Questions_and_Answers_May_23_2013.pdf

BAA 13-05 Questions and Answers May 23, 2013

Q1: As the gold standard bag set is to be used primarily for signature measurement, does DHS intend that this bag set consist of light clutter configurations to support signature measurements or should these bag sets be duplicates of the general purpose checked baggage and checkpoint test sets?

A1: The Statement of Work in the BAA (pages 51-52) states, “The delivered test articles will be used for demonstration and validation of signature discrimination technology in multiple test and evaluation scenarios. The test articles and materials will support the creation of a signature library, tests for reduction of material artifacts in X-ray scanners and to demonstrate threat-clutter discrimination algorithms in X-ray scanners. The test articles shall support simple signature testing and scale-up in a modular, configurable manner to complex stream-of-commerce testing for robust DT&E testing phases. … The gold standard test bags will permit comparative analysis of measurements performed on different equipment and at different sites by different vendors and organizations.”

Q2: 2. Under Table 12, are the versions required duplicates of each other (regarding each item) or are the versions expected to vary?

A2: The versions are not duplicates, but permit several types in order to meet the objectives of the SOW in complexity and representation of stream-of-commerce and threats. The test articles intended for users should be a close match between articles and users, but would not be expected to be at the repeatability level or closeness of match of the “gold standard” test articles.