SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- MOBILE AUTONOMOUS ROBOT SOFTWARE (MARS) ROBOTIC VISION 2020
- Notice Date
- 3/27/2002
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Other Defense Agencies, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Contracts Management Office, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA, 22203-1714
- ZIP Code
- 22203-1714
- Solicitation Number
- BAA02-15
- Response Due
- 4/3/2003
- Archive Date
- 4/3/2004
- Point of Contact
- Dr. Douglas Gage, Program Manager, DARPA/ITO, Phone none, Fax 703-522-7161,
- E-Mail Address
-
none
- Description
- The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting proposals for the design, development, integration, and demonstration of perception-based autonomous robots that effectively operate in real-world environments and interact with humans and with other robots. The key enabling strategy for this effort is the structured incorporation into the system of operator intervention, machine learning, and other techniques so that the system's autonomous capabilities can be iteratively and methodically improved, resulting in the evolutionary development of the revolutionary capabilities needed to support the Joint DARPA/Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) and other military transformational thrusts. The software being developed under the Mobile Autonomous Robot Software (MARS) program will create significant, asymmetric, military advantage by enabling the pervasive employment of an entirely new class of unmanned, autonomous military systems. By comparison, many current military systems are manned, with the human on-board the platform to provide all synchronous command and control (for both platform and payload operation). This constraint imposes severe limitations on the acquisition, sustainment, and operational employment of these systems. The few unmanned systems currently employed are remote controlled. This also engenders significant limitations including: degraded system performance by inherently systemic, command and control latencies; limited operator performance by the quantity and quality of "telepresence" that can be provided to the remote operator; unreliable wireless command and control links; and extremely limited suitable spectrum bandwidth. For the few, relatively autonomous systems, the state-of-the-art for software-enabled, autonomous control (such as waypoint flight control) is drastically inferior to the aggressive, human-enabled control exhibited by high-performance manned platforms, especially for aircraft. This solicitation seeks proposals in the following research areas: 1. Structured software modules that will enable human operators to assist the robots through intervention so that the robot fully encounters its operating environment. As the level of robot autonomy increases, the MARS program goal is to double the average time between required operator interventions and reduce by half the average operator time required per intervention. 2. Learning and adaptation tools that impart knowledge through reinforcement, training, or emulation from operator inputs to evolve and improve autonomous perception and behavior. 3. Robot self-monitoring and the systematic assessment of perception and behavior performance in terms of quantitative metrics, in order to identify specific research objectives that carry the highest operational payoff in terms of increasing overall system performance. 4. Information exchange interfaces supporting interaction between robots and humans in various roles (teammates, bystanders, supervisors, operators, and adversaries). 5. Software components that capture an abstracted perception-based representation of a robot's "experience" as it moves through its environment, and that can use this representation to retrace the trajectory to provide retrotraverse, route replay, "go to point X", and other capabilities. 6. Sensor-based algorithms to enhance perception capabilities for sensing, interpreting, and "understanding" environmental features and humans. 7. Behavior software components and architecture structures to perform robot tasking and actions in the physical world. MARS Robotic Vision 2020 supports the long-term MARS program concept of providing the foundational robotic system technologies necessary to achieve revolutionary capabilities that enable robotic situational awareness, "common sense," physical manipulation, and interaction, so that robots can serve as trusted team members performing tasks collaboratively alongside humans and remove humans from dangerous environments. PROGRAM SCOPE: Proposed efforts should cover a 24-month period of performance. The project schedule should include a kick-off meeting within a month of the award date, in-progress reviews at 6-month intervals, and multiple tests and evaluations during the final year. Up to $2.6 M may be available for the remaining FY2002 fiscal year. Specific application/environmental domains will be concentrated on: outdoor on-road and off-road unmanned ground platforms; indoor mobile platforms; humanoids; and/or heterogeneous small ground and air platforms. Existing platforms will be heavily leveraged, both hardware (mobility base, sensor and communications suites) and software (robot architecture and basis behaviors). DARPA anticipates selecting up to four application/environmental domains forming the demonstration thrusts for the MARS program. Proposers may affiliate their proposals with other submitted proposals contributing to the program goals stated above under the umbrella of a selected application/environmental domain thus forming virtual collaborative research efforts. To facilitate the evaluators understanding of the collective proposed objectives, each affiliated proposal should include the same overall application/environmental domain description and a top-level group schedule in addition to their own technical research objectives, schedules, and costs. A summary of the current research projects and applications funded under the MARS program are available at http://www.darpa.mil/ito/research/mars/projlist.html. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches and techniques that lead to or enable revolutionary advances in the state-of-the-art. Proposals are not limited to the specific strategies listed above, and alternative visions will be considered. However, proposals should be for research that substantially contributes towards the goals stated. Research should result in prototype hardware and/or software demonstrating integrated concepts and approaches. