DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH
PROJECTS AGENCY
Submission of Proposals
DARPA’s
charter is to help maintain U.S. technological superiority over, and to prevent
technological surprise by, its potential adversaries. Thus, the DARPA goal is to pursue as many highly imaginative and
innovative research ideas and concepts with potential military and dual-use
applicability as the budget and other factors will allow.
DARPA has identified technical topics to which small businesses may respond in the second fiscal year (FY) 01 solicitation (FY01.2). Please note that these topics are UNCLASSIFIED and only UNCLASSIFIED proposals will be entertained. Although they are unclassified, the subject matter may be considered to be a “critical technology”. If you plan to employee NON-U.S. Citizens in the performance of a DARPA SBIR contract, please inform the Contracting Officer who is negotiating your contract. These are the only topics for which proposals will be accepted at this time. A list of the topics currently eligible for proposal submission are included, followed by full topic descriptions. The topics originated from DARPA technical program managers and are directly linked to their core research and development programs.
Please
note that 1 original and 4 copies of
each proposal must be mailed or hand-carried.
DARPA will not accept
proposal submissions by electronic facsimile (fax). A checklist has been prepared to assist small business activities
in responding to DARPA topics. Please
use this checklist prior to mailing or hand-carrying your proposal(s) to
DARPA. Do not include the checklist
with your proposal.
·
DARPA
Phase I awards will be Firm Fixed Price contracts.
·
Phase
I proposals shall not exceed $99,000,
and may range from 6 to 8
months in duration. Phase I
contracts can not be extended.
·
DARPA
Phase II proposals must be invited by the respective Phase I technical monitor
(with the exception of Fast Track Phase II proposals – see Section 4.5 of this
solicitation). DARPA Phase II proposals
must be structured as follows: the first 10-12 months (base effort) should be
approximately $375,000; the second 10-12 months of incremental funding should
also be approximately $375,000. The
entire Phase II effort should generally not exceed $750,000.
·
It
is expected that a majority of the Phase II contracts will be Cost Plus Fixed
Fee. However, DARPA may choose to award
a Firm Fixed Price Contract or an Other Transaction, on a case-by-case basis.
Prior
to receiving a contract award, the small business MUST be registered in the Centralized Contractor Registration (CCR)
Program. You may obtain registration
information by calling 1-888-352-9333 or internet: http://ccr.edi.disa.mil and www.ccr.dlsc.dla.mil.
The
responsibility for implementing DARPA’s SBIR Program rests in the Contracts
Management Office. The DARPA SBIR
Program Manager is Ms. Connie Jacobs.
DARPA invites the small business community to send proposals directly to
DARPA at the following address:
DARPA/CMO/SBIR
Attention: Ms. Connie Jacobs
3701 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203-1714
(703) 526-4170
SBIR
proposals will be processed by the DARPA Contracts Management Office and
distributed to the appropriate technical office for evaluation and action.
DARPA selects proposals for funding based on technical merit and the evaluation criteria contained in this solicitation document. DARPA gives evaluation criterion a., “The soundness and technical merit of the proposed approach and its incremental progress toward topic or subtopic solution” (refer to section 4.2 Evaluation Criteria - Phase I), twice the weight of the other two evaluation criteria. As funding is limited, DARPA reserves the right to select and fund only those proposals considered to be superior in overall technical quality and highly relevant to the DARPA mission. As a result, DARPA may fund more than one proposal in a specific topic area if the technical quality of the proposal(s) is deemed superior, or it may not fund any proposals in a topic area. Each proposal submitted to DARPA must have a topic number and must be responsive to only one topic.
· Cost proposals will be considered to be binding for 180 days from closing date of solicitation.
·
Successful offerors will be expected to begin work no later than 30
days after contract award.
·
For
planning purposes, the contract award process is normally completed within 45
to 60 days from issuance of the selection notification letter to Phase I
offerors.
The
DOD SBIR Program has implemented a streamlined Fast Track process for SBIR
projects that attract matching cash from an outside investor for the Phase II
SBIR effort, as well as for the interim effort between Phases I and II. Refer to Section 4.5 for Fast Track
instructions. DARPA encourages Fast Track Applications ANYTIME during the 6th month of
the Phase I effort. The
Fast Track Phase II proposal must be submitted no later than the last business
day in the 7th month of the effort. Technical dialogues with DARPA
Program Managers are encouraged to ensure research continuity during the
interim period and Phase II. If a Phase II contract is awarded under the
Fast Track program, the amount of the interim funding will be deducted from the
Phase II award amount. It is expected
that interim funding generally, will not exceed $40,000.
To
encourage the transition of SBIR research into DoD Systems, DARPA has
implemented a Phase II Enhancement policy.
