SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- Request for Information (RFI) For Internet of Things (IoT) Analytics at the Edge
- Notice Date
- 3/10/2016
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, AFRL/RIK - Rome, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome, New York, 13441-4514, United States
- ZIP Code
- 13441-4514
- Solicitation Number
- RFI-RIK-16-01
- Point of Contact
- Gail E. Marsh, Phone: 315-330-7518
- E-Mail Address
-
Gail.Marsh@us.af.mil
(Gail.Marsh@us.af.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- 1.0 INTRODUCTION This publication constitutes a Request for Information (RFI) as defined in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e), "Exchanges with Industry before receipt of Proposals, Request for Information". Respondents should note that no funding has been specifically reserved for this announcement. We are soliciting Requests for Information abstracts only. Do not submit a white paper or proposal at this time. 2.0 FEDERAL AGENCY NAME Department of Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, AFRL - Rome Research Site, AFRL/Information Directorate, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome, NY, 13441-4514 3.0 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) The RFI seeks to obtain technical concepts, approaches, and merits of the ideas of work pertaining to the analysis of data generated by Internet of Things devices that is entirely conducted within the IoT local network. This type of localized analysis is described in academia and the commercial sector by several names, such as "fog computing" and "edge computing". Further, it seeks to obtain information about pricing, delivery, and other market information or capabilities for possible use in a future Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). This announcement is not a request for proposals; therefore, responses to the RFI are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Classified information can be submitted using the appropriate procedures for submission. Refer to Section 6 of this announcement for instructions on submitting an RFI abstract. 3.1 RFI ABSTRACTS To help guide the RFI process the following questions would be appropriate and should be considered when responding to this request. 1. What are you trying to do? 2. How is it done today? 3. What is new or innovative in your approach? 4. If you are successful, what difference will it make? 5. What are the risks and payoffs? 6. How much will it cost? How long will it take? 7. What are the midterm and final "exams" to check for success? Abstracts should contain, in sufficient detail, information to enable the Government to determine whether the technical concept and/or capabilities should be reflected in a future BAA. 3.2 RFI SUBMISSIONS Submission of an abstract is voluntary and is not required to propose to subsequent Broad Agency Announcements (if any) on this topic. Respondents are advised that AFRL is under no obligation to provide feedback with respect to any information submitted under this RFI. RFI abstract due date is 15 April 2016. 4.0 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS : The Air Force is interested in novel methods of using the distributed processing power of IoT devices at the network edge to perform analytics, thereby augmenting or replacing Big Data analytics at large datacenters. 4.1 IoT ANALYTICS AT THE EDGE : Commercial companies use vast quantities of data to understand their users and predict what they will need in the future. This enables online marketing and advertising. However, these models require the collection of vast amounts of data and large centralized processing centers. Moreover, the data can only be generated based on the information generated on these companies' software applications (apps). The models built on their users are incomplete because only a part of their lives and activities are captured via these apps. Further there is a large latency in model building because the user is not often near the datacenter where their data is stored. As the IoT revolution is finally realized, partially enabled through the adoption of IPv6, there is a chance for a larger portion of the user's lives to become connected or accessed via smart devices. Subsequently, there will be an explosion of data generated which will make the traditional datacenter-based Big Data model unsustainable. These devices have relatively advanced processors and will store a large portion of the world's data locally. Methods are needed that can take advantage of this computing power locally as well. The future Airmen will likely be more connected as the military embraces IoT. These devices can help improve logistics, monitor Airmen health, enable more efficient communications and control and interact with the physical world. However, as the number of devices interacting with the Airman grows, so too grow the challenges of analyzing that data to provide timely feedback and action. Often, these Airmen can be in environments where there is minimal or no stable internet connection. These devices need to be able to perform real-time analytics locally to still keep the mission going without the aid of massive datacenters. There is a growing consensus to take advantage of the processing power at the network edge, or at the IoT local network level to augment or replace Big Data analytic capability. Various terms have been used to describe this, such as Fog Computing, Edge Analytics, Edge computing, and smart agents. The Air Force is interested in such technology to assist the Airmen of the future. IoT devices can be used for pre-processing, filtering, data reduction or feature generation. They can also be used to perform distributed analytics. Information from distributed IoT devices can also be processed in the edge router, as some commercial solutions have proposed. The Air Force is interested in technology related to all of these areas. Application and use cases in addition to those mentioned here are desired that would pertain to the military in general. However, the Air Force will also consider technology that has a dual use with the military and commercial sector. 