SPECIAL NOTICE
99 -- Enhancing Design through Graceful Extensibility (EDGE) Proposers Day
- Notice Date
- 5/21/2021 6:32:59 AM
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541715
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- DEF ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGCY ARLINGTON VA 222032114 USA
- ZIP Code
- 222032114
- Solicitation Number
- DARPA-SN-21-29
- Response Due
- 5/27/2021 2:00:00 PM
- Archive Date
- 05/28/2021
- Point of Contact
- Bart Russell
- E-Mail Address
-
edge@darpa.mil
(edge@darpa.mil)
- Description
- The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is sponsoring a Proposers Day webcast to provide information to potential proposers on the objectives of an anticipated Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Enhancing Design through Graceful Extensibility (EDGE) program. The Proposers Day will be held via prerecorded webcast on June 1, 2021 from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM. Advance registration is required for viewing the webcast. Note, all times listed in this announcement and on the registration website are Eastern Time. The goals of the EDGE Proposers Day are to (a) introduce the research community (Proposers, Academia, and Government) to the EDGE program vision and goals, (b) explain the mechanics of a DARPA program and the milestones of this particular effort, and (c) encourage and promote teaming arrangements among potential organizations that have the relevant expertise, facilities, and capabilities for executing a research and development program responsive to the EDGE program goals.� DARPA anticipates releasing the EDGE BAA in May 2021. If released, the BAA will be available on https://beta.sam.gov/ and on http://www.grants.gov/. Following the event, DARPA may post the presented materials as well as a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list to the DARPA/DSO Opportunities website.� To maximize the pool of innovative proposal concepts, DARPA strongly encourages participation by non?traditional proposers (including small businesses, academic and research institutions, and first?time government contractors) in events such as this and any subsequent solicitation. PROGRAM OBJECTIVE AND DESCRIPTION The objective of the EDGE program is to develop the tools necessary to create, measure, and test Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) that provide enough situational awareness (SA) of a system�s processes and status in addition to its operational environment so the operator can adapt the system in off-nominal situations. EDGE seeks design capabilities that will be fast, quantifiable, and repeatable enough for effective HMI concept design, development, and testing to be integrated into the larger systems design and development process. HMI design has not matured at the same pace as automated and autonomous machines and, as a result, most current interfaces do a poor job supporting the operator�s SA of the machine�s processes, status, and/or operational context. An operator with reduced SA may not adapt to unexpected circumstances, risking catastrophic failure. Human management of autonomous and AI-enabled systems is, thus, not only a constraint of a moral and ethical mandate of autonomous weapons systems (DoDD 3000.09), but remains the technically and operationally most advantageous path for AI-enabled systems, as they remain brittle to unexpected situations and contexts. Designs that harden the system against user error fail to take advantage of the fact that humans are the most adaptive asset any system has at its disposal, currently and for the foreseeable future. As we develop autonomous capabilities that allow a single human operator the ability to manage more assets and mission tasks (e.g., planning, control, and maneuver; ISR; targeting; coordinating fires), providing the operator with enough of the right information to establish and support SA becomes a much more complex challenge. While there has been a considerable amount of progress in developing good principles and guidelines for human-centered design, the process remains slow, separate from, and lagging behind greater systems design and development processes. As systems become more automated and autonomous and the role of the operator shifts from operating a platform (e.g., flying, driving, navigating) to managing a mission, operator demands shift away from physical tasks and lean more heavily on complex decision making and managing risk across a number of interrelated factors and variables, many of which are abstract. Traditional design tools have not accommodated this shift and struggle to keep pace with automated and autonomous system development. EDGE will create HMI design tools capable of integrating with a larger systems design and development process. By prioritizing and orienting these tools towards quantifying, supporting, and testing SA, rather than reducing cognitive load at the expense of SA, EDGE will help designers build HMI systems that allow operators to not just monitor autonomous systems but also adapt their use to meet the needs of unanticipated situations. EDGE�s vision is to develop a new class of HMI design tools that integrate into a larger systems design and development processes by: Developing models that quantify the SA demand of a given system to accurately predict operator performance before the system has been developed Creating composable design methods to incorporate and deconflict multiple SA and cognition supporting techniques into a unified HMI for generating more mature designs, more quickly Building