DARPA-SN-16-63_Fourandsix_sole_source_FBO_announcement.pdf

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Contracts Management Office (CMO) on behalf of the Information Innovation Office (I2O), intends to award a sole source contract in the amount of approximately $500,000 to Fourandsix Technologies, Inc. (Fourandsix) for the Media Forensics (MediFor) program. DARPA intends to contract with Fourandsix for delivery, with unlimited rights, to the U.S. Government their Izitru forensic technology including source code, data, and license to the patent “Photo Forensics Using Image Signatures (US9031329)”. DARPA anticipates the period of performance will start in October 2016 and end in June 2020. Izitru will provide a set of six image forensics indicators as well as automated reasoning to determine if an image is unmodified. Additionally, Izitru includes an extensive metadata signature database encompassing most commercial imaging devices and the capability to automatically update the signature database given access to data from new devices. Through commercialization, Fourandsix’s forensic technology has been robustly developed and tested using millions of images of known provenance and engineered to scale to large collections through their Application Program Interface (API) service. Additionally, Fourandsix will provide integration and maintenance services as required during the MediFor program. All work performed by Fourandsix will occur in San Jose, California and Hanover, New Hampshire.

The primary goal of the MediFor program is to define, automate, and scale processes that measure image and video integrity by developing state of the art techniques that assimilate digital, physical and semantic integrity indicators into an integrated assessment. The research under this program, originally solicited under DARPA-BAA-15-58, focuses on the development of: (1) algorithms to automate computation of digital, physical and semantic indicators; (2) advanced reasoning techniques to automate assimilated detected elements of digital, physical and semantic integrity into a comprehensive quantitative assessment of integrity; and (3) a visual media forensics platform that will automatically detect manipulations, provide analysts detailed information about the types of manipulations performed, how they were performed, and their significance in order to facilitate decisions regarding the intelligence value of the image and/or video.

An important and fundamental problem for MediFor is to automatically determine whether multimedia is unmodified. This can involve the use of both metadata and content indicators, but additionally requires development and testing on an extensive amount of multimedia of known provenance to build a robust solution with low false positive rates. Of the few commercially available multimedia forensics products, Fourandsix was deemed to be the sole viable provider of this capability within the specified timeframe. It is important that the MediFor performers have access to Fourandsix’s product as soon as possible to ensure the performers meet program baseline requirements. The Izitru product is currently available and can be distributed to the MediFor performers upon award of the proposed sole source contract.

The proposed contract action is for supplies or services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate this effort with only Fourandsix under authority of FAR 6.302-1 “Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.” Through pioneering research of multimedia forensics by its founders and commercialization of this research over the last several years, only Fourandsix possesses the unique knowledge, capabilities and intellectual property required to carry out the required effort at significantly reduced cost and time to the Government. Extensive market research of databases and metadata resources has demonstrated that the Izitru product is the only source available to meet the program goal of automating the initial phases of determining whether a multimedia asset has been modified. It is in the Government’s best interest to buy the product and licensing rights and share it amongst the MediFor performers and eventual transition partners within the government than for each to separately purchase the product and utilize it. Additionally, Fourandsix’s product was developed with scalable APIs, which will seamlessly plug into the MediFor architecture without additional integration effort.

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals and no solicitation for this specific requirement is currently available. However, companies may indicate their interest and identify their capability to meet the requirement by submitting a white paper and past performance data no later than September 26, 2016 to: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Attn: Mr.

Mark Jones, Contracts Management Office (CMO), 675 North Randolph Street, Arlington VA 22203, or via email to Mark.Jones@darpa.mil. Questions shall be submitted to the above email address. Responses received within forty-five (45) days after date of publication of this notice will be considered by the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed effort on a full and open basis is solely within the discretion of the Government.

It is noted that DARPA I2O maintains an annual Office-Wide Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) seeking revolutionary research in a range of technical areas. Companies involved in research similar to what is being done under MediFor may submit a proposal against the I2O Office-Wide BAA.

mailto:Mark.Jones@darpa.mil