A -- KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERING FOR SAFE SYSTEMS (KESS) PROJECT

Notice Date

February 23, 2001

Contracting Office

NASA/Ames Research Center, JA:M/S 241-1, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000

ZIP Code

94035-1000

Solicitation Number

RFI-2-38004-RRG

Response Due

March 26, 2001

Point of Contact

Ronnee R. Gonzalez, Contracting Officer, Phone (650) 604-4386, Fax (650) 604-4357, Email rgonzalez@mail.arc.nasa.gov

E-Mail Address

Ronnee R. Gonzalez (rgonzalez@mail.arc.nasa.gov)

Description

This Request for Information (RFI) is for information and planning purposes and to allow industry the opportunity to verify reasonableness and feasibility of the requirement, as well as promote competition. Background,Project Description, and Information Requested: NASA Vision: NASA is an investment in America's future. As explorers, pioneers, and innovators, we boldly expand frontiers in air and space to inspire and serve America and to benefit the quality of life on Earth. NASA Mission: (1) To advance and communicate scientific knowledge and understanding of the Earth, the solar systems, and the universe. (2) To advance human exploration, use, and development of space. (3) To research, develop, verify, and transfer advanced aeronautics and space technologies. The Design for Safety (DFS) program is designed to support the NASA Vision and Mission Goals by reducing risk in all phases of the life-cycle and by providing technologies to help build inherently safe and robust systems. DFS is a new NASA initiative designed to reduce risk in all phases of the life-cycle of aerospace systems and to provide technologies to make these systems inherently safe and robust. Analysis of recent aerospace mishap reports point to three broad problem categories: (a) risk identification, assessment and management, (b) institutional knowledge management, and (c) system resiliency and fault tolerance. DFS is performing a review to determine what technologies are available or under development to support each of these areas. This RFI focuses on the second area, the Knowledge Engineering for Safe Systems (KESS) project. The RFI seeks to determine what information technologies, specifically in the field of Knowledge Engineering, may be feasible to apply to various NASA systems, such Shuttle, International Space Station, and Deep Space Missions. This includes not only the design phase, but also the sustaining engineering, planned modification or upgrade, payload and cargo accommodation change, maintenance, and ground/flight vehicle processing phases of operations. The current state of most NASA systems finds its information and knowledge are generally maintained in geographically disparate resources that are not easily accessed, communicated across, or shared. Knowledge is what makes NASA uniquely capable to explore space. Unfortunately, it is not easy to capture and share information and key lessons across the Agency; nor with other government agencies and civilian agencies. To succeed, NASA must sustain and develop means ensuring a ubiquitous and secure knowledge exchange environment that is facilitated through an effective systems communications process. This environment must capture and deliver timely information (e.g., lessons learned) to effectively facilitate the reporting of necessary information and expertise and enable knowledge management to ensure system information "retention". This would provide the agency with a continuous, thorough, systems assessment capability, which would mitigate current and future risks, and enhance safety. Thus, the KESS project faces the following challenges in addressing the above risk issues: (a) Data, information and knowledge are not acquired or integrated into each phase of the system life cycle in such a way as to minimize the disruption to the current processes and systems, or ensure that the necessary critical information is made available for timely and accurate decision making. (b) Information architectures are not virtually and seamlessly integrated, nor certified into data sources or processes with high performance networks, computing, data archiving and mediation capabilities; or do not support timely and accurate lifecycle assessments. (c) Data and information are not processed automatically, nor intelligently to extract risk sensitive knowledge from the massive amount of data and information that is associated with a systems life cycle. Information Requested: One document, comprised of two major sections, is required in response to this request for information. Section 1. In the first section, NASA is seeking capabilities and qualification statements that demonstrate that the responder would be a suitable candidate to comment on and provide answers to the technical scope of KESS as described above. The capabilities and qualifications statement shall include details that: (a) Show past experience in the field of knowledge engineering techniques of complex systems (aerospace and aeronautics). (b) Demonstrate an understanding of state of the art research and technologies applied to systems lifecycle management. (The life cycle elements covered should include conceptual studies through the life cycle of the proposed solution and product. Further, demonstrate the capability