5.0 TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS : There are several technical objectives that must be balanced to create future IoT analytics at the edge: • Ability to provide real-time analytics without the need to reach back to a datacenter. • Make use of the processing power and data storage capabilities of the IoT device and edge routers to perform real-time analytics locally. • Perform pre-processing or filtering of the data locally, at the IoT device to reduce the amount of unneeded data and noise that enters the model building phase. For each proposed technology, the respondent should indicate its current Technology Readiness Level (TRL). For the to-be-designed technologies, the respondent should provide the timeframe and rough cost estimate (non-binding) needed to reach TRL-5 with an implementation on hardware. 6.0 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ABSTRACTS 6.1 CONTENT All abstracts shall state that they are submitted in response to this announcement. RFI responses shall include the company name, address and the title, telephone number, mail and e-mail addresses of the point of contact having the authority and knowledge to discuss the RFI submission. The Government is assessing the current state-of-the-art and future IoT analytics. The RFI responses should describe the product solution proposed, addressed coverage of the requirements stated in this RFI by the proposed solution, explain the potential advantage to the Air Force, and provide a rough order of magnitude for the cost of the proposed solution. 6.2 SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS Multiple abstracts within the purview of this RFI announcement may be submitted by each responder. 6.3 SUBMISSION RFI abstract due date is 15 April 2016. 6.4 CLASSIFIED SUBMISSIONS Although unclassified responses are preferred, AFRL/RITF will accept classified responses to this RFI when the classification is mandated by classification guidance provided by an Original Classification Authority of the U.S. Government, or when the offeror believes the work, if successful, would merit classification. Security classification guidance in the form of a DD Form 254 (DoD Contract Security Classification Specification) will not be provided at this time since AFRL is soliciting ideas only. Offerors that intend to include classified information or data in their white paper submission or who are unsure about the appropriate classification of their white papers should contact the technical point of contact listed in Section 7 for guidance and direction in advance of preparation. All classified responses up to the secret collateral level to this announcement must be sent U.S. Postal Service, registered mail and addressed to AFRL/RIGD, 525 Brooks Road, Rome NY 13441-4505, and reference RFI-RIK-16-01. Use classification and marking guidance provided by previously issued security classification guides when marking and transmitting information previously classified by another original classification authority. Classified information at the Confidential and Secret level may be mailed via U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Registered Mail. When mailing, ensure the response is appropriately marked, sealed, and mailed in accordance with the classified material handling procedures. For proposals of higher classification levels or for alternate submission mechanisms such as electronic means, please contact the technical POC listed in Section 7. 6.5 FORMAT The abstracts will be formatted as follows: Section A : Title, Technical Area, Period of Performance (if applicable), Estimated Cost, Name/Address of Company, Technical and Contracting Points of Contact (phone, fax, and email) (This section is Not included in the page count.) Section B : Technical Summary. The abstracts shall be limited to 8 pages. All abstracts shall be double spaced in no smaller than 12 font size. In addition, if classified work is proposed, respondents are requested to provide their Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code, their Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, a fax number, an e-mail address, and reference this RFI with their submission. All responses to this announcement must be addressed to the Technical POC listed in Section 7 of this announcement. Respondents are required to submit at least one electronic copy to the Government technical point of contact (TPOC) in Microsoft Office Word. AFRL/RI is not responsible for undelivered emails. Please confirm receipt of all submission with the TPOC. 7.0 AGENCY CONTACTS Verification of government receipt or questions of a technical nature can also be directed to the cognizant TPOCs. Primary TPOC Secondary TPOC Hiren Patel George Tadda Telephone: 315-330-4315 Telephone: 315-330-3957 Email: hiren.patel@us.af.mil Email: george.tadda@us.af.mil Questions of a contractual/business nature shall be directed to the cognizant Contracting Officer, as specified below: Gail Marsh Telephone: (315) 330-7518 Email: gail.marsh@us.af.mil
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/AFMC/AFRLRRS/RFI-RIK-16-01/listing.html)
- Record
- SN04047250-W 20160312/160311000702-fa2e969535ccaf677ef017ca28c9c68c (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |