SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- Thunderstorm Technology Demonstration 17-2 Megacities and Subterranean Challenges - THUNDERSTORM 17-2
- Notice Date
- 1/27/2017
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Other Defense Agencies, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Rapid Reaction Technology Office, 5611 Columbia Pike, Suite 04C20, Falls Church, Virginia, 22041, United States
- ZIP Code
- 22041
- Solicitation Number
- RRTO-17-2-RFI-01
- Archive Date
- 3/11/2017
- Point of Contact
- RRTO Thunderstorm,
- E-Mail Address
-
thunderstorm@gtri.gatech.edu
(thunderstorm@gtri.gatech.edu)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- PDF Version of THUNDERSTORM 17-2 Special Notice THUNDERSTORM TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM Request for Information Pursuant to FAR Part 15.201(e) RFI #: RRTO-17-2-RFI-01 RAPID REACTION TECHNOLOGY OFFICE (RRTO) Thunderstorm Technology Demonstration 17-2 Megacities and Subterranean Challenges DISTRIBUTION A. Approved for public release: distribution unlimited.   SYNOPSIS: Technology Demonstration Collaboration A. INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to solicit technology demonstration candidates from private industry, Government Research and Development (R&D) organizations, and academia for inclusion in future capability demonstration events focused on emerging challenges presented by dense urban and subterranean environments. The demonstration is sponsored by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Emerging Capability & Prototyping, Rapid Reaction Technology Office (RRTO. The intent of the demonstration is to accelerate the delivery of innovative capabilities to the warfighter by demonstrating the capability and technology in an operationally relevant environment. This RFI is for Thunderstorm 17-2 with demonstrations planned for the May/June 2017 timeframe in the New York City (NYC) area, or other metropolitan city within the eastern United States. Interested parties are invited to submit an application to participate in this demonstration event. The application deadline is 5:00 PM EST on 24 February 2017. This RFI is NOT a solicitation for procurement or other acquisition proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay for the information solicited. B. BACKGROUND: As the world's population grows, the probability of the U.S. needing to conduct combat and humanitarian assistance / disaster relief operations within a megacity (defined as a city with more than 10 million residents) also grows. The number of megacities, which can contain vast subterranean structures, is growing rapidly from 23 in 2014 to an expected 37 in 2025. Further, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs estimates that the combined population living in megacities will approach 6.5 billion by 2050. As populations increase and developing countries struggle to keep up with infrastructure and resource requirements, poverty, discontent, and instability within the cities are bound to ensue; thus, necessitating military operations to stabilize and restore peace. Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations are also needed in response to natural disasters such as hurricanes and typhoons, tsunamis and flooding, and earthquakes. Significant challenges are presented within a megacity and subterranean environments due to the breadth of environment types and potential scenarios. For instance, megacities encompass highly integrated cities featuring skyscrapers and infrastructure deep below ground to cities with minimal infrastructure, narrow roads, and buildings only reaching a few stories tall. Subterranean environments can encompass complicated tunnel systems beneath cities for walkways, rail transit, and utilities or be simple dirt tunnels with minimal infrastructure used for covert operations along a border region. This RFI focuses on an area of interest for dealing with challenges associated with humanitarian and military operations within megacity and subterranean environments. The lessons from the event will be used to inform decision makers of emerging technology solutions that enhance or improve operational capabilities. The demonstration provides the opportunity to share data collected with the Government stakeholder, enabling them to evaluate the relevance and utility of the capability in the context of their day-to-day operations. C. OBJECTIVE: Thunderstorm provides an opportunity for technology developers to demonstrate new and evolving technological capabilities in an operationally relevant environment, as well as to obtain insight into Federal technology gaps and emerging needs. The demonstration environment facilitates a collaborative working relationship between Government, academia, and industry. This promotes the identification and assessment of emerging needs and mature technologies with the primary goal of accelerating the delivery of technology discoveries to interagency partners. This event facilitates the identification of operational challenges and potential technology solutions to meet technical objectives in the subterranean and megacities