A -- DEVELOPMENT OF QUADRUPOLE RESONANCE TECHNOLOGY FOR MINE DETECTION FROM A MOVING PLATFORM

Notice Date

October 3, 2001

Contracting Office

U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command Acquisition Center -- Washington Operations Office, 2461 Eisenhower Ave., Alexandria, VA 22331-0700

ZIP Code

22331-0700

Response Due

November 7, 2001

Point of Contact

Peggy Melanson, 703-325-6096

E-Mail Address

Click here to send email to the Contracting Officer (peggy.melanson@cacw.army.mil)

Description

The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) Acquisition Center-Washington (CAC-W) on behalf of the CECOM Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD), Countermine Division, is soliciting contractors having qualifications and capabilities to conduct research and development of Quadrupole Resonance (QR), also known as Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance, technology as discussed below. The goal of this research and development effort is to establish the feasibility of QR technology for real-time detection of surface-laid and buried, non-metal-cased, antitank/antivehicle landmines from a moving platform. The general approach is to perform research and modeling, develop the basic technology hardware and software components, and integrate them on a simple mobile platform to establish basic functionality, compatibility and capability. The Government is planning to award a contract in the second quarter of government fiscal year 2002 with an estimated period of performance of 32 months (subject to availability of funds). Performance Objectives (concurrent): probability of detection > 0.90, false alarm rate < 0.02 per square meter, host vehicle speed > 5 kilometers per hour, detected swath of 3 meters, mine location error < 50 centimeters, soil overburden from 0 to 13 centimeters, distance between bottom of antenna and ground > 15 centimeters (6 inches), TNT mass > 5.0 kilograms (non-metal-cased mines with main charges of TNT only), RDX mass (non-metal-cased mines with main charges of composition B or cyclotols) > 1.0 kilogram, soil conductivity up to 20 millisiemens per meter, explosive temperatures between -20 and +40 degrees Celsius, and daytime only. Technical Thrusts: (a) Research techniques in QR physics, develop pulse sequences that maximize the QR signals from TNT and RDX, and model performance including signal-to-noise ratio; and develop techniques (b) for rapid tuning and impedance matching while moving, (c) for mitigating system noise and radio frequency interference (RFI) while moving, and (d) for designing the antenna to meet the swath and mine location error objectives for detection of both TNT and RDX while minimizing the mutual inductance among antenna elements. Tests and Demonstrations: In Phase 1 (approximately 12 months), the contractor shall pursue the Technical Thrusts to investigate the basic scientific and technological approaches to detection of explosives using QR technology, especially TNT, while moving. In this phase, the contractor shall demonstrate the performance of breadboard hardware shielded from external RFI and basic software in the laboratory. In Phase 2 (approximately 20 months), the contractor shall design, fabricate and integrate brassboard hardware and software into a mobile testbed system using the results of Phase 1. The testbed shall be mounted on a simple, non-military, custom or commercial mobile platform, such that issues of vehicle-caused noise and other vehicle integration concerns are avoided. The testbed and platform shall be configured so that the speed can be controlled and the height of the antenna above the ground plane can be adjusted. The testbed shall be capable of locating mines either (a) with respect to the platform's frame of reference and place a physical mark on the ground or (b) electronically using a differential Global Positioning System. In Phase 2, mine detection performance data shall be collected in a field environment using the mobile testbed to establish the degree of satisfaction of the Performance Objectives. Some data collections shall be performed at Government facilities using government-furnished foreign and US antitank landmines with fuzes removed, buried by the Government such that the contractor won't know the ground truth. This is NOT a request for proposal. Contractors who can satisfy the Government's requirements are urged to provide by 4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, 7 November 2001, documentation supporting the claim that the contractor presently has the capabilities to perform the required work. This documentation should include resumes of the contractor's relevant technical and management personnel, a detailed description of the contractor's experience in development of QR technology, and other evidence supporting the claim. The Government will consider all responses submitted on time. The contractor shall be responsible for any costs associated with preparing responses. A response shall be no longer than twenty (20) pages, excluding resumes. All responses shall be prepared in MS Word and submitted to the CECOM Acquisition Center-Washington Contracting Officer via email at peggy.melanson@cacw.army.mil.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20011005/ASOL011.HTM (W-276 SN50Z8B3)