Under this policy DARPA will provide a phase II company with additional
Phase II SBIR funding, not to exceed $200K, if the company can match the
additional SBIR funds with non-SBIR funds from DoD core-mission funds or the
private sector; or at the discretion of the DARPA Program Manager. DARPA will generally provide the additional
Phase II funds by modifying the Phase II contract.
DARPA FY2001.2 Phase I SBIR
Checklist
1) Proposal Format
a. Cover Sheet
(formerly referred to as Appendices A and B) MUST be submitted electronically ______
(identify
topic number)
b. Identification and
Significance of Problem or Opportunity ______
c. Phase I Technical
Objectives ______
d. Phase I Work Plan ______
e. Related Work ______
f. Relationship with
Future Research and/or Development ______
g. Commercialization
Strategy ______
h. Key Personnel, Resumes ______
i. Facilities/Equipment ______
j. Consultants ______
k.
Prior,
Current, or Pending Support ______
l. Cost Proposal (see Appendix C of this
Solicitation). Ensure your cost
proposal is signed. ______
m. Company Commercialization Report (formerly
referred to as Appendix E) ______
MUST be registered electronically and a
signed hardcopy submitted with your proposal
(register at http://www.dodsbir.net/companycomercialization)
2) Bindings
a. Staple proposals in upper left-hand corner.
______
b. DO NOT use a cover. ______
c. DO NOT use special bindings. ______
3) Page Limitation
a. Total for each
proposal is 25 pages inclusive of cost proposal and resumes. ______
b. Beyond the 25 page
limit do not send appendices, attachments ______
and/or
additional references.
c. Company Commercialization Report (formerly
referred to as Appendix E) ______
IS NOT included
in the page count.
4) Submission Requirement
for Each Proposal
a. Original proposal,
including signed Cover Sheet (formerly referred to as Appendix A) ______
b.
Four photocopies of original
proposal, including signed Cover Sheet ______
and Company Commercialization Report
(formerly referred to as Appendices A, B and E)
DARPA SB012-001 TITLE: Spectral Cueing/Spatial Confirmation Targeting System
KEY TECHNOLOGY AREA: Sensors, Electronics, and Battlespace Environment.
OBJECTIVE:
Develop a common optic system that will allow the capability to perform
wide field of view spectral cueing and narrow field of view spatial
confirmation on military targets of interest.
Spectral resolution should be on the order of 1nm in the visible.
DESCRIPTION:
Most current Automatic Target
Recognition (ATR) systems utilize panchromatic spatial imagery. Unfortunately, these systems require high
resolution, i.e. many pixels on target (narrow field-of-view), and are
susceptible to Camouflage, Concealment, and Deception (CC&D)
techniques. Multi/Hyperspectral
Imagery, on the other hand, requires much more effort to perform effective CC&D since the techniques
must be robust across many spectral bands.
Also, since spectral detection techniques do not require high spatial
resolution, wide field of view searches are possible. Tunable filter systems are of particular interest since they
possess the capability to collect data in spectral regions-of-interest rather
than gathering massive amounts of unutilized data. Unfortunately, there is not a common optic system that can
perform both tasks of spatial and spectral recognition. This effort will focus on a system that can
perform wide field of view spectral anomaly detection and narrow field of view
spatial confirmation.
PHASE
I: Draft a paper design system with
common fore-optics that allow: 1) Wide field-of-view with selective spectral
tuning from 400-1200nm and spectral bands having less than 5nm bandwidth. 2) Narrow field-of-view that has the
capability to pan, or search, within the wide field-of-view.
PHASE
II: Fabricate and demonstrate the
system designed in Phase 1.
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The technology developed under this SBIR
effort can be utilized in the commercial sector to monitor such areas as
agricultural growth, geological formations, and water pollution.
KEYWORDS:
Automatic Target Recognition, Multispectral, Hyperspectral, Imaging
Spectroscopy, Remote Sensing.
REFERENCES:
1. Chavez,
P.S., Jr., Sides, S.C., and J.A. Anderson. (1991) Comparison of three different
methods to merge multiresolution and multispectral data: Landsat TM and SPOT
panchromatic. PE & RS., v. 57 (3), 295-303.
2. Ehlers,
M. (1991) Multi-sensor image fusion techniques in remote sensing. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote
Sensing., v. 46, .19-30.
3.
Garguet-Duport, B., Girel, J., Chassery, J., and G. Pautou. (1996) The
use of multiresolution analysis and wavelets transform for merging SPOT
panchromatic and multispectral image data. PE &
RS., v. 62 (9), 1057-1066.
4. D. G.
Goodenough, D. Charlebois, S. Matwin, and M. Robson (1994) Automating Reuse of Software for Expert
System Analysis of Remote Sensing Data
IEEE Trans. on Geos. and Rem. Sens., 32:525-533.
