Digital Fusion Goggles (DFG)

INTRODUCTION DESCRIPTION: This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) sets forth research and development areas of interest to United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) directorates. It is issued pursuant to paragraph 6.102(d)(2) of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) which provides for the competitive selection of white papers to satisfy USSOCOM technology pursuits. White papers submitted in response to this BAA and selected for award are considered to be the result of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provision of Public Law 98-369, "The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984" and subsequent amendments. ISSUING ORGANIZATION: This announcement is issued by USSOCOM, Headquarters Procurement Division (SORDAC-K) on the behalf of Program Executive Office SOF Warrior (PEO-SW) , 7701 Tampa Point Boulevard, MacDill AFB, Florida, 33621. TECHNOLOGIES OF INTEREST: Areas of Scientific/Technical Importance and Interest of USSOCOM are specified in Part I of this announcement and include the development and demonstration of technologies vital to the successful fielding of a next-generation production Digital Fusion Goggle (DFG). More specific technology needs are described under these general categories. The general scope of the anticipated efforts desired to accomplish these technology pursuits include: integrated technology evaluations, prototypes, operability, and engineering & manufacturing development. This announcement does not include technical, engineering, and other types of support services. ELIGIBILITY: All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government needs are invited to submit white papers. USSOCOM encourages nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, small businesses, small disadvantaged business (SDB) concerns, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Minority Institutions (MI) (HBCU/MIs), women-owned businesses, and Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) zone enterprises to submit white papers for consideration. SMALL BUSINESS GOALS: No portion of this BAA will be set aside for special small business entities because it is impracticable to reserve discrete or severable areas of research and development in any specific technology shortfall area. . OPEN PERIOD: This announcement will remain open for 60 days from the date issued unless superseded, amended, or cancelled. Interested parties are encouraged to periodically review changes to this BAA on FedBizOpps (www.fbo.gov). AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS: All contracts awarded as the result of this solicitation are subject to the availability of funds. QUESTIONS: All questions shall be emailed to [email protected] . Offerors submitting white papers and follow-on proposals are cautioned that only the Contracting Officer is authorized to obligate the Government to any agreement involving expenditure of Government funds. SUBMITTAL PROCESS: USSOCOM initially uses the white paper selection process as a screening tool and to minimize proposal preparation costs incurred by the prospective offerors. Offerors shall prepare white papers in accordance with the instructions contained in PART II Section 1. USSOCOM will evaluate all responsive white papers and all offerors will be advised of the results of the evaluations. Offerors who submit white papers of interest to USSOCOM may be invited to provide a follow-on technical and cost proposal in accordance with instructions contained in PART II Section 4. PART I - RESEARCH AREAS OF INTEREST USSOCOM is interested in head-mounted binocular Digital Fusion Goggles (DFG) which interface to the SOF Operator's Combat Helmet and provides advanced situational awareness in all environments. White Papers that include one (1) or more of the research areas identified below and will be demonstrated in a prototype Digital Fusion Goggle system are being sought. Technologies that are at a Technology Readiness Level TRL level of 6 or higher are of the most interest. Research Area 1 - High Resolution Digital Fusion Goggle USSOCOM has a need for a Digital Fusion Goggle which incorporates a Near Infrared (NIR) sensor performance equivalent to or better than AN/PVS-15A with MX-10160C image tubes. Additionally, the DFG sensor shall utilize image fusion algorithms to combine the NIR Sensor with a Long Wave IR (LWIR) sensor and demonstrate increased capabilities over the AN/PVS-15A. Research Area 2 - Digital Fusion Goggle with Out-of-Band Pointer Detection USSOCOM has a need for a Digital Fusion Goggle which demonstrates the ability to operate with laser pointers and/or illuminators that emit outside of the Near IR spectrum. Research Area 3 - Wide Field of View Digital Goggle USSOCOM has a need for a Digital Fusion Goggle with a field of view that exceeds the 40° of standard Night Vision Goggle (AN/PVS-15) without a reduction in the resolution at the center of the field of view. Research Area 4 - Wireless capability for a Digital Fusion Goggle USSOCOM is seeking technologies that demonstrate the ability to send and/or receive imagery and other situational awareness data to enhance mission effectiveness in combination. Technology should be demonstrated at a TRL 6 or higher. Research Area 5 - Sensor Fusion Algorithms for Digital Fusion Goggle USSOCOM is seeking image fusion algorithms