complex environments. Thunderstorm provides a realistic demonstration environment for technology developers to interact with Department of Defense (DoD) and other Federal and State operational personnel, which provides feedback on how their systems may support their needs. Materiel solutions brought to the event for demonstration are expected to be at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 4 or greater (DoD TRL definitions: http://www.acqnotes.com/acqnote/tasks/technology-readiness-level). The Thunderstorm Technology Demonstration involves individual or multiple technologies and is conducted with interagency partners. The technology developer provides the capability for demonstration and personnel for installation and integration into the overall demonstration. The technology developer operates the system during the demonstration and uninstalls the system upon completion. The demonstration team staff plans, coordinates and assists with the associated logistics of the technology demonstration and provides limited assistance for the installation and integration efforts. The demonstration team staff will not assist with operation or demonstration of the technology or system. The Commanding General, Major General Cedric T. Wins, of the United States Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM), under the direction of the 38th Chief of Staff of the United States Army, has directed the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) to lead the development of an Army S&T Strategy for Subterranean and Dense Urban (Megacity) Environment Capabilities. The strategy shall reflect the best guidance of RDECOM in coordination with the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and other stakeholders as appropriate. Where possible, leveraging the best solutions and ideas available through our partnerships and collaboration within DoD, other Government agencies, Industry, and Academia to address both immediate and longer term needs. The demonstration program under RRTO addressing subterranean and megacity challenges will provide early operational and technical view via assessing technologies to help shape requirements on near, mid, and far term needs in these complex environments, eventually transitioning the experimentation and demonstration venue to RDECOM for subterranean and dense urban environments. Industry, academia, and other Government organizations are invited to submit demonstration applications addressing innovative technologies leading to possible Government/Industry collaboration for further development of emerging warfighting capabilities. THE DEADLINES FOR APPLICATION PACKAGES is no later than 5:00 PM EST on 24 February 2017. The RRTO Thunderstorm 17-2 Field Demonstration will be conducted over a two week timeframe during May-June 2017. The demonstration location is still being finalized, but it is expected to be in the NYC area or other metropolitan area in the eastern U.S., e.g., Newport News, VA, Atlanta, GA. Participation may not necessarily require the demonstrator to be present for the entire two-week period. Under the direction of RRTO, the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) will lead the Thunderstorm 17-2 demonstration. Additionally, the Applied Research Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University (ARL/PSU) and will provide support as required, along with other DoD partners. Respondents are invited to submit technology demonstration applications related to, but not limited to, the following capabilities as they apply to operation within subterranean and megacities. • Blue force tracking o Position/Navigation/Timing (PNT) in GPS-denied environments o Sensors/systems providing user tracking within building/tunnel environment • Communications o Distributed, decentralized situational awareness o Dissemination of voice/data/sensor information to user base o Through-the-earth and congested network voice/data o Unmanned vehicle and autonomy-enabled technologies o Cross-domain and decentralized operations and logistics • Degraded visualization o Night vision capable of operating within urban environments o EO/IR, SWIR, LIDAR, MMW, acoustic sensors and data fusion o Automated or Autonomous mapping systems • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) o Urban camouflage, patterns concealment o Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear protection o Visual/sound-suppressed weapons o Portable medical sensors and diagnostic equipment The primary focus for Thunderstorm 17-2 will be Blue force tracking, communications, degraded visualization, and PPE. Responses also related to additional dense urban and subterranean challenges are also welcomed and encouraged, as concurrent/future events may focus on those technologies. All technologies should emphasize automated operations with a goal of reducing or eliminating required manpower. After a review of the demonstration applications, the government may invite candidates to brief their capability to support the selection process and/or invite candidates to demonstrate their capability during the Thunderstorm 17-2 demonstration event with the intent to accelerate the delivery of innovative capabilities. In addition, demonstrators may be selected for follow-on demonstrations/events at facility specific locations in support of future acquisition activities. Industry participation in the demonstration activities does not suggest or imply that the Government will endorse, procure, or purchase equipment. D. