Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Contracts Management Office (CMO), 3701 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203-1714

A -- RESEARCH DIRECTIONS IN SOFTWARE-ENABLED CONTROL OF SYSTEMS SOL RFI 98-01 DUE 111297 POC DR. D. Helen Gill, DARPA/ITO, FAX: (703) 522-7161 RESEARCH DIRECTIONS IN SOFTWARE-ENABLED CONTROL OF SYSTEMS SOL RFI 98-01 DUE 11/12/97 POC Dr. D. Helen Gill, DARPA/ITO, FAX: (703) 522-7161. In accordance with FAR 35.007(j), the Information Technology Office (ITO), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is issuing this exploratory Request for Information (RFI) relating to research and development directions that would significantly enhance the current state-of-the-art in the area of information technology. Ideas submitted should lead towards revolutionary advances in the state-of-the-art, rather than evolutionary improvement to the state of practice. GENERAL INFORMATION: This Commerce Business Daily notice, which constitutes the complete RFI package, is not a Request for Proposals (RFP), but, rather, an exploratory request to determine the existence of ideas or prior work. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals nor will any award be made as a result of this synopsis. The Government is not interested in specific company capability information and will not entertain such submissions. Any costs incurred as a result of responding to this announcement shall be borne by the respondent and cannot be charged to the Government for reimbursement. All information contained in the RFI is preliminary, as well as subject to modification, and is in no way binding on the Government. As a result of ideas submitted in response to this RFI, DARPA will acknowledge receipt of the submission, but will not provide feedback. However, DARPA/ITO might invite selected individuals to present talks, might plan and conduct invited workshops on relevant topics, etc. No proprietary data should be submitted. Any submissions will be considered to be public information and may be handled by non-government personnel. The following are three related topics in software-enabled control about which DARPA/ITO seeks ideas. While each of these topics stands alone, some might also be considered together; for example, ideas in active control of simple systems might be applied to coordinated control systems. In addition, advanced ideas on other topics related to those described below might be of interest to ITO. For all three topics, DARPA is especially interested in responses that: 1. Identify new capabilities, i.e., new ways of using information technology that could not be realized with the existing technology base; 2. Identify challenge applications that could motivate a coordinated effort by the research community to develop convincing demonstrations of the new capability; and 3. Identify obstacles and provide plausible approaches to overcoming them. I. SOFTWARE-ENABLED CONTROL OF SIMPLE SYSTEMS: Research ideas are sought in the areas of software- and model-centered simple (single-loop) control systems. We seek ideas for the use of "active" or on-line models to achieve significant advantage over traditional control systems. Research problems of possible interest include: techniques for automated mode detection; deriving active control models from engineering models of controlled devices; and managing the association of system states with control laws at multiple time scales. Also of interest are ideas for using active models to improve such aspects of system control as sensing, diagnostics, exception-handling, and advisory subsystems. II. SOFTWARE-ENABLED CONTROL OF INTERACTING SYSTEMS: Advanced ideas are sought for the control of composite, integrated systems. Problems of possible interest include: analysis of interacting component behaviors or control laws; coordination of component control transitions; and integrated failure detection and recovery. Advanced ideas are also sought for general technologies for model integration. Problems of possible interest include: automated composite model derivation; abstraction and approximation methods for composite active models; and practical methods for managing hybrid, partial, and multiple-aspect models of a system. III. COORDINATED CONTROL OF MULTIPLE SYSTEMS: Controlling separate but coordinated systems is difficult, yet automation needs for tasks such as vehicle collision avoidance and multiple-aircraft coordinated flight are increasing. Many factors contribute to control problems: dynamically changing configurations and assignment of control authority, autonomous components, diverse operating regions, and diverse real-time and security constraints. Problems of possible interest include: predicting, detecting, diagnosing, and controlling individual and collective behavior; flexibly allocating control authority; and managing varying degrees of autonomy. Submissions are welcome that identify new spheres of coordinated operation not currently tractable (such as close formation flight) that might be opened by research in this area. SUBMISSION FORMAT: Responses should be 2-4 pages in length (not counting the cover page). An original and six (6) copies of the RFI response should be submitted to: DARPA/ITO, ATTN: RFI 98-01, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714. Alternatively, responses may be sent via electronic mail to rfi98-01@darpa.mil in plain ASCII or as a Postscript attachment. Electronic submission is strongly recommended. ASCII will be printed 72 characters to the line, 60 lines to the page. Postscript attachments should use 12 point Times New Roman font. Submissions should have the nature of an extended abstract. Each response should develop a single "idea" and should comprise the following sections: SECTION I. Cover Page: Each submission should clearly identify the following information on a cover sheet or as prefix text to e-mail submissions: Line 1: Title, Line 2: Topic area covered in the submission, Line 3: Name(s) of submitter(s), Line 4: Telephone number, Line 5: e-mail address, Line 6: Institution, company, or organization, Lines 7-10: Mailing address for response. SECTION II. Details of Submitted Idea: (1) Innovative Capability Envisioned -- Describe the nature of an innovative advance that might be achieved with respect to the topic to which you are responding. Where possible, quantify the new capability that could be realized. (2) Possible Applications and Benefits -- Cite specific examples of potential demonstration applications that could be used to inspire a broad-based research effort. (3a) Major Technical Obstacles -- Describe specific technical obstacles that must be surpassed in order to achieve the envisioned advance. (3b) Plausible Approaches -- Describe technical approaches that could be explored to overcome the major technical obstacles. SECTION III. Additional Information: In addition to the required 2-4 page submission, respondents are encouraged to attach a brief list of key citations, including URLs if available. Respondents are also permitted to include a relevant paper. For this, electronic submissions may use either a URL, a PDF file, or a postscript file. Submissions will be considered as submitted if they are received at DARPA by 4:00 PM (ET), Wednesday, November 12, 1997. All administrative correspondence and questions concerning this announcement may be directed to one of the following administrative addresses: Fax: 703-522-7161 Addressed to DARPA/ITO, RFI 98-01, Electronic Mail: rfi98-01@darpa.mil, Electronic File Retrieval: http://www.ito.darpa.mil/Solicitations.html, Mail: DARPA/ITO, ATTN: RFI 98-01, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714. (0290)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0008 19971021\A-0008.SOL)