DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM SBIR 21.4 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Army Applied SBIR Opportunity (ASO) Announcement April 1, 2021: ASO issued for pre-release April 14, 2021: Army begins accepting proposals May 20, 2021: Deadline for receipt of proposals no later than 12:00 p.m. ET IMPORTANT Deadline for Receipt : Proposals must be completely submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. ET, May 20, 2021. Proposals submitted after 12:00 p.m. will not be evaluated. The final proposal submission includes successful completion of all firm level forms, all required volumes, and electronic corporate official certification. Classified proposals will not be accepted under the DoD SBIR Program. This BAA and the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) sites are designed to reduce the time and cost required to prepare a formal proposal. The DSIP is the official portal for DoD SBIR/STTR proposal submission. Proposers are required to submit proposals via DSIP; proposals submitted by any other means will be disregarded. Proposers submitting through this site for the first time will be asked to register. Effective with this announcement, firms are required to register for a login.gov account and link it to their DSIP account. See section 4.14 for more information regarding registration. The Small Business Administration, through its SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, purposely departs from normal Government solicitation formats and requirements and authorizes agencies to simplify the SBIR/STTR award process and minimize the regulatory burden on small business. Therefore, consistent with the SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, the Department of Defense is soliciting proposals as a Broad Agency Announcement. SBIR/STTR Updates and Notices: To be notified of SBIR/STTR opportunities and to receive e-mail updates on the DoD SBIR and STTR Programs, you are invited to subscribe to our Listserv by emailing
[email protected]. Help Desk: If you have questions about the Defense Department's SBIR or STTR Programs, please call the DoD SBIR/STTR Help Desk at 1-703-214-1333, or email to
[email protected]. Topic Q&A : The Topic Q&A for this BAA opens on April 1, 2021 and closes to new questions on May 4, 2021 at 12:00 PM ET. Proposers may submit written questions through Topic Q&A at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login or through the SBIR Mailbox at usarmy.pentagon.hqda-asa-alt.mbx.army-applied-sbir-program@mail.mil. In Topic Q&A, the questioner and respondent remain anonymous and all questions and answers are posted electronically for general viewing. Once the BAA closes to proposal submission, no communication of any kind with the topic author or through Topic Q&A regarding your submitted proposal is allowed. Questions should be limited to specific information related to improving the understanding of a particular topic’s requirements. Proposing firms may not ask for advice or guidance on solution approach and you may not submit additional material to the topic author. If information provided during an exchange with the topic author is deemed necessary for proposal preparation, that information will be made available to all parties through Topic Q&A. Proposing firms are advised to monitor Topic Q&A during the BAA period for questions and answers. Proposing firms should also frequently monitor DSIP for updates and amendments to the topics. This Army Applied SBIR Opportunity (ASO) is issued under the Army Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for SBIR/STTR 21.4. All proposals in response to the technical area(s) described herein will be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided under 21.4, found here: https://beta.sam.gov/opp/b79ded14dcf54451bcfb11bddf5cd259/view?keywords=%22army%20sbir%22&sort=-relevance&index=opp&is_active=true&page=1. a. Eligibility The eligibility requirements for the SBIR/STTR programs are unique and do not correspond to those of other small business programs. Please refer to Section 3.1, Eligible Applicants, of BAA 21.4 for full eligibility requirements. b. Anticipated Structure/Award Information Please refer to Section 1, Funding Opportunity Description, provided in BAA 21.4 for detailed information regarding SBIR/STTR phase structure and flexibility. For this BAA, Department of the Army will accept Phase I proposals for the cost of up to $259,613 for a 6-month period of performance. Proposers should refer to Section 4, Application and Submission information, of BAA 21.4 for detailed proposal preparation instructions. Proposals that do not comply with the requirements detailed in BAA 21.4 and the research objectives of this ASO are considered non-conforming and therefore are not evaluated nor considered for award. Phase I proposals shall not exceed 5 pages. Phase I commercialization strategy