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Please use the application provided in Appendix 1. The application submitted under this RFI shall be limited to a maximum of 4 (four) pages. Applications shall be clearly marked with Thunderstorm 17-2, RFI #: RRTO-17-2-RFI-01. The application shall be formatted to print as typewritten on single-sided paper with one-inch margins on all sides and 1.5-spaced text. 10-point font or larger with normal (uncondensed) spacing shall be used. All applications shall be submitted in the Microsoft-Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) file format and shall be less than two MB in size. See the Application in Appendix 1. All applications must be submitted via email to thunderstorm@gtri.gatech.edu and must include the following information: Subject: Thunderstorm 17-2 Application, RFI #: RRTO-17-2-RFI-01 Company Name/Business Division/Address Capability Name Primary POC info for the application: Name, email & phone number DO NOT SUBMIT CLASSIFIED INFORMATION in the demonstration application. Thunderstorm 17-2 is planned to be held at the unclassified level. Capabilities may be For Official Use Only (FOUO) and may be subject to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) restrictions. It is incumbent on the demonstrators to ensure that these restrictions are outlined in their application. DO NOT SUBMIT ACQUISITION PROPOSALS. Submit Demonstration Applications and white papers only. Technology Demonstration Applications must be submitted no later than 5:00 PM EST on 24 February 2017. No contracts will be awarded based solely on this announcement. Submission of a demonstration application does not guarantee an invitation to demonstrate. You will receive an email verifying your application was received. Each application must address only one capability. However, multiple applications addressing different capabilities may be submitted. The submission of proprietary information is strongly discouraged. Applications that desire to submit classified material must first submit an unclassified application and request instructions on that application for submission of classified materials in support of their application. The demonstration team will provide venues, supporting infrastructure, and personnel for assessment (operational and technical), based on availability of resources. Costs specific to running the technology developer's technology, as well as the technology developer's travel costs will be at the technology developer's expense. Invited technology developers must be prepared to be self-sufficient during the execution of their demonstration and not dependent on venue resources. If you have questions regarding the submittal, please inquire via email at thunderstorm@gtri.gatech.edu. E. BASIS FOR SELECTION TO PARTICIPATE: Submissions will be reviewed by the RRTO and appropriate supporting Government organizations and support contractors. The RRTO will determine whether a demonstration submission will be accepted for invitation. Selection of respondents to participate shall be based on the extent to which the technology represents a particular class or level of capability that can be provided to interested commands or interagency partners. Other considerations include: • Relevance to Event Focus Area • Technical maturity • Relevance of or adaptability to military operations/missions • Relevance to current operational needs F. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Technology developers shall assure that all proprietary information, documentation, and equipment are appropriately and clearly marked. Be advised that lessons learned from these demonstrations may be broadly disseminated within the Government. If selected for participation, technology developers may be requested to provide additional information that will be used in preparation for the demonstration. G. SPECIAL NOTICE: University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), and/or contractor consultant/advisors to the Government will review and provide support during evaluation of submittals. When appropriate, non-Government advisors may be used to objectively review a particular functional area and provide comments and recommendations to the Government. All advisors shall comply with procurement integrity laws and shall sign non-disclosure and rules of conduct/conflict of interest statements. The Government shall take into consideration requirements for avoiding conflicts of interest and ensure advisors comply with safeguarding proprietary data. Submission in response to this RFI constitutes approval to release the submittal to Government support contractors. H. FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) 52.215-3: Per FAR 52.215-3 Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997): 1. