This Request for Information (RFI) is part of a market research effort to assess persistent Unmanned Marine Vehicles (UMV) that might be used in support of United States Coast Guard missions offshore. This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay for information received in response to this RFI. The Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) is conducting research to study the viability and applicability of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and government-off-the-shelf (GOTS), persistent, UMV and associated sensor, data processing, communication, and monitoring packages to support Coast Guard missions offshore. In the context of this research project: • Only COTS and GOTS UMV of Technology Readiness Level 9 will be considered in order to evaluate mature capabilities and cost models (High-level Technology Readiness Level (TRL) definitions may be found in Table 1.)Sensors and data processors need not be of TRL 9 but should be mature products (TRL 7 or greater) requiring minimal adaptation to be suitable for Coast Guard mission applications. • Commercial-off-the-shelf refers to existing technologies that are currently used by commercial, university, or research institute programs. • Government-off-the-shelf refers to existing technologies that are currently used by Government programs. • Persistent UMV refers to UMV that may operate unattended (other than monitoring by a remote operations center) for periods of several weeks, preferably several months, after launch. The USCG RDC intends to use the information collected from this RFI to conduct analysis that quantifies and evaluates potential applications to various missions, impact on mission effectiveness, and the technology's life cycle costs (i.e., cost of research and development, testing, acquisition, operations, maintenance, personnel and training, and disposal). COAST GUARD MISSION APPLICATION The Coast Guard performs eleven statutory missions, including search and rescue, marine safety, drug interdiction, migrant interdiction, and marine environmental protection. A synopsis of Coast Guard missions and how we operate may be found in Coast Guard Publication 1, U.S. Coast Guard: America's Maritime Guardian (Pub 1) available at: http://www.uscg.mil/doctrine/CGPub/Pub_1.pdf. An example of how persistent UMV technology might support Coast Guard missions is the establishment of a picket line to: detect the transit of potential human traffickers or drug smugglers; the entry of vessels into a regulated area (e.g., National Marine Sanctuary); fishing operations in a closed area; or the presence of icebergs. The UMV system (which might include an operations center ashore) would detect the presence of a target, classify it as a target of interest, and report the current location, course, speed and level of certainty for relay to a Coast Guard command center. SPECIFIC TECHNICAL INFORMATION REQUESTED The following information, or best available estimates, is requested for each proposed solution. If multiple solutions are presented by the same entity, the information should be specific to each solution. Business partnerships (e.g., combined submissions by platform and ancillary system developers) are acceptable. A. Equipment specifications, including size weight, power, method of propulsion, speed, range/endurance, payload, and level of autonomy; B. Sensor capabilities (including modularity); C. Command & Control (C2) capabilities (e.g., communication capabilities (transmit and receive), data storage capacity, data exfiltration capabilities; D. Equipment Reliability/Availability (Mean Time between Failure and Ao of mission-essential equipment); E. Service Life; F. Life Cycle Cost Parame ters (Development, Testing, Acquisition, Operations, Planned Maintenance, Integrated Logistics Support, Training, and Disposal); G. Developmental Cost (to transition existing system to meet Coast Guard mission requirements); H. Operational Practices (e.g., launch and recovery platform requirements, launch and recovery process, shore-side operations center); I. Operational Limitations (e.g., maximum sea state, minimum or maximum depth); J. Detect and avoid capability. GENERAL QUESTIONS The following questions/statements should be addressed for each solution response to this RFI. If multiple solutions are presented by the same entity, the responses to these questions should be specific to each solution. A. Describe your UMV and ancillary systems (sensors, communications, monitoring). B. Describe current applications (commercial, university program, research institute, and Government/military). C. Describe how you envision the Coast Guard using your system. D. What are your company's technical capabilities and technology development approach for new applications? (Provide a high-level justification of your maturity rating.) E. What is the maturity of your ancillary system technology using the DHS S&T Technology Readiness Level? F. Are any development efforts or test activities currently underway or planned to enhance your technology and ancillary systems in a manner that would better adapt them to Coast Guard mission applications? RESPONDING TO THIS MARKET RESEARCH The following guidance will apply to each response. When responding to each RFI topic, please include the following information: • A one-page cover letter that provides a brief summary of the response and indicating if supporting documentation is included. • A white paper that addresses all areas of information requested by this RFI including the questionnaire in the sections "SPECIFIC TECHNICAL INFORMATION REQUESTED" and "GENERAL QUESTIONS." • Describe any information relative to what capabilities are currently possible, and what additional capabilities may be achievable over the next 30 to 36 months. • Any digital photos and/or digital videos of the products in operation. • Business Size with regard to NAICS 541330. NOTE: If your RFI response is greater than 10 MB, please provide it on DVD media and mail it to: Attn: Ms. Helen Nelson U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center 1 Chelsea Street New London, CT 06320-5506 This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay for information received in response to this RFI. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and will not be accepted by the U.S. Government to form a binding contract. Responses to this market survey should be sent to
[email protected]. Notice of package receipt will be sent by return e-mail upon request. All questions regarding this RFI should also be sent to e-mail address
[email protected]. PHONE CALLS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED, VOICE MAIL MESSAGES LEFT WILL NOT BE RETURNED. Information submitted will be reviewed by Government personnel at the USCG RDC and members of the RDC's System Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) Contractor Team, who will assist the Government with this effort. NOTE: Non-governmental personnel have signed nondisclosure agreements. Please limit electronic responses to no more than 5 pages white paper. Supporting documentation in the form of a glossary or attachments to the RFI response will not be counted towards the 5-page limit per white paper. The deadline for final responses to the RFI is 02 May 2014. REMINDER: ALL RESPONSES MUST BE EMAILED TO:
[email protected] Table 1: DHS high-level TRL definitions TRL TRL Definition: 1) Basic principles observed and reported. 2) Technology concept and/or application formulated. 3) Analytical and experimental critical function and/or characteristic proof-of-concept. 4) Component and/or breadboard validation in laboratory environment. 5) Component and/or breadboard validation in relevant environment. 6) System/subsystem model or prototype demonstration in a relevant environment. 7) System prototype demonstration in an operational environment. 8) Actual system completed and qualified through test anddemonstration. 9) Actual system proven through successful mission operations. Note: extracted from Department of homeland Security Science and Technology Readiness Level Calculator (ver 1.1) available at: http://www.homelandsecurity.org/docs/reports/DHS_ST_RL_Calculator_report20091020.pdf