shall not exceed 2 pages. This should be the last section of the Technical Volume and will not count against the 5-page limit. Please refer to Appendix A of BAA 21.4 for detailed instructions on Phase I proposal preparation. c. Evaluation of Proposals Section 5, Evaluation of Proposals, in BAA 21.4 provides detailed information on proposal evaluation and the selection process for this ASO. d. Due Date/Time Full proposal packages (Proposal Cover Sheet, Technical Volume, Price/Cost Volume, and Company Commercialization Report inclusive of supporting documentation) must be submitted via the DoD SBIR/STTR Proposal Submission website per the instructions outlined in BAA 21.4 Section 4.3 Electronic Submission no later than 12:00 p.m. ET, May 20, 2021. Army SBIR 21.4 Topic Index A214-018 Recognition Biometric Camera System OBJECTIVE: Design and build a biometric recognition camera system to be integrated with the pre-existing Automated Installation Entry (AIE) system for deployment at Army installation Access Control Points (ACPs). The camera system can see through the windshield of approaching vehicles in various weather conditions during the day and nighttime and will also be used to report security alerts. DESCRIPTION: A growing demand for biometric recognition software is driving development of the technology as agencies like TSA employ this capability to automate the identity and boarding pass verification process at their airport checkpoints. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) studied the biometric recognition performance of 189 algorithms from 99 different manufacturers and reported varying degrees of performance. Advances in high resolution image cameras and identity analytics software are closing the performance gap with respect to errors encountered in the visual spectrum and illumination changes. The current effort would use existing technology to develop a facial recognition system that has the capacity to detect passengers in a moving vehicle and compare the captured image of the driver to a photo gallery of pre-approved users. The results would be displayed to the guard with a photo of the driver indicating an access granted or access denied response in time to allow uninterrupted vehicle traffic flow for approved users. The system would be used 24/7, day and night, and in a variety of weather conditions. PHASE I: Develop an overall system design that includes specifications of the high-resolution cameras and recognition technology. System metrics include: Agnostic: Platform agnostic capability supports 3rd party systems or access control systems Scalable: Scalable architecture to support hundreds of thousands of photo records Data: Ability to leverage existing biometric data and user profile information Mobile: Ability to leverage guard force’s handheld wireless devices to collect, search, match, and display results Field of view: Programmable Resolution: >= 1600 x 1200 pixels Stand-off Distance: 5 – 15m Size: <= 143mm x 36mm (Mounted/positioned at vehicle lane allowing unobstructed view of oncoming traffic by the guard). Authentication: Authenticate the identity of multiple people grouped together. PHASE II: Develop and demonstrate a prototype system in a realistic environment. Conduct testing of an autonomous system to prove feasibility over extended operating conditions. The Government will provide access to a designated vehicle lane for setup, testing, and demonstration. Power source of 110V will be made available at the vehicle lanes. System metrics include: Image capture: Capture a facial image through the windshield of the approaching vehicle at a speed of no less than 5 mph up to 10 mph Accurate: 100% accuracy Processing Speed: <= 500 millisecond search and retrieval time Authentication: Authenticate the identity of vehicle occupants Data Metrics: Number of facial captures: daily and cumulative totals Number of facial matches and percentage: daily and cumulative totals Match Accuracy: 100% Throughput rate per minute: 10 or greater Average system response time PHASE III: This system could be used in a broad range of military and civilian security applications where automatic entry are necessary – for example, in installation protection operations or in enhancing security in industrial facilities. KEYWORDS: Cameras; Identity analytical software; Digital image; Video frame; REFERENCES: Philips, P., Martin, A., Wilson, C.L., Przybocki, M., An Introduction to Evaluating Biometrics Systems, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2000 Romine, Charles, Dr., Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) Testimony to Committee on Homeland Security Facial Identification Scientific Working Group (FISWG), Facial Comparison Overview and Methodology Guidelines, version 1.0, 2019. Bah, Serign Modu, An improved face recognition algorithm and its application in attendance management system, Array Volume 5, 2019.