of a continued support.) (c) Demonstrate a comprehension and expertise in the research and technology within the information sciences and knowledge engineering scope. (d) For commercially available products: (1) Indicate how large a problem or customer space in which the responder has successfully applied their products. Provide the number of customers using products in the following ranges: (i) Category 1: 1-10 customers; (ii) Category 2: 10-100 customers; (iii) Category 3: 100-500 customers; (iv) Category 4: Over 500 customers. (2) In addition, indicate the average number of users per customer, and the complexity or size of the application. Compare market penetration and functional capability to similar or competing products. Section 2. In the second section, NASA is seeking technology assessments, evaluations, or recommendations regarding the technical scope of KESS. Specifically, the responder should address: (a) Deployment of in-situ, knowledge capture for a complex system, comprising: thousands of parts, hundreds of workers physically separated from 2 to 5 local and remote locations. (b) Successful implementation of online computer-to-computer and computer-to-human interactive systems that can handle design, engineering (e.g., electrical, mechanical) and maintenance procedures to sustain a 24/7 operations on systems with a significant number of parts, subsystems, and components (enumerate relative size and/or complexity). (c) Creative and cost efficient approaches and minimally invasive techniques to capture necessary data and information during each phase of the system life cycle, with high level knowledge processing required to validate successful utilization and capture, ensuring that data, information, and knowledge is available when needed at each appropriate phase. (d) Development of key technologies to provide multi-modal facilities for capturing, structuring, representing and maintaining data, information and knowledge that is appropriate to the phase of the system life cycle. (e) Development of secure high-speed, distributed networking technology that enables large systems-integration of design, test, production, operations, maintenance, and certification data sources and processes with high performance networks, computing, data archiving and mediation capabilities, to support timely and accurate lifecycle assessments. (f) Development of automated, intelligent techniques and technologies to extract data and information that is risk sensitive from the massive amount of data and information that is associated with the system life cycle. For example: (1) Unobtrusive automated intelligent ubiquitous system search agents. (2) Ability to search combined information multi-media predictive user agents to assist with decision making. Unobtrusive predictive search agents to assist with trending. The information provided by the responder should include: (a) Details of the assumed approach including tools and methodologies that would be utilized for knowledge engineering systems. (b) Lessons-learned and metrics for cost/time savings based on past experience in development of similar technologies. (c) Standards that would be applied to create and then maintain the technologies. (d) A rough-order of magnitude estimate of time and cost for the maturation of methods and technologies. (e) What process would be employed to assure that the methods and technology are implemented? (Note that this may be in partnership with the NASA or its contractors.) Comments or questions surrounding this RFI may be forwarded to Ronnee R. Gonzalez, at the address herein, via electronic transmission to rgonzalez@mail.arc.nasa.gov, by March 8, 2001. To ensure clarity, telephone comments will not be accepted. Response to all comments and questions will be posted as an attachment to this synopsis. The response document should be no more than 50 pages (8.5" x 11") in length and shall be submitted electronically (hard copy accepted) by March 26, 2001. Additional back-up material may be provided in an appendix. Please ensure that the format for electronic documents are compatible with MS Office 97 or Adobe Acrobat Reader. If other software applications are used, please contact the Contracting Officer to ensure compatibility. This synopsis is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for the information solicited. Any questions regarding this announcement should be directed to the identified point of contact. An ombudsman has been appointed -- See NASA Specific Note "B". Any documents related to this procurement will be available over the Internet. These documents will be in Microsoft Office 97 format and will reside on a World Wide Web (WWW) server, which may be accessed using a WWW browser application. The Internet site, or URL, for the NASA/ARC Business Opportunities home page is http://nais.msfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/EPS/bizops.cgi?group=C&pin=21 It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor the Internet cite for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Any referenced notes can be viewed at the following URL: http://genesis.gsfc.nasa.gov/nasanote.html

Web Link

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Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010227/ASOL012.HTM (D-054 SN50E4K9)