a reconfigurable HMI �breadboard� for rapidly testing design prototypes in ecologically realistic environments TEAMING� DARPA highly encourages teaming before proposal submission and will facilitate the formation of teams with the necessary expertise. Potential proposers may choose to participate in either, none, or both of the following options: Attendee List (publicly available): Participant contact information (name, organization, email address) will be included on an EDGE Proposers Day Attendee List published on the DSO Opportunities website. The registration website will ask registrants to indicate whether they approve publication of their contact information. Proposer Profile List (limited distribution): Interested parties should submit a one-page profile consisting of their contact information (name, organization, email, telephone number, mailing address, and, if applicable, organization website), a brief description of their technical competencies, and, if applicable, the expertise desired from other teams/organizations. All profiles must be emailed to EDGE@darpa.mil no later than 4:00 PM on June 9, 2021. Following the deadline, the consolidated teaming profiles will be sent via email to the proposers who submitted a valid profile. Specific content, communications, networking, and team formation are the sole responsibility of the participants. Neither DARPA nor the DoD endorses the information and organizations contained in the consolidated teaming profile document, nor does DARPA or the DoD exercise any responsibility for improper dissemination of the teaming profiles.� �� REGISTRATION INFORMATION The EDGE Proposers Day will be webcast on June 1, 2021 from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM. Note, all times listed in this announcement and on the registration website are Eastern Time. There is no registration fee for the Proposers Day webcast.� Registration opens: As of publication of this announcement. Registration website: https://events.sa-meetings.com/EDGEProposersDay �� Registration closes: May 27, 2021 at 5:00 PM or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first. Advance registration via the above website is required in order to receive access to the webcast and is mandatory for every individual intending to view the webcast, either alone or as part of a group.� Registrants in excess of the maximum capacity limitations (500 individuals) may be added to a waitlist. Individuals who are unable to register because the deadline has passed may request to be added to the waitlist. If slots become available due to cancellations, the slots may be filled on a first come, first served basis from the waitlist.� ELIGIBILITY DARPA hosts Proposers Days to (1) promote teaming arrangements between researchers, (2) provide potential proposers with information on whether and how they might respond to the government�s research and development solicitations, and (3) increase efficiency in proposal preparation and evaluation. Therefore, Proposers Days are only open to registered potential proposers, i.e., the events are closed to the general public and media. For this particular program, Proposers Day registration is open to potential proposers who are U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, and foreign nationals.� All registrants who are not U.S. Citizens must complete and submit either a DARPA Form 60 (U.S. Permanent Resident and Foreign National Visit Request � e.g., industry or academia) or an Official Visit Request (foreign government personnel, only) through the Embassy based in Washington, DC, no later than 5:00 PM on May 25, 2021. Form 60 submission instructions are provided on the registration website and in the registration confirmation email. Contact your Embassy staff for assistance in submitting the Official Visit Request. Q & A Administrative, technical, and contractual questions about EDGE should be emailed to EDGE@darpa.mil. All questions must be in English and must include the name and email address of a point of contact. Following the Proposers Day, DARPA will post an FAQ list to the DARPA/DSO Opportunities website.� CONTACT INFORMATION Please refer to the EDGE Proposers Day in all correspondence. Technical Point of Contact:� Bart Russell, Program Manager, EDGE@darpa.mil Registration Website: https://events.sa-meetings.com/EDGEProposersDay DARPA/DSO Opportunities Website: https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities DISCLAIMERS AND IMPORTANT NOTES Viewing the EDGE Proposers Day webcast is voluntary and is not required to propose to the anticipated EDGE BAA. Interested parties to this notice are cautioned that nothing herein obligates the Government to issue a solicitation. The Proposers Day does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or abstracts. This announcement is issued solely for information and program planning purposes and is not a Request for Information (RFI). Since this is not an RFI, no submissions against this notice will be accepted by the Government. No classified, ITAR controlled, or proprietary information shall be included in submitted materials or shall be presented or discussed at the Proposers Day. DARPA will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred to participate in this Proposers Day. Recording the Proposers Day webcast is not permitted.
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://beta.sam.gov/opp/974d858dadc945208173d8790041c535/view)
- Record
- SN06009665-F 20210523/210521230105 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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