that can be incorporated into a digital fusion goggle. The image fusion algorithms shall be at a TRL 6 or higher level and demonstrate significant enhancements (detect, recognize, identify) over A+B fusion methods. Research Area 6 - See Through Eyepieces USSOCOM is seeking technologies that will demonstrate a see-through concept for digital night vision goggles. The see-through eyepiece shall be a TRL 6 or higher level and demonstrate operational performance during transitions from no light to room light conditions without damage or necessitate the need to remove the goggle from the operator's line of sight. Research Area 7 - Reduced System Profile and SWaP USSOCOM is seeking technologies/concepts that will demonstrate reductions in Size Weight and Power (SWaP), neck torque, reduced profile in stowage and operation, and other improvements in Human Systems Integration. Research Area 8 - Advanced Concepts USSOCOM is seeking technologies that will demonstrate advanced concepts for a Digital Fusion Goggle. These concepts may include multiple sensor inputs, helmet mounted sensors, Helmet Integrated systems and helmet mounted displays, multispectral non-Near InfraRed NIR camera based systems, and other concepts that will demonstrate leap-ahead capabilities in navigation, situational awareness, and targeting. PART II - SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS OFFERORS SHOULD READ THIS DOCUMENT THOROUGHLY AND FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY. NON-CONFORMING OFFERS WILL BE CONSIDERED NON-RESPONSIVE AND WILL NOT BE EVALUATED. USSOCOM will not accept classified white papers in response to this announcement. Offerors submitting white papers and follow-on proposals are cautioned that only the Contracting Officer is authorized to obligate the Government to any agreement involving expenditure of Government funds. SECTION 1: White Paper Preparation USSOCOM uses white papers as an initial screening tool to determine if an offeror can provide a solution to a needed technology area of interest. PEO-SW is interested in receiving white papers that offer potential for advancing the state of the art in the specific technology areas described in Part I of this solicitation. White papers which encompass multiple Research Areas from Part 1 are preferred. USSOCOM will consider all responsive white papers. White papers shall be sufficiently detailed to allow USSOCOM to evaluate the concept's technical merit, its potential contributions to the USSOCOM mission, and its potential for successful integration into USSOCOM program requirements. USSOCOM will review all white papers and provide feedback on whether a specific concept is worthy of further consideration. Offerors shall submit white papers that: 1. State the potential advantage of the technology pursuit to USSOCOM. Offerors shall also include the nature and extent of the anticipated results and, if known, the manner in which the work will contribute to the accomplishment of USSOCOM's mission and how the concept will be demonstrated. 2. Describes the objective, technical approach and level of effort of the proposed concept. 3. Identify all prototype(s) and data deliverables. 4. Specify all support needed from the Government, such as facilities, equipment, demonstration sites, test ranges, software, personnel or materials, etc., as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE), Government Furnished Information (GFI), Government Furnished Property (GFP), or Government Furnished Data (GFD). Offerors shall also document any Government coordination that may be required for obtaining equipment or facilities necessary to perform simulations or exercises that would demonstrate the proposed capability. 5. Provide a brief cost estimate that specifies all elements of cost to include research hours, burden rates, material costs, travel, etc. 6. Describe the proposed duration of the effort. 7. Identify residual equipment or capabilities that after demonstration will remain property of the Government. 8. White papers are limited to ten (10) pages exclusive of the cover page. All USSOCOM evaluators will be advised that they will only review the cover page and up to ten (10) follow-on pages of the white paper. 9. The government desires unlimited data rights to all information and products generated under contracts that result from this BAA. When an offeror must include proprietary data in order to fully communicate their concept, the offeror must clearly mark and identify any proprietary data that the offeror intends to be used only by the Government for evaluation purposes. The offeror must also identify any technical data contained in the white paper that it is furnishing to the Government with restrictions on use, release, or disclosure. In the absence of such identification, the Government will have unlimited rights to all technical data in the white paper. Records or data bearing one of the DFARS-approved restrictive legends may be included in the white paper. It is the intent of the Government to treat all white papers as privileged information and to disclose their contents only for the purpose of evaluation. The offerors are cautioned, however, that portions of the white papers may be subject to release under terms of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, as amended. SECTION 2: White Paper Submission Offerors shall format all files and forms of the white