also provides sensor site weather conditions. The sensor shall be capable of operating autonomously for at least three months on battery power allowing the unattended monitoring and triangulation of biologic events in both urban and rural environments and provide weather measurements, biologic agent identification, concentration and triangulation capabilities.
DESCRIPTION: Recent advances in electronic miniaturization, nanotechnologies and low voltage digital processing are making possible a new generation of inexpensive weather and biologic monitors. This trend has been demonstrated in a variety of related commercial products and throughout various industries. Some example enabling sensing technologies and projected risk include:
• High risk technologies (references) such as:
o University of Illinois work in biologic event detection based on DNA wrapped carbon nanotubes
o Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Supramolecular Nano-Stamping (SuNS) for DNA microarrays
o Georgia Institute of Technology, Multifunctional cantilever bio-sensing arrays
• Lower risk commercial technology such as:
o GeneFluidics microfabricated electrochemical biosenor arrays
o Lynntec, Inc. nanopore biosensing arrays (2004 NIAID SBIR R43 AIO56623)
The current effort would use existing and emerging sensing technology to develop an inexpensive, expendable weather monitoring and biologic sensor that shall also provide detection and alert capabilities, and the exfiltration of collected parameters to include:
• Own Global Positioning System location
• Time of detection
• Target biologic identification
• Concentration measurements
• Humidity and wind speed and wind direction.
There are obvious high technical risks associated with downsizing the sensing material, and integrating detection, data processing, alerting, and data transmission capabilities into an expendable (less than $5000 in quantity) package, but if the topic requirements can be met, this capability will facilitate biologic event identification, location (fixing) and predictive effects management in support of civil and military force protection and would have a significant impact on peacekeeping and counterterrorism operations. Remote broadcast capable sensors and micro-device networks, working in concert with manned and unmanned autonomous vehicles, would provide operators with an around-the-clock persistent remote Weapons of Mass Destruction/Pandemic surveillance and alert system. Proposals should reflect the vendor’s expertise, especially in biologic identification and sensing design, electronics systems design, small package mechanical design, and the advantages of their technical approach to a remote biologic sensing system. The proposal should concentrate on biologic sensing and address the physical packaging in only general terms as they influence the biologic sensing design approach. Phase I companies will discuss the proposed research in detail and propose in general what they would continue in Phase II.
Successful proposals will use novel ideas to improve soldier usability, create future commercial markets, and increase functional capability. Pluses include:
• Fully demonstrating the company’s past and present experience;
• Supplying references on proposing company’s products/programs (particularly government program managers);
• Giving details on its proposed technologies to show expertise;
• Showing detailed expertise in technologies related to this SBIR topic;
• Experience designing products for use in wilderness areas or for military customers.
PHASE I: Develop overall system design that includes specification of biologic and weather sensors, cooperative triangulation, data transmission elements, and data rate, broadcast radio specifications, command and control analysis node design and specifications, and network protocol operations. Build single integrated sensor to allow testing of in-situ bio-sensing, GPS and weather reporting capabilities.
Design Considerations:
• Performance is the primary concern.
• Biologics that must be detected are Anthrax and Ebola or approved surrogates.
• Detection sensitivity goal is 5% of lethal dosage or less.
• Sensor cost in quantities must be less than $5000 each.
• Be able to work in both urban and rural terrains, (military system environmental standards are relaxed for development.)
• Sensor target weight is 5lbs. (less battery/power supply)
• Autonomously operate for at least three months on battery and also by means of an 110v/220v Alternating Current adapter.
• Provide accurate triangulation predictive projection of contamination through the use of multiple radio broadcast capable sensors
All firms shall include as part of the Phase I proposal transportation costs to travel to Tampa, Florida for two separate meetings. The first travel requirement shall be the Phase I kick-off meeting and the second travel requirement shall be for the Phase I out brief. The meetings shall take less than four hours and at least the Principal Investigator is required to attend both meetings. Notwithstanding the requirement for the Principal Investigator to attend both meetings, any other individual needed to discuss all aspects of the firm's approach to address the SBIR topic shall also attend the meetings.
PHASE II: Develop, build, test, and demonstrate a prototype biologic sensor system of three (3) radio broadcast capable prototypes and a Command and Control (C2) node in a realistic military field environment. Conduct extensive testing to prove feasibility over varied extended operational conditions, to refine/validate data, validate human machine interface and mechanical design, establish power efficiency data, and to validate the total system design. Make system design modifications, as necessary, within the prototype. Provide a final technical report of Phase II activities which will be evaluated to determine if a Phase II company will be selected to continue development refinement in Phase II (Extended), or go into production in a Phase III contract. Provide the three (3) prototypes, the C2 node, and selected spare parts to the Government for Government testing and validation.
PHASE III/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: This system could be used in a broad range of military and homeland security applications where automatic remote surveillance, tracking and predictive contamination modeling are necessary for example, in overseas peacekeeping or United States civil protection missions.
REFERENCES:
None.
KEYWORDS: BIOLOGIC, WEATHER, SENSORS, NETWORKING, WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, WMD, ANTHRAX, EBOLA, PERSISTENT UNATTENDED SURVEILLANCE, TRACKING AND LOCATING.
Technical questions must be submitted through SITIS (http://www.dodsbir.net/sitis/).