A -- RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, MODELING, DESIGN AND TESTING OF SYSTEMS EMPLOYING OPTICAL TAGS

Notice Date

April 19, 2001

Contracting Office

Office of Special Technology, 10530 Riverview Road, Building 3, Ft. Washington, MD 20744

ZIP Code

20744

Solicitation Number

N39998-01-Q-7060 Amendment 1

Response Due

June 1, 2001

Point of Contact

Brad Curry, (301) 203-2744

E-Mail Address

Optical Tags BAA 01-Q-7060 Question (palbright@darpa.mil)

Description

The Office of Special Technology (OST) is soliciting proposals for DARPA's Advanced Technology Office (ATO) to perform research, development, modeling, design, and testing of systems employing optical tags for advanced military applications. The program goal is to demonstrate an enhanced or new capability to perform a complex function against a target that has been marked with an optical tag device. Although the initial application under consideration is precision strike, offerors are encouraged to propose other applications where the system uses optical tag technology to demonstrate an enhanced ability to perform a specific military function or the ability to perform a new military function not previously possible. The remainder of this BAA will refer specifically to the precision strike application. Optical tags provide a means to covertly but unambiguously mark a person, target, or location so that it may be identified from a distance of a few kilometers with a specialized optical sensor. The use of the tag greatly eases or eliminates target detection, identification, and discrimination problems. In the precision strike application, the tag is applied to a vehicle or location in advance of the strike and an optical sensor (possibly organic to the strike weapon) uses the tag to simplify the process of finding and identifying the target. This allows for an autonomous terminal engagement even with initial uncertainty in the target location. The goal for the precision strike demonstration is to develop and integrate a custom optical tag sensor with an existing munition and demonstrate target acquisition and simulated destruction in a live fly exercise. The technology for producing and characterizing optical tags has been refined under previous contracts with SRI International. SRI will continue to develop optical tag manufacturing techniques and technologies and will supply all the optical tags used in the developments and demonstrations under this BAA. During initial studies, and for anticipated follow-on efforts, SRI will provide GFE and GFI as necessary to all funded efforts. This BAA solicits proposals in two work areas. 1. Sensor and munition design and integration for the precision strike application; and 2. Alternate applications for optical tag technology. Specific technical areas of interest that should be addressed in each proposal include: optical components, optical sensor design, optical system design, system performance modeling, and system performance prediction. Although it is not the intent of this BAA to develop munitions technology, a successful offeror for the precision strike demonstration will require detailed knowledge of munitions design and integration of large systems. . Amendment 1 corrects the date given in the BAA for Industry Day.

Web Link

Click here to download a copy of the BAA and BAA Amendment (http://www.darpa.mil/ato/solicit.htm)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010423/ASOL006.HTM (W-109 SN50J6U6)