5. Larsen,
M. (1997) Crown modelling to find tree top positions in aerial photographs.
International Airborne remote sensing Conference and Exhibition, Proceedings
II-428-435.
DARPA SB012-002 TITLE: Robust, No Power MEMS Sensors
KEY TECHNOLOGY AREA: Sensors, Electronics and Battlespace Environment.
OBJECTIVE:
To develop robust, no power, low cost MicroElectroMechanical
Systems (MEMS) sensors for missile guidance and missile health monitoring
applications.
DESCRIPTION:
With increasing developments in MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS),
new sensing techniques and devices are emerging rapidly. However, three significant deterrents to military
application of many of these devices exist: 1) the miniature size and, in some
cases performance of the sensors, are nullified by the size and performance of
the power supply for the MEMS sensing devices; 2) the fabrication of different
sensors on a single substrate is often difficult or impossible due to the
incompatibility of certain processes; or 3) the devices cannot withstand
military environments (shock, vibration, humidity, temperature, etc.). There is significant technical risk in all
of the above areas; however, the pay-off if successful makes it well worth the
investment. The purpose of this topic
is to identify and develop MEMS sensing technologies that address these
issues. Techniques such as Rayleigh
surface wave detection or resetting latch banks have the potential for
providing good performance while providing robust, no power, low cost
sensors which can sense a variety of parameters and be fabricated in a single
device. A variety of sensors are
needed, including inertial (gyroscopes and accelerometers), temperature,
humidity, chemical/biological/ neurological agents, strain, shock, and
barometric pressure and wind speed sensors.
Proposals should address as many of these sensor types as possible in
accordance with each of the issues above.
Award consideration will be based heavily upon the completeness of addressing
the named concerns, the innovative nature of the technology proposed, the
economical advantages of the device(s) proposed, the applicability of the
devices to both military and commercial uses, and the performance
specifications/expectations of the sensor(s).
PHASE
I: Identify specific design and
fabrication techniques for MEMS sensors that address the enhancement of two or
more application issues. Develop a
detailed approach and schedule and develop a design concept for integration of
multiple sensor types. Analytically
demonstrate the capability of the proposed technology(ies) that will provide
robust, low-cost, no power MEMS sensing devices for military
applications. Define theoretical
limitations of, and any technological barriers to implementation of, your
design (including such parameters as performance, size, reliability, cost,
etc.). Quantify the advantages of your
approach, and conduct proof-of-principle experiments to verify proposed
techniques. Short-term performance
goals for inertial sensors must achieve a bias of 30 °/hr,
with a dynamic range of ± 2,000 °/sec,
over a temperature range of 0°C to +50°C.
Phase
II: Validate your robust, no
power MEMS sensors for military applications by fabricating and demonstrating a
brass-board prototype(s) of a no power m-sensor suite, m-Inertial
Measurement Unit and/or m-sensor components. Teaming with industry, or academia foundries
as necessary is encouraged. Confirm
performance through laboratory testing and quantify performance specifications for
the micro-devices. Component-only
demonstrations must be substantiated with judicious examination of integration
issues.
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The dual use potential of the product(s)
from this effort is phenomenal. Markets
extend from numerous automotive, aeronautical and robotic applications to
mining and oil-drilling applications to medical and food industry
applications. Potential market sales of
small, low-cost conformal environmental and inertial sensing devices are
astronomical.
KEYWORDS:
MEMS, Sensors, Inertial Measurement Units, Rayleigh Waves.
REFERENCES:
1.
Department of Defense, “Microelectromechanical Systems: A DoD Dual Use
Technology Industrial Assessment,” December 1995.
2. Varadan,
V. K. and Varadan, V. V., “Wireless Smart Conformal MEMS-Based Sensors for
Aerospace Structures,” American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics,
AIAA-98-5244, 1998.
DARPA SB012-003 TITLE: New Approach to Wave Oriented Radio Propagation Modeling
KEY TECHNOLOGY AREA: Information Systems Technology
OBJECTIVE:
Develop a new wave-oriented approach to the simulation of terrestrial
radio wave propagation in high bandwidth, high data rate channels, with greater
physical accuracy, which can predict relevant channel parameters for end-to-end
paths over a variety of terrain features and under different atmospheric
conditions.
DESCRIPTION:
The computation of radio wave propagation over terrain of military and
commercial wireless interest requires the simulation of end-to-end
electromagnetic propagation over a variety of terrain and manmade features:
hills, mountains, relatively flat earth, water bodies, rural areas, and
suburban and urban areas. Propagation
paths into buildings and into and through foliage need to be considered. Path configurations of interest include
ground-mobile-to-ground-mobile, tower-to-tower, tower-to-ground-mobile, air or
satellite-to-ground-mobile, and air-to-air.