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvement to the existing state of practice or focuses on a specific system or solution. Integrated solution sets embodying significant technological advances are strongly encouraged over narrowly defined research endeavors. Proposals may involve other research groups or industrial cooperation and cost sharing. This BAA shall remain open and proposals received up to one year following this BAA's release. GENERAL INFORMATION: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency/Information Technology Office (DARPA/ITO) requires completion of a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Cover Sheet Submission for each Proposal, by accessing the URL below: http://www.dyncorp-is.com/BAA/index.asp?BAAid=02-15. After finalizing the BAA Cover Sheet Submission, the proposer must submit the BAA Confirmation Sheet that will automatically appear on the web page. Each proposer is responsible for printing the BAA Confirmation Sheet and submitting it attached to the "original" and each designated number of copies. The Confirmation Sheet should be the first page of your Proposal. Failure to comply with these submission procedures may result in the submission not being evaluated. NEW REQUIREMENTS/PROCEDURES: The Award Document for each proposal selected and funded will contain a mandatory requirement for submission of DARPA/ITO Quarterly Status Reports and an Annual Project Summary Report. These reports will be electronically submitted via the DARPA/ITO Technical - Financial Information Management System (T-FIMS), utilizing the government furnished Uniform Resource Locator (URL) on the World Wide Web (WWW). Details in Proposer Information Pamphlet (PIP). Proposers must submit an original and 4 copies of the full proposal and 2 electronic copies (i.e., 2 separate disks) of the full proposal (in Microsoft Word '97 for IBM-compatible, PDF, Postscript, or ASCII format on one 3.5-inch floppy disk or one 100 MB Iomega Zip disk). Each disk must be clearly labeled with BAA 02-15, proposer organization, proposal title (short title recommended) and Copy (Number) of 2. The full proposal (original and designated number of hard and electronic copies) must be submitted in time to reach DARPA by 4:00 PM (ET) Friday, May 17, 2002, in order to be considered during the initial evaluation phase. However, BAA 02-15, MOBILE AUTONOMOUS ROBOT SOFTWARE (MARS) ROBOTIC VISION 2020 will remain open until 4:00 PM (ET) Thursday, April 3, 2003. Thus, proposals may be submitted at any time from issuance of this BAA through Thursday, April 3, 2003. While the proposals submitted after Friday, May 17, 2002, deadline will be evaluated by the Government, proposers should keep in mind that the likelihood of funding such proposals is less than for those proposals submitted in connection with the initial evaluation and award schedule. Proposers must obtain the BAA 02-15 Proposer Information Pamphlet (PIP), which provides further information on the areas of interest, submission, evaluation, funding processes, and full proposal formats. This pamphlet will be posted directly to FedBizOpps.gov and may also be obtained by fax, electronic mail, mail request to the administrative contact address given below, or at URL address http://www.darpa.mil/ito/Solicitations.html. Proposals not meeting the format described in the pamphlet may not be reviewed. This notice, in conjunction with the BAA 02-15 PIP and all references, constitutes the total BAA. No additional information is available, nor will a formal RFP or other solicitation regarding this announcement be issued. Requests for same will be disregarded. The Government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received. All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal that shall be considered by DARPA. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals. However, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of this research for exclusive competition among these entities. Evaluation of proposals will be accomplished through a scientific review of each proposal using the following criteria, which are listed in descending order of relative importance: (1) Overall Scientific and Technical Merit: The overall scientific and technical merit must be clearly identifiable. The technical concept should be clearly defined and developed. Emphasis should be placed on the technical value of the development and experimentation approach. (2) Innovative Technical Solution to the Problem: Proposed efforts should apply new or existing technology in a new way such as is advantageous to the objectives. The plan on how offeror intends to get developed technology and information to the user community should be considered. (3) Potential Contribution and Relevance to DARPA Mission: The offeror must clearly address how the proposed effort will meet the goals of the undertaking. The relevance is further indicated by the offeror's understanding of the operating environment of the capability to be developed. (4) Offeror's Capabilities and Related Experience: The qualifications, capabilities, and demonstrated achievements of the proposed principals and other key personnel for the primary and subcontractor organizations must be clearly shown. (5) Plans and Capability to Accomplish Technology Transition: The offeror should provide a clear explanation of how the technologies to be developed will be transitioned to capabilities for military forces. Technology transition should be a major consideration in the design of experiments, particularly considering the potential for involving potential transition organizations in the experimentation process. (6) Cost Realism: The overall estimated cost to accomplish the effort should be clearly shown as well as the substantiation of the costs for the technical complexity described. Evaluation will consider the value to Government of the research and the extent to which the proposed management plan will effectively allocate resources to achieve the capabilities proposed. All administrative correspondence and questions on this solicitation, including requests for information on how to submit a proposal to this BAA, must be received at one of the administrative addresses below by 4:00 PM (ET) Thursday, March 27, 2003; e-mail or fax is preferred. DARPA intends to use electronic mail and fax for some of the correspondence regarding BAA 02-15. Proposals MUST NOT be submitted by fax or e-mail; any so sent will be disregarded. The administrative addresses for this BAA are: Fax: 703-522-7161 Addressed to: DARPA/ITO, BAA 02-15; Electronic Mail: baa02-15@darpa.mil; Electronic File Retrieval: http://www.darpa.mil/ito/Solicitations.html. Mail to: DARPA/ITO, ATTN: BAA 02-1, 3701 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714.
- Record
- SN00049290-W 20020329/020327213330 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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