A -- MIXED INITIATIVE CONTROL OF AUTOMA-TEAMS (MICA)

Notice Date

April 13, 2001

Contracting Office

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

ZIP Code

22203-1714

Solicitation Number

BAA 01-29

Response Due

May 30, 2001

Point of Contact

Maj Sharon Heise, Ph.D., DARPA/ITO; Fax: (703) 522-7161

E-Mail Address

baa01-29@darpa.mil (baa01-29@darpa.mil)

Description

MICA PROGRAM OBJECTIVE: The Mixed Initiative Control of Automa-teams (MICA) program will develop the theory, algorithms, software, modeling and simulation technologies to coordinate multi-level planning, assessment and control of distributed semi-autonomous forces with collective objectives through the hierarchical application of systems and control theoretic methods. The MICA program will: provide a higher level commander with the operational and mission planning decision tools to select optimal team composition given a pool of heterogeneous resources, team tasking to support campaign level objectives, and sub-tasking appropriate to support team goals in a military operational environment; develop cooperative path planning strategies for teamed entities under the supervision of a human operator, to include collision avoidance and threat avoidance/engagement; accommodate uncertainty in both the operating environment and feedback information, as well as address the presence of an intelligent adversary in the battlespace; apply human centered design and supervisory control techniques at all levels to ensure information content is sufficient for coherent and manageable control by human operators and decision makers; and demonstrate hierarchical and cooperative control technologies for distributed systems in a representative open experimentation platform, initially in simulation and subsequently in a small-scale hardware demonstration. The MICA program assumes a military battle management structure in terms of a notional hierarchy with a distributed base, where elements of the base correspond to discrete semi-autonomous groups operating in a segmented and interconnected battlespace. The hierarchical approach has several advantages in that it parallels likely future Command and Control (C2) architectures, and it decomposes the problem into computationally tractable tasks. Dynamical systems and control or related methods will be applied at each level of the MICA hierarchy to perform multi-level resource allocation and route planning for cooperative semi-autonomous entities with collective goals. The functional hierarchy will be addressed in the context of human presence, as well as in an uncertain and adversarial environment. Different control and related methods will be considered at different levels of the functional hierarchy. To this end, the MICA Program will focus effort in the following three research areas: Research Area 1. Hierarchical Control of Distributed Semi-Autonomous Forces. This is a broadly inclusive research area investigating the hierarchical decomposition needed to support multi-level planning, control and assessment. The approach to this decomposition will be holistic, addressing the human presence and uncertain environments within a functional hierarchy. Simple, single- and two-level controllers have been developed to address resource allocation and route planning as networked functions, but a more comprehensive control hierarchy needs to be investigated. Although this area outlines research efforts toward a notional three-level design, proposers are free to recommend and propose designs with a varied decomposition. This research area consists of the five interrelated sub-areas listed below and detailed in the Proposer Information Pamphlet. a) Team Composition and Tasking; b) Team Dynamics and Tactics; c) Cooperative Path Planning; d) Uncertainty Management; e) Variable Initiative Interaction. DARPA will expect proposals to address the entire functional hierarchy formed by the first three sub-areas as well as the environmental challenges contained in the last two sub-areas, although emphasis may be placed on a particular topic of interest. Due to the breadth of this research area, DARPA strongly encourages team efforts and further encourages teams from a broad range of backgrounds, to include academia and industry; proposals will be evaluated for the range and comprehensiveness of their technologies and the capabilities of their participants. Submit proposals that only apply to a single sub-area or research topic against Research Area 3, Other Innovative Approaches, described later. Research Area 2. Open Experimental Platforms and Evaluations. This work area will employ open experimental platforms for evaluation of hierarchical planning and coordinated control methodologies with humans-in-the-loop, initially in simulation and subsequently in a small-scale hardware demonstration. The experimental platforms will incorporate modeling and simulation capabilities to analyze and test MICA operations, as well as incorporate technology to instrument, monitor and test hardware implementation of MICA concepts. Experimentation should support analysis of human performance and effectiveness. Challenge problems for the simulation and hardware open experimental platforms will be made accessible to all research teams. These challenge problems will evolve in complexity and scale, initially involving 2-5 teams with 5-10 elements (per team) and progressing to 5-10 teams with 20-30 elements. The open experimental platforms are not, of themselves, for conducting research on MICA technologies; rather, they are an integration platform to evaluate and validate MICA technologies. Research Area 3. Other Innovative Approaches to the MICA Problem. This research area recognizes that some technologies may have unique and extraordinary potential for the challenges posed by the MICA program but, for a variety of reasons, may not be appropriate for the hierarchical construct of Research Area 1. This area will explore theoretic approaches, techniques and technologies for a subset of the challenges outlined in the five sub-areas of Research Area 1. MICA DEVELOPMENT PLAN: During the initial three years, the MICA program will focus primarily on developing theory, algorithms, software, and modeling and simulation capabilities for multi-level battle management of cooperative semi-autonomous entities in adversarial and uncertain situations. Milestone 1, "Software Simulation on an Open Platform," is scheduled for April 2004. Concurrently, during the final two years of the program, a small-scale hardware demonstration will be developed and presented. Milestone 2, "Hardware Demonstration on an Open Platform," is scheduled for June 2005. Military and commercial transition opportunities for selected technologies will be assessed and actively pursued throughout the life of the program. MICA PROGRAM SCOPE: The Mixed Initiative Control of Automa-teams Program is a 4 year (48 month) program with a total budget of approximately $65M. Research funded under this BAA will be executed over Fiscal Years 2001-2005. Restrictions: Proposals may address more than one area, but the proposal should be structured with separable options. However, proposals addressing Research Area 2, Open Experimental Platforms and Evaluations, may not respond to Research Areas 1 or 3. 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 toward 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. GENERAL INFORMATION: A pre-proposal Bidder's Briefing will be held May 2, 2001, at the Crystal Forum, Crystal City Marriott in Arlington, Virginia. Attendance at the Bidder's Briefing is OPTIONAL, but highly recommended for all bidders. Please access the MICA website for details including registration, times, and directions. The website can be accessed at: http://www.darpa.mil/ito/mica. Detailed information and instructions are outlined within the Proposer Information Pamphlet (PIP). 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=01-29. 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. Proposers must submit an original and 4 copies of the full proposal and 8 electronic copies (i.e., 8 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 01-29, proposer organization, proposal title (short title recommended) and Copy (number) of 8. 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) Wednesday, May 30, 2001, in order to be considered. Proposers must obtain the BAA 01-29 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 (CBD) notice, in conjunction with the BAA 01-29 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) Wednesday, May 23, 2001, e-mail or fax is preferred. DARPA intends to use electronic mail and fax for some of the correspondence regarding BAA 01-29. 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 01-29; Electronic Mail: baa01-29@darpa.mil; Electronic File Retrieval: http://www.darpa.mil/ito/Solicitations.html; Mail to: DARPA/ITO, ATTN: BAA 01-29, 3701 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714.

Web Link

http://www.darpa.mil/ito/Solicitations.html (http://www.darpa.mil/ito/Solicitations.html)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010416/ASOL006.HTM (W-102 SN50J0F7)