paper in a single Microsoft Windows or PDF formatted file before submitting. Offerors shall submit white papers via E-mail that conform to the following: 1. Single Microsoft Windows or PDF formatted file as an email attachment (See below note) 2. Page Size: 8 ½ x 11 inches 3. Margins - 1 inch 4. Spacing - single or double 5. Font - Times New Roman, 12 point Offerors shall label the cover page "White Paper" and include the following specific information on the cover page: 1. BAA Number 2. Proposal Title 3. Research Area (refer to Section I of this announcement) 4. Company Name 5. Company Address 6. Company Phone Number 7. Company Fax 8. CAGE code 9. DUNS number 10. Technical Point of Contact 11. Technical Point of Contact's Phone Number 12. Technical Point of Contact's E-mail address Note: The document shall be print-capable without password and no larger than 5 Mb. Filenames shall contain the appropriate filename extension (.doc, or .pdf). Filenames shall not contain spaces or special characters. Apple/Macintosh users shall ensure the entire filename and path are free of spaces and special characters. Submissions that cannot be opened, viewed, or printed will not be considered. Other applications will not be considered. All white papers shall be sent electronically to: [email protected] Submissions received by USSOCOM but not submitted specifically to the BAA will not be considered under the BAA. SECTION 3: White Paper Evaluation Process: USSOCOM reserves the right to award all, part, or none of the content of a white paper received in response to this announcement throughout its term. Offerors will not be reimbursed for white paper preparation costs. Technical and cost information, or any other material submitted for evaluation purposes under this BAA will not be returned. White papers will be most heavily evaluated on technical merit and demonstrated potential toward addressing the scientific research and technical interests of the Advanced Science and Technology Directorate through a peer or scientific review conducted after the closing of the BAA. This review may include one or more individuals and possibly collaboration with other USSOCOM program offices, commands, and defense and intelligence Agencies where opportunities for mutual benefit may exist. White papers will be evaluated using the following specific evaluation criteria listed in descending order of importance: 1) Relevance of the proposed research to USSOCOM specific or unique program priorities 2) Technology that can be demonstrated in a digital night vision goggle prototype 3) Scientific and technical merits of the research 4) Qualifications and experience of the principle investigator(s) 5) Potential for research to support a future SOF development effort for DFG 6) Availability of facilities to support the research 7) Realism of proposed costs 8) The availability of funds Other considerations that may either preclude or enhance award consideration include, but are not limited to: changes in program office and command priorities or realignment of programs, competing program priorities, white paper prioritization process, cost realism, funding provided by other organizations, and changes in mission requirements or objectives. USE OF NON-GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL: All proprietary material should be clearly marked and will be held in strict confidence. Restrictive notices notwithstanding, proposals may be handled for administrative purposes by a support contractor that is bound by appropriate non-disclosure requirements. Input on technical aspects of the proposals may be solicited by USSOCOM from non-Government consultants and advisors who are bound by appropriate non-disclosure requirements. Non-Government personnel will not establish final assessments of risk, rate, or rank offerors' proposals. These advisors are expressly prohibited from competing for BAA awards. All administrative support contractors, consultants, and advisors having access to any proprietary data will certify that they will not disclose any information pertaining to this announcement, including any submission, the identity of any submitters, or any other information relative to this BAA, and shall certify that they have no financial interest in any submission evaluated. Submissions and information received in response to this BAA constitutes the offeror's permission to disclose that information to administrative support contractors and non-government consultants and advisors. PART III - REQUESTS FOR PROPOSAL AND EVALUATION Offerors who submit a white paper that is favorably considered by USSOCOM will be invited to submit a follow-on proposal by a USSOCOM Contracting Officer. USSOCOM strongly encourages all offerors invited to submit a proposal to make preliminary inquiries as to the general need for the type of research effort contemplated before expending extensive effort in preparing a detailed research proposal or submitting proprietary information. Proposal preparation costs will not be reimbursed by the Government. All inquiries shall be directed to the Contracting Officer. Proposal Evaluation Proposals submitted in response to this BAA will be evaluated using the following specific evaluation criteria in descending order of importance: 1) relevance of the proposed research to USSOCOM specific or unique program priorities 2) scientific and technical merits of the