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI notice or to otherwise pay for the information. 2. Although "proposal" and "technology developer" are used in this RFI, your responses will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. 3. In accordance with FAR Clause 52.209(c), the purpose of this RFI is to solicit technology demonstration candidates from R&D organizations, private industry, and academia for inclusion in future Thunderstorm technology demonstration events sponsored by RRTO.   Appendix 1 Application to Demonstrate at Thunderstorm 17-2 Company / Organization: Provide full name of company / organization POC: Provide name of person submitting application; office and mobile telephone numbers and email address(es). Note: This application should be limited to four pages maximum, counting a cover page if included. Technology and/or Capability Name: Commonly referred to name INSERT PICTURE OFPROPOSED SYSTEM HERE Company / Organization: Provide full name, address and other contact information for your organization. Include specific division if applicable. Please note if your company is designated as a "Small Business" and/or is "Foreign Owned". Objective: Briefly describe demonstration objectives and goals. Capability Description: Clearly describe the capability that you plan to demonstrate. Please identify if this technology is new, emerging, or legacy/existing and if you plan to demonstrate it as a transformational capability. Also indicate its Technology Readiness Level (TRL). Capability Classification: Provide the classification level of the capability proposed for demonstration. (Unclassified, Confidential, Secret, Top Secret). Please note that Thunderstorm 17-2 is planned to be conducted with systems operating at the unclassified level. Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR): Identify what (if any) part of your capability have EAR and/or ITAR restrictions. Benefit to the Warfighter/Government Stakeholder: Briefly describe the anticipated capability that the system provides to the warfighter and/or other users. Additionally, describe why or how it is better than currently fielded systems (lighter, cheaper, faster, etc.). If the capability does not currently exist in a fielded system, explain why the capability is needed. Specify if the system is a Program of Record or competing for an acquisition program. Baseline Demonstration Plan: Describe how you would like to demonstrate your capability. Include specific items such as location, environmental conditions, day / night, etc. This can be revised as the planning matures. Describe any support equipment, test equipment, spares, and associated items needed to support the handling, installation, and operations of the capability and if there is a request for any support (crane, fork lift, etc.) Also include any hazardous material handling requirements such as fuel, oil, chemicals, etc. Set-up Requirements: Briefly describe the details of the proposed capability set-up for the demonstration. • Major System Dimensions: • Estimated Total Weight: • Power Requirement: • Set up time to install/uninstall: • Network Connections: • Data Requirement: • Special Handling: (crane, forklift, etc.) • Restrictions: (cable length, conditioned space, environmental constraints, etc.) • Anticipated Number of Personnel for Demonstration: • Hazardous Materials: • On-site Storage: Transmitter / Receivers: Please provide all pertinent information about any transmitter or receiver that you intend to operate as part of this demonstration. Frequency, transmit power, antenna information, required separation from other emitters, etc. Please include a basic system diagram and answer the questions below. • Was a DD Form 1494 submitted? • If approved, what is the JF 12#? • Who was coordination made with? • Serial number of frequency assignment? • Modulation Type (info will be on the JF-12 or DD Form 1494) If your application is approved and you have never received a JF12 #, you will need to provide a DD Form 1494 within 5 days of notification of approval. Airborne Systems: If applicable, describe the type of airborne system (for example, manned aircraft typically flying at an altitude of... with loiter time of...; Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)...; Aerostat...). Provide copy of FAA paperwork certifying approval to fly. For UAS, provide Special Airworthiness Certificate-Experimental Category (SAC-EC) or Certificate of Waiver of Authorization (COA). Program of Record (PoR): Describe relationship of system and/or system components that are part of an existing PoR or in support of developing DoD PoR. If applicable, list what command it is supporting? Demonstration Team: Include name, email, phone number, and complete address of key stakeholders / focal point and identify if any are foreign nationals, including: a. Demonstration Lead: b. Technical Lead: c. Team Members:
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/OSD/RRTO/RRTO-17-2-RFI-01/listing.html)
- Record
- SN04383337-W 20170129/170127234041-e5873b88857484389c14a155f7c82102 (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 |