Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Contract Management Directorate (CMD), 3701 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203-1714

A -- SENSOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SOL BAA00-25 DUE 020700 POC S. Kumar, DARPA/ITO, FAX: (703) 522-7161 SENSOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SOL BAA 00-25 DUE 02/07/00 POC DR. SRI KUMAR, DARPA/ITO, FAX: (703) 522-7161. PROGRAM GOALS: The goal of the Sensor Information Technology (SensIT) program is to create a new class of innovative and effective software for distributed micro sensor networks. This software is aimed at developing all necessary information technology to create dramatically new capabilities from networked micro sensors for use in tactical and surveillance applications as well as for condition based equipment maintenance. This announcement seeks research and development in key areas to realize the program goals. The SensIT program is based on the concept of cheap, small, and smart devices that host multiple types of onboard sensors, which also possess considerable embedded processing and storage capability, and short-range wireless communications. The devices will also have global positioning capability through on-board GPS or other relative positioning or calibration mechanisms. These devices can be quickly and flexibly deployed for varying missions, potentially in very large numbers, hand emplaced or air dropped, on buildings and bodies, on vehicles, and on ground and under water. It is the intention that a network of these devices, deployed in an ad hoc manner, will have new capabilities to rapidly and accurately detect, track, and report threats such as winged and wheeled vehicles, persons, and bio-chemical agents. Through this announcement, DARPA seeks research and development in several key topics to advance program goals. First, new paradigms are sought for networking distributed micro sensors. The ad hoc network should be capable of quick self-assembly. The network should be scalable to large numbers of devices, survivable in dynamic and harsh conditions, and secure. The network, in addition to being an agile information pipe for data and code movement, should also have sufficient intelligence, through distributed computing, to efficiently process queries and tasks that can originate dynamically from multiple points. Second, distributed micro sensors enable dense spatial sampling of the environment from multi-modal sensors, and the ability to systematically exploit this dense, dispersed data to accurately detect and identify phenomena of interest is important. Research is sought in methods that bring to bear distributed computing techniques for efficient signal processing and information fusion. Third, tightly coupling all networked processing including the node execution environment, and optimizing resources (bandwidth, processing, and power), to meet task objectives, is important. Finally, along with the above technology development, research is also sought on operational knowledge of sensor net deployment to meet performance objectives, such as latency and accuracy, for given detection and tracking tasks. Research is sought in the following technical areas where significant progress is needed. Proposals must focus on one or more of these areas, and the areas addressed must be clearly identified. Applications of proposed methods to tactical and surveillance problem scenarios, or condition-based maintenance, should be described. (1) Large Scale Distributed Micro Sensor Networking; (2) Fixed and Mobile Internetworking; (3) Collaborative Signal Processing; (4) Nano-cryptography; and (5) Other Innovative Research. Information about ongoing work in SensIT is available at http://www.darpa.mil/ito/research/sensit/index.html. PROGRAM SCOPE: Proposals for this BAA should have duration of no more than 36 months of base funding, and may include additional options. Interdisciplinary research and collaborative experimentation are encouraged strongly. Multiple awards are anticipated. 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. Proposals should state their position with respect to delivering open source code. 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 proposed Proposal, by accessing the URL below: http://www.dyncorp-is.com/BAA/index.asp?BAAid=0025. 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. In doing so, 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. Detailed information and instructions are outlined within the Proposer Information Pamphlet (PIP). Proposers must submit an original and 4 copies of the full proposal and 13 electronic copies (i.e., 13 separate disks) of the full proposal (in Microsoft Word '97 for IBM-compatible, PDF, 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 00-25, proposer organization, proposal title (short title recommended) and Copy ___ of 13. 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), Monday, February 7, 2000, in order to be considered. Proposers must obtain the BAA 00-25 Proposer Information Pamphlet (PIP), which provides further information on the areas of interest, submission, evaluation, funding processes, and full proposal formats. This pamphlet may 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 Commerce Business Daily notice, in conjunction with the BAA 00-25 Proposer Information Pamphlet 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 (HBCU) and Minority Institutions (MI) 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 several 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 SensIT objectives. 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 SensIT 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; and (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), Monday, January 31, 2000; e-mail or fax is preferred. DARPA intends to use electronic mail and fax for some of the correspondence regarding BAA 00-25. Proposals may not be submitted by fax; any so sent will be disregarded. The administrative addresses for this BAA are: Fax: 703-522-7161 Addressed to: DARPA/ITO, BAA 00-25. Electronic Mail: baa00-25@darpa.mil. Electronic File Retrieval: http://www.darpa.mil/ito/Solicitations.html. Mail to: DARPA/ITO, ATTN: BAA 00-25, 3701 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714. Posted 12/13/99 (W-SN408100). (0347)

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