research 3) qualifications and experience of the principle investigator(s) 4) potential for research to support a future SOF development effort for DFG 5) availability of facilities to support the research 6) realism of proposed costs 7) the availability of funds 8) past and present performance on Government contracts 9) contractor responsibility determination Technical, schedule and cost considerations included in all proposals are subject to negotiation. USE OF NON-GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL: All proprietary material should be clearly marked and will be held in strict confidence. Restrictive notices notwithstanding, proposals may be handled for administrative purposes by a support contractor that is bound by appropriate non-disclosure requirements. Input on technical aspects of the proposals may be solicited by USSOCOM from non-Government consultants and advisors who are bound by appropriate non-disclosure requirements. Non-Government personnel will not establish final assessments of risk, rate, or rank offerors' proposals. These advisors are expressly prohibited from competing for BAA awards. All administrative support contractors, consultants and advisors having access to any proprietary data will certify that they will not disclose any information pertaining to this announcement, including any submission, the identity of any submitters, or any other information relative to this BAA, and shall certify that they have no financial interest in any submission evaluated. Submissions and information received in response to this BAA constitutes the offeror's permission to disclose that information to administrative support contractors and non-government consultants and advisors. PART IV - AWARDS All awards made as result of responses to this announcement shall be publicized in accordance with FAR 5.301. Awards will be subject to the availability of funds. The Government reserves the right to: 1) select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received based upon potential benefit to the Government of the proposed response and cost, and 2) incrementally fund any award instrument. Offerors will not be reimbursed for proposal preparation costs. CONTRACTING AUTHORITY: Offerors and interested parties may hold discussions with the Contracting Officer regarding the contents of this announcement or the contents of documents submitted in response to this announcement. Only warranted Contracting Officers have authority to enter into contracts to the extent of the authority delegated to them. Offerors and interested parties are cautioned that an agreement by any Government representative other than a Contracting Officer is not legally binding. PROPRIETARY DATA: The government desires unlimited data rights to all information and products generated under contracts that result from this BAA. When an offeror must include proprietary data in order to fully communicate their concept, the offeror must clearly mark and identify any proprietary data that the offeror intends to be used only by the Government for evaluation purposes. The offeror must also identify any technical data contained in the white paper that it is furnishing to the Government with restrictions on use, release, or disclosure. In the absence of such identification, the Government will have unlimited rights to all technical data in the white paper. Records or data bearing one of the DFARS-approved restrictive legends may be included in the delivery. It is the intent of the Government to treat all proposals as privileged information and to disclose their contents only for the purpose of evaluation. The offerors are cautioned, however, that portions of the proposals may be subject to release under terms of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, as amended. Prior to the time of award, all offerors shall: 1. verify the accuracy of their Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) registration at the D&B website http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform before registering with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) at http://www.ccr.gov. 2. complete Online Representations and Certifications via ORCA at the www.bpn.gov. As soon as practicable after agreement on price, but before contract award; the offeror shall submit a Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data as prescribed by FAR 15.406-2 for cost type contracts exceeding $650,000. ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: Awards made under this BAA are subject to the provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 9.5, Organizational Conflicts of Interest. All offerors and proposed subcontractors must affirmatively state whether they are supporting any government technical office(s) through an active contract or subcontract. All affirmations must state which office(s) the offeror supports and identify the prime contract number. Affirmations shall be furnished at the time of proposal submission, and the existence or potential existence of organizational conflicts of interest, as that term is defined in FAR 9.501, must be disclosed. This disclosure shall include a description of the action the offeror has taken, or proposes to take to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate such conflict. If the offeror believes that no such conflict exists, then the offeror shall so state in the affirmation.