Special cases such as propagation in tunnels also need to be modeled. Path parameters affecting high bandwidth,
high data rate communication channels must be simulated accurately. Path loss, polarization effects, and
multi-path effects, such as angle of arrival, path delay and delay spread,
coherence lengths, and fading statistics are potentially critical
parameters. Existing methods of
modeling such propagation paths include ray tracing approaches and the
approximate full wave Parabolic Equation Method. New propagation simulation approaches with greater physical
accuracy and greater computational efficiency need to be developed. Such approaches should be oriented to wave
field propagation, but allow the expedient transition between wave-like and ray
tracing or asymptotic techniques. A
suite of modeling EM engines should allow the selection of different levels of
physical accuracy, with correspondingly different computation times. The model must be capable of calculating the
effect of atmospheric conditions on the propagation. Interfaces must be provided for the major commercial and
government terrain, urban, and foliage databases. The model must be capable of analyzing narrow band frequency
waveforms and arbitrary ultra-wideband waveforms. The frequency range of interest is HF through 100 GHz.
PHASE
I: Demonstrate an EM computational
engine capable of predicting channel parameters in the limited case of hilly,
rural terrain. Demonstrate a graphical
user interface optimized for radio wave propagation and radio channel parameter
prediction.
PHASE
II: Demonstrate the full capability
propagation code, capable of predicting the channel parameters noted above for
end-to-end paths through a variety of terrain and manmade structures.
PHASE III: DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The resulting propagation code will be used
by commercial wireless companies and government and military activities to
design wireless communications networks and to design or procure the
communications hardware. It will be
used to test new network and systems concepts for both military and commercial
applications and to evaluate the ability of communications to support new
military warfighting concepts such as the Future Combat Systems. It will be used to develop and evaluate
communications plans for specific military operational areas and emergency and
disaster areas for government activities.
It will be used for en-route tactical communication planning by military
and government contingency elements. It
will be used to inject realistic communications path characteristics in war
gaming and training. The market is
expected to be wireless communications companies, government communications
contractors, military communications planning and training activities, and the
consultants supporting these activities.
KEY WORDS:
Radio Wave Propagation, Propagation Model.
REFERENCES:
None are provided because doing so will lead candidate proposals toward
the use of existing propagation models, rather than the desired innovation.
DARPA SB012-004 TITLE: Processing Techniques for Dynamic Sources
KEY TECHNOLOGY AREA: Sensors, Electronics, and Battlespace Environment
OBJECTIVE:
The work will develop innovative processing techniques for multiple
moving acoustic sources. The intent is
to be able to suppress a field of moving acoustic interferers while
simultaneously enhancing the signal from a weak source that is also
moving. The objective is to obtain
significant passive sonar gains by extending coherent integration times by
robustly compensating for source/receiver motion. The goal is to obtain 10 dB better interference rejection and a 6
dB or more improvement in signal gain for passive sonar.
DESCRIPTION:
One of the fundamental limitations of adaptive signal processing stems
from the need to estimate source statistics.
Standard techniques make stationarity assumptions that are demonstrably
inappropriate for passive sonar. In
shallow water, the expected acoustic environment will include many discrete
interferers that have appreciable range and bearing rates. Standard processing techniques have a
limited ability to suppress these interferers; weak signals of interest from
sources that are also in motion are also difficult to enhance. The goal here will be to develop processing
techniques that significantly improve processing performance in this situation. Motion compensation techniques have been
developed for radar sensors, imagery (the MPEG standard), and are emerging in
sonar, but complex propagation environments and the large number of sources
complicate the sonar problem. Emerging
techniques for motion compensation in sonar are focused on narrowband models;
the goal here is to develop compensation techniques that may be applied to
broadband source signals. There is
substantial risk, as evidenced by the fact that there are as of yet no standard
techniques for performing this function, and indeed it is unclear whether
practical optimum techniques exist, especially for broadband passive
sonar. Generally, adaptive signal
processing involves adaptively computing beam patterns by applying variable complex
gains (weights) to individual sensor outputs, then summing the results. The optimum adaptive weights require
knowledge of the data covariance matrix.
This matrix is usually unknown, and therefore, must be estimated. In a dynamic environment, the sources are
temporally non-stationary, so the problem is not ergodic, and covariance
estimates obtained by temporal smoothing are inherently mismatched. There have been two approaches to this
problem. First, there are a host of
techniques designed to more efficiently estimate the data covariance matrix. At some scale, the problem becomes
quasi-stationary; the amount of mismatch due to source/interferer mismatch
negligible, and optimum performance may be recovered. The issue for this approach is that coherent integration times
are not extended, so coherent gain on the signal of interest is not improved,
although interference may be adequately suppressed. The second approach is to incorporate models of the
source/receiver dynamics directly in the problem formulation. This model-based approach has been much less
explored. One such approach is to model
the time-varying behavior of the covariance matrix and incorporate this into
adaptive weight estimators. Regardless,
issues associated with a dynamic signal, as opposed to dynamic interference,
have not been thoroughly studied.
