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 A214-014 Advanced GPS-Based Minefield Detection/Clearance System OBJECTIVE: Investigate and develop a smart digitized map populated with threat data collected by a network of target geo-location devices that can work in a GPS or GPS-denied/degraded environment for legacy and next generation handheld detectors, and for explosive breacher mine detection for targeted neutralization of the explosive hazard threat. DESCRIPTION: The U.S. Army has a need for a smart, networked threat map that can be integrated with the handheld mine detector as the sensor, and the designated explosive breaching system as the “shooter.” Currently, fielded handheld mine and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detectors do not have GPS or positioning sensors to record the location of detected threats. Additionally, current mine detection capabilities are limited, which do not allow engagement with specific mine threats. In this effort, data from the handheld detectors will be analyzed using artificial intelligence (AI) or advanced algorithms to accurately identify surface laid and buried mines. The data will then also be used to populate a threat map that can be utilized by the advanced explosive breaching system for selective neutralization of targets. This will greatly reduce the amount of ammunition needed to clear a mine field versus creating an area effect across the entire minefield. The digitized threat map will also provide Soldiers with situational awareness of existing or neutralized explosive hazard threats on the battlefield. PHASE I: Phase I will consist of investigation and evaluation of the combination of artificial intelligence (AI) with advanced mine detection algorithm software—the combination of which will undergo laboratory testing. Further hardware-in-the-loop testing and laboratory tests will be conducted to integrate the “smart” mine detection algorithm software with the explosive breaching system requirements. The results of Phase I will demonstrate the integration of the sensor with the explosive breacher. Successful laboratory tests and demonstration will conclude Phase I and specific requirements for Phase II will be identified. PHASE II: Phase II will further develop the advanced AI/mine detection software demonstrated in Phase I in a relevant environment and demonstrate that the detectors can detect the threat. Phase II will also generate the digital threat map of an instigated minefield with accurate locations of the threats, mines, and IEDs. The digitized map will interface with the explosive breacher, which will receive and process the inputs from the threat map to eradicate all identified threats. PHASE III: Success of Phase II will allow transition of the technology to fielded AN/PSS-14C Mine Detection Systems, NXGNHH, Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), and the Tactical Assault Kit (TAK). KEYWORDS: Digitized threat map; Mine detection; Data fusion; Object detection; Terrain mapping; Machine learning; Artificial intelligence; Classification; REFERENCES: Researchers Advance Detection Method for Explosives, U.S. Army DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory Public Affairs, https://www.army.mil/article/242508/researchers_advance_detection_method_for_explosives Computational Intelligence in Explosive Hazard Detection, Derek T. Anderson, Stanton R. Price, Timothy C. Havens, and Anthony J. Pinar; https://spie.org/news/6239-computational-intelligence-in-explosive-hazard-detection Gaskell, S. “IEDs increasingly a U.S. threat” Politico.com. 2012. Kidwell, T., Jaffke, A. “Naval R&D and Marine Corps Innovation: Advancing assault breaching” Marine Corps Gazette. 2014. Soldiers Test New IVAS Technology Capabilities with Hands On Exercises, Bridgett Siter, https://www.army.mil/article/230034/soldiers_test_new_ivas_technology_capabilities_with_hand_on_exercises Army Tactical Assault Kit Always Adapting for New Era, George Seffers, https://www.afcea.org/content/army-tactical-assault-kit-always-adapting-new-era