Questions_and_Answers_3.pdf

DARPA Subterranean Challenge Reference: HR001118S0016 Link: https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/HR001118S0016/listing.html

February 28, 2018 1

Question & Answer #3

IN THE EVENT OF ANY INCONSISTENCY BETWEEN THE ANSWERS PROVIDED HEREIN

AND THE BAA, THE BAA SHALL TAKE PRECEDENCE

Note: Questions below are separated into Programmatic and Technical sections for ease of reference; however, it is recommended that all questions and answers be reviewed.

Programmatic:

Question P21: For the purposes of pricing travel, is there an assumption that should be made as to the locations for each challenge?

Answer P21: Providers may, for planning purposes, list their assumptions on challenge locations.

It is anticipated that all challenge events will be in the continental U.S.

Question P22: Will you run separate contracts? E.g., can a team with three institutions get three separate contracts from DARPA and receive funding separately (i.e., NOT through the leading institution)?

Answer P22: Providers may consider any teaming strategies that work for them. Please refer to Questions P14 and P16. If selected for DARPA funding, a contract would be negotiated with the prime.

Question P23: What start date do you want us to use?

Answer P23: For planning purposes, providers may use September 1, 2018 as a start date.

Question P24: We have been so busy forming a team and finalizing our concept since the Proposers Day that we completely dropped the ball on submitting the abstract. The BAA says that abstracts submitted past 2/5/18 may not be reviewed, so we are asking if we can get any feedback if we submit a very concise abstract at this point?

Answer P24: Abstracts must be submitted per the instructions outlined in the BAA and received by DARPA no later than 1:00 p.m. (Eastern time) on February 5, 2018. See Section 4.B. of the

BAA.

Question P25: Can an entity be on separate winning teams in both Track A and Track C, say as a prime in Track C and a subcontractor in Track A or as subcontract in both?

Answer P25: Providers may consider any teaming strategies that work for them. Please refer to Questions P1, P14, P16, and P21.

https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/HR001118S0016/listing.html

February 28, 2018 2

Question P26: For FFRDC submissions, to demonstrate that the proposed work is not otherwise available from the private sector, should an additional document be submitted in order to outline what’s available in the private sector and demonstrate how the work innovates, or should the information be addressed in Section iii: Innovative claims of the proposal? Should technology transfer be addressed in the same section?

Answer P26: FFRDCs should address the information requested in III.A.1.a. within the page count requirements and submission format provided.

Question P27: There is an inconsistency between the proposal template and call document. Is the section “Relevance to DARPA mission” required?

Answer P27: The revised attachments posted by Amendment 1 contained the following changes:

Relevance to DARPA Mission was removed from Attachment 1 to match the BAA

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Technical:

Question T41: Are combustion engines allowed? And motors that might generate smoke?

Answer T41: Providers may consider any technical strategies that will credibly accomplish the objective of the effort, as outlined the BAA. Please refer to the Illustrative Scenario in Section I.A.3., which includes missions in which systems are sent in advance of follow-on operations.

Question T42: Is there any evaluation criterion on openness of the software for future use? Is using proprietary software a negative point?

Answer T42: Evaluation criteria are specified in Section V.A of the BAA. Intellectual property rights should be clearly stated and will be considered in the context of how they would impact the Government’s ability to transition the technology to the research, industrial, and operational military communities.

Question T43: With regards to response time, during the Proposers Day, there was talk about three levels of response time: T-minus weeks, days/hrs, and minutes. There is no mention of it in the BAA, which only talks about fast response time. Please clarify, as the system solution is very different.

Answer T43: The timeline of interest for the SubT Challenge is T minus “hours.”

Question T44: We have seen/heard mixed messages regarding the risk tolerance for this program.

Additional clarification would be very helpful.

Answer T44: DARPA is interested in revolutionary and innovative technical approaches that can meet and exceed the ambitious objectives outlined in the BAA. It is anticipated that such approaches come with significant risks. Proposals should address the anticipated technical and execution risks of their proposed approach.

Question T45: [DARPA received several questions related to specific descriptions of the Tunnel, Urban and Cave unground environments. This entry serves to address those questions in aggregate.]

Answer T45: No further details are available at this time. Additional details of the expected course elements will be provided at the challenge kickoff anticipated to be held in Fall 2018.