PHASE
I: This phase will develop a
feasibility concept and implement processing techniques that target source
fields that are known to be in motion.
A software implementation of the concept will be tested on simulated
data.
PHASE
II: The task in Phase II is to more
completely develop and test the processing developed in Phase I. A software prototype should be developed and
demonstrated on a sample data set.
PHASE
III: A real-time software module
suitable for production will be developed and tested at sea.
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Candidate applications for the product of
this SBIR range from medical ultrasonic diagnostics and therapy, marine
biology/fisheries and non-invasive testing to military issues such as undersea
sound navigation, threat detection, and weapons guidance.
KEYWORDS:
Acoustics, Adaptive Signal Processing, Motion Compensation.
REFERENCES:
1. Rapidly
Adaptive Matched Field Processing for Nonstationary Environments and Active
Sonars, J. Ward and A. Baggeroer, Adaptive Sensor Array Processing Workshop
1998, MIT Lincoln Laboratories, 1998.
2.
Multi-Rate Adaptive Nulling of Moving Interferers, H. Cox, Adaptive
Sensor Array Processing Workshop 2000, MIT Lincoln Laboratories, 2000.
3. Theory of
Partially Adaptive Radar, S. Goldstein and I.S. Reed, IEEE Transactions on
Aerospace and Electonic Systems, Oct. 1997.
4.
Performance Analysis of the Derivative-Based Updating Method, M. Zatman,
Adaptive Sensor Array Processing Workshop 2001, MIT Lincoln Laboratories, 2001.
5.
Multi-Rate Adaptive Nulling of Moving Interferers, H. Cox, Adaptive
Sensor Array Processing Workshop 2000, MIT Lincoln Laboratories, 2000.
6. Theory of
Partially Adaptive Radar, S. Goldstein and I.S. Reed, IEEE Transactions on
Aerospace and Electonic Systems, Oct. 1997.
7.
Performance Analysis of the Derivative-Based Updating Method, M. Zatman,
Adaptive Sensor Array Processing Workshop 2001, MIT Lincoln Laboratories, 2001.
DARPA SB012-005 TITLE: RF Polymers for Integrated Sensors
KEY TECHNOLOGY AREA: Sensors
OBJECTIVE:
Develop innovative uses for radio frequency (RF) polymers with
application to integrated RF sensor technologies that provide increased
functionality to reduce physical size, power consumption, signal loss, weight,
and cost for structurally integrated apertures.
DESCRIPTION:
The research will explore revolutionary concepts and conduct feasibility
demonstration efforts of RF sensors that employ RF polymers to provide a low
cost manufacturing capability. The effort
will examine advanced RF polymer materials and RF aperture concepts for use on
affordable, structurally integrated apertures.
The effort will consider ideas that lead to a working aperture
demonstration at the end of Phase II.
This includes multi-function/integrated aperture concepts. Also, the effort could focus on the RF
polymer conductive, dielectric or magnetic properties that will dramatically
improve the above type of integrated apertures for final demonstrations. Limited material coupons or hardware
breadboards will be fabricated to verify modeling results required. Selection of the demonstration vehicles
shall be based on the developed RF polymers suitability for a specific
integrated aperture and the availability of suppliers transferring these
technologies from a research to a production environment. This program shall be divided into two
phases.
PHASE
I: Phase I will be the concept
exploration phase that includes the verification of the novel integrated
aperture architectures that make best use of the advanced RF Polymers. Concept Validation and Verification.
PHASE
II: Functional demonstration vehicles
and design of potential products shall be completed, such as an RF Polymer with
a magnetic property appropriate for use as part of a circulator in an
integrated aperture. It is expected
that fabrication capability of commercial and military RF Polymer products will
be established by end of Phase II.
PHASE III DUAL USE COMMERCIALIZATION POTENTIAL: Commercial applications include portable
electronics, wearable electronics, space-based systems, automotive electronics,
and RF tags.
KEYWORDS: RF
Polymers, Integrated Apertures, RF on Flex.
REFERENCES:
1. AFOSR
Polymer Workshop, Dr. Charles Lee, AFOSR, 7-8 Dec, Hyatt, Chicago, IL.
DARPA SB012-006 TITLE: Gun Launched Interceptors
KEY TECHNOLOGY AREA: Weapons (Conventional Weapons)
OBJECTIVE:
Develop technologies to enable supersonic, highly maneuverable, gun
launched, guided medium caliber projectiles.
Leap-ahead improvements are sought for survivable actuation devices,
innovative flight control, inertial measurements and data links.
DESCRIPTION:
Dynamic engagement simulations have suggested that gun-based weapon
systems utilizing guided hit-to-kill projectiles have a number of militarily
significant applications. A new
generation of gun launched projectiles compatible with 12-40 millimeter weapons
may be possible using recent advances in actuation technologies
(materials/microfluidics/thrusters/synthetic jets), flight hardened electronics
and packaging for +100,000g setback accelerations and power sources. Advanced manufacturing processes and
multi-layer fabrication techniques may make it possible to fabricate the fins
or structure of the interceptor with embedded electronic or control
components. Of particular interest are
technologies which enable the development of interceptors with greater than
50g’s of lateral acceleration and less than 20 millisecond time constants.
PHASE
I: Develop a low fidelity, system-level
concept employing gun launched, supersonic projectiles having an outer diameter
less than or equal to 40 millimeters.
Demonstrate through analysis, models or detailed simulations the
feasibility of the projectile. Although
the emphasis is on enabling technologies, the devices must correlate back to
the constraints of the offerer-developed system level concept. The hypothetical system concept must predict
a system accuracy of less than 1 meter at 3000 meters downrange, be capable of
exceeding 50 g’s of controlled lateral acceleration within 300 meters of barrel
exit, survive over 100,000 g’s of firing setback and possess a minimum terminal
velocity of 1000 meters per second at 3000 meters while carrying approximately
750 grams of payload. The design must
then focus on one or more of the specific component technologies required by
the system concept to launch the projectile, track targets, provide fire
control and communicate with the projectile, etc. Continued development of the specified components will be the
focus for Phase II. The technical and
manufacturing risks associated with the concept must be identified in this
phase and a detailed risk reduction plan for follow-on development must be
presented.
PHASE
II: Design, fabricate and demonstrate
the performance of critical components needed to achieve the required
performance levels or a complete projectile.
Performance demonstrations will strive to utilize and demonstrate
prototypes that are consistent with the volume and mass requirements of the
offerer-developed system concept.
Teaming with munitions-related industrial partners who are funding
relevant internal R&D efforts is encouraged. Collaboration with munitions-related partners within government
labs (at no cost to the SBIR program) is encouraged as a means to; 1)
understand the launch and flight environments, 2) gain access to wind tunnels,
air guns or other valuable development tools, 3) leverage advanced technologies
developed under previous DoD-sponsored programs, and 4) facilitate
commercialization/Phase III opportunities.
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The technologies for supersonic control,
drag reduction, inertial sensors, projectile communications and power can be
used as a basis to design civilian projectiles for law enforcement applications
and aerodynamic flight bodies for the civil and military aircraft industry.
KEYWORDS:
Guided Projectiles, Micro-Fluidics, Controllable Drag, Inertial Sensors,
Communications, Tracking, Fire Control, Supersonic Flight Control, High-G
Maneuvers, Hit-to-Kill Lethality, Anti-Ship Cruise Missiles, Man Portable Air
Defense Systems, Embedded Electronics, Structurally Integrated Devices, Smart
Materials, Wind Tunnels, High-G Launch Setback.
DARPA SB012-007 TITLE: Multi-Modal Command Interaction
KEY TECHNOLOGY AREA: Human Systems
OBJECTIVE:
Develop multimode command interaction technology integrating speaking
and sketching protocols with maps; these innovative interaction techniques must
work in harmony with current command methods, significantly improving overall
performance.
DESCRIPTION:
Computer systems and digital information in command posts often go
unused or are used in tandem with paper-based systems because operators trust
the paper-based system to a greater degree.
This lack of confidence in digital systems can largely be attributed to
difficult-to-learn and difficult-to-use systems, or to the fact that systems go
down if you lose power. The overall
goal of this research and development effort is to develop and test innovative
new forms of multimodal human-computer interaction in command posts with a
focus on improving overall confidence and performance. Key factors that must be evaluated relative
to performance are productivity gains, ease of training, fewer errors, flexible
collaboration, and less susceptibility to power and communications
failures. In addition success will mean
that the command post staff has significant confidence in the digital system
and the specific user interface and interaction methods. Special emphasis must be given to multimodal
interfaces that allow users to speak and draw to maps in order to provide
normal modes of interaction for operators.
PHASE
I: Develop an architecture for
multimodal interaction with emphasis on combining speech and sketching on
maps. Perform initial implementation
experiments that provide evidence that the approach can be applied to map-based
command post tasks operating in diverse hardware platforms and form factors,
including wearable, wall-sized and paper-based systems. Develop a set of metrics and an experimental
paradigm for demonstrating the strengths and weaknesses of the technology.
PHASE
II: Develop and conduct experiments
with a collaborative system based on the architecture from Phase I, which
supports multimodal interaction with map-based systems. The system should employ voice and sketching
technologies, accept military symbology found in Army and Marine Corps field
manuals, and should operate with a wide range of devices including: Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), tablets,
laptops, workstations, paper maps, and wall-sized systems. The system should be usable by inexperienced
military personnel, as well as by expert military users, with a minimum of
training. The system should be
evaluated in US Army or US Marine Corps exercises according to the experimental
paradigm established in Phase I.
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The technology developed under this SBIR can be used
in the interfaces for a number of commercial technologies, including PDAs,
cell-phones, as well as desktop and pen-based computers. Applications that can utilize this
technology include executive information systems, commercial command and
control systems, and data-entry systems.
KEYWORDS:
Multimodal Interaction, Integrated Speech and Sketching.
DARPA SB012-008 TITLE: Genetically Engineered Biofilms
KEY TECHNOLOGY AREA: Biomedical
OBJECTIVE:
To determine the efficacy of genetically engineering biofilms for the
detection of bacteriological warfare/chemical warfare (BW/CW) hazards and the
potential for immediate warning and intervention at the site of the event.
DESCRIPTION:
Biofilms are common in the environment and represent a unique non-
vegetative state of microbial existence.
In this state, many microbes exists in a lamellar protein matrix with
greatly expanded metabolic and functional characteristics including the natural
ability to sense other organisms via built-in signal transduction
pathways. Common occurrences of
biofilms include dental plaque, fouled ship hulls and cooling systems, the
protein matrix seen on indwelling catheters and the organic coating in most
irrigation and plumbing systems. Their
ubiquitous nature, hardiness, and potential for genetic engineering, makes them
a promising candidate for exploring their use as broad surveillance devices for
the presence of hazardous substances such as pathogens or environmental
contaminants. A secondary application
is in the potential to link detection and neutralization by the same genetically
engineered biofilm.
PHASE
I: Feasibility: Explore the ability of natural biofilms to
sense environmental contaminants and pathogens. Genetically modify the physiology, biochemistry and structural
features of biofilms to explore their possible use as simple detection systems;
demonstrate safety of biofilm-based system.
PHASE
II: Demonstration: Characterize biofilm systems for specific
detection; link detection and activation or neutralization; selection of
specific agents of interest; broaden application to chemical agents.
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Genetically engineered biofilms which are
capable of detecting environmental hazards such as biological or chemical
agents and initiating a neutralization process would shorten the time between
detection and the safety of an area, food or water source. Commercially, biofilms are relatively
untapped and under utilized by both the medical and environmental
scientists. Applications include early
detection of exposure to disease, ecological contaminants and increased food
safety.
KEYWORDS:
Biofilm, Food Safety, Water Safety, Biological/Chemical Defense.
REFERENCES:
1. http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/research/Cell-cell%20communication/default.htm.
2. Biofilms:
Community Interactions and Control (Biofilm Club Publications) by Martin Jones, Hilary Lappin-Scott (Editor), Peter Gilbert (Editor), Pauline Handley (Editor), Julian Wimpenny (Editor).
DARPA SB012-009 TITLE: Autogenous Repair of High Performance Materials
KEY TECHNOLOGY AREA: Materials / Processes
OBJECTIVE:
Establish practical technology for fail-safe use of highly stressed
materials/components of military platforms by development of rapid means for
their automatic and autogenous repair or amelioration of damage.
DESCRIPTION:
All military platforms and weapons unavoidably contain inherent flaws in
the materials of their construction. It
is these flaws and other damage sites introduced while in service, which grow
and ultimately lead to either sudden catastrophic failures or to less dramatic,
but very costly and performance-limiting aging/wear-out failures. There is a need to avoid such failures for
the sake of successful mission performance, safety and reduction of life cycle
maintenance and repair costs. Current
means for achieving this are expensive, take assets out of service for
prolonged periods for maintenance and require retirement of parts based on
statistical criteria. None of these
deal with unanticipated conditions leading to failure while a system is in
service. To avoid all of these limitations,
methods and technologies are needed which cause materials to self-correct
damage features and damage effects automatically while in service. Achievement of this goal for high
performance materials requires innovations that can automatically and
internally reinforce or repair them while in operation. Materials to be considered must be relevant
to military systems and include metals, polymers and composites. Incorporation of capabilities into the
microstructure of a material for its self-modification upon experiencing damage
is to be emphasized. Modifications
leading to self-repair or self-patching of a material must be automatically and
locally triggered by in-service conditions/effects (e.g., damage features,
failure precursors, intensity of mechanical response, heat generation, chemical
reactions, etc.) Schemes that require
external intervention when damage occurs, rather than those that are automatic
and self-contained within a materials system are not included in this
program. Any such automatic schemes
must be capable of being effective rapidly enough to offer hope for avoidance
of catastrophic failure. Proposers must address this response/effectiveness
time explicitly for specific materials.
In addition to self-healing concepts, this program also includes
self-triggered, self-reinforcement considerations leading to increased
capabilities for damping, stiffening, deflection and vibration control which
would provide resistance to damage from dynamic loads. There are many phenomena, which might be
considered as the basis for self-repair/self-reinforcement of high performance
engineering materials. Practicality of
implementation of a specific modification mode should be a major consideration
in proposals.
PHASE
I: Demonstrate efficacy of phenomena
and approaches proposed to achieve automatically-triggered self-repair or
self-reinforcement of high performance materials, or bringing damage
propagation to a halt, or reinforcing sites undergoing damaging influences and
even the restoration of soundness to damaged specimens. Proposed approaches for self-healing and
related effects should consider triggering phenomena, the self-contained
character of a self-healing materials system, shelf life concerns and
measurements of the extent of restoration of property levels for materials
investigated. Laboratory specimens of
selected materials with seeded, controlled damage features (or potential damage
initiation sites) should be evaluated as demonstration of proof principle of
any proposed concepts. Analyze rate at
which triggering and self-repair can occur for the approach proposed.
PHASE
II: Demonstrate integrity of
self-repair/self-reinforced specimens by testing after their exposure, under
mechanical loads to relevant environmental conditions. Analyze load-carrying capability of
self-repaired/self-reinforced materials and functions of time and imposed
stress. Demonstrate best approach on
specimens damaged under simulated in-service conditions. Identify and evaluate most suitable
non-distractive evaluation (NDE) method for evaluation of
self-repaired/self-reinforced materials under practical (non-laboratory)
conditions. Modify approach to
self-repair/self reinforcement as needed. Document approach and test
procedures.
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Successful development will result in
processes, methods and systems with multiple applications in military aircraft,
ships, and other vehicles. Commercial
applications can be found, among many others, in the aircraft and propulsion
industries, heavy machinery, chemical and other plants, power generation
systems, and civil structures which will be subjected to combined influences of
mechanical stresses, cyclic loads, humid and harsh chemical environments and
perhaps vibration and seismic loads.
KEYWORDS:
Materials Failure, Fracture, Self-Repair, Fatigue, Damage Accumulation,
Fail-Safe Operation, Reliability, Metals, Composites, Polymers, Crack Growth.
DARPA SB012-010 TITLE: Portable Lifts
KEY TECHNOLOGY AREA: Human Systems
OBJECTIVE: Development of a chemical-mechanical powered
machine that would enable a small unit of soldiers to scale buildings quietly
and quickly in the urban terrain.
DESCRIPTION:
Military doctrine in the urban
terrain recommends that buildings be cleared from the top down, allowing the
adversary to escape rather than force a confrontation. Current tactics rely on folding ladders,
which can be bulky and awkward to carry and assemble in battlefield conditions. Other more traditional approaches utilize
grappling hooks and a soldiers climbing ability. Either approach leaves soldiers exposed for an extended period of
time. The energy required for lifting a
soldier is rather modest, i.e., the potential energy change is equivalent to a
small amount of hydrocarbon fuel. The
Carnot efficiency of engines, power transmissions, heat transfer, noise
generation and engine controllers all contribute to the technical challenge and
will ultimately limit the achievable performance of such a machine. Creating a reasonably efficient and
power dense conversion device that is capable of creating 1-2 hp of mechanical
work quietly will be a tremendous challenge.
Designing and developing a
man-portable lifting device places stringent constraints on mass and
volume. Moreover, a device should not
exceed 50 decibels of volume and probably be less than 40 dB for special
operations. The device should be
capable of lifting soldiers with fighting load (~ 100 kg) at a rate of
approximately 1 meter per second. It
should be compact, approaching and exceeding 1 kWatt per kilogram and be
as efficient as possible to minimize the fuel weight and thermal
signature. There are a variety of new
approaches that can be developed for efficient and quiet operation of
chemical-mechanical devices utilizing advances in smart materials, Micro
Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), modern controls, computational fluid
dynamics (CFD) and materials technology to develop efficient, power dense,
quiet, mesoscale power plants.
PHASE
I: Design a power conversion device, providing
analysis that proves the feasibility of the overall design. Critical subsystems or a complete system
should be demonstrated.
PHASE
II: Demonstrate the use of the system
to carry the equivalent of a fire team of soldiers (e.g., 4) with fighting load,
~100 kg, up the side of a multiple story building.
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: This device would have a number of applications in power generation, the construction industry, law enforcement, fire fighting and rescue equipment. Power generation is always a concern for the military. A quiet, nearly silent small efficient power generation system could be developed from the power plant developed herein. The recent development of chemical-mechanical powered nail guns ha