HR001119S0035-21.pdf

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer

(STTR)

Opportunity Announcement

HR001119S0035-21

Radio Frequency (RF) Multipath Characterization & Transmitter Localization of Overwater Emitters

Which program will fund this topic?

SBIR

What type of proposals will be accepted?

Phase I Only

Technology Area(s): Sensor

I. INTRODUCTION

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Small Business Programs Office (SBPO) is issuing an SBIR/STTR Opportunity (SBO) inviting submissions of innovative research concepts in the technical domain(s) of RF tomography and multipath characterization.

In particular, DARPA is interested in understanding the feasibility of RF Multipath Characterization and Transmitter Localization of Overwater Emitters.

This SBO is issued under the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for SBIR/STTR, HR001119S0035. All proposals in response to the technical area(s) described herein will be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided under HR001119S0035, found here:

https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/HR001119S0035/listing.html

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 HR001119S0035 for full eligibility requirements.

Portions of the technology within this topic are restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Proposers must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with applicable proposal preparation instructions. Please refer to section 3.3 of HR001119S0035 for further information on Export Control.

b. Anticipated Structure/Award Information Please refer to Section 1, Funding Opportunity Description provided in HR001119S0035 for detailed information regarding SBIR/STTR phase structure and flexibility.

For this SBO, DARPA will accept Phase I proposals only, for cost of up to $225,000 for a 6-month period of performance.

https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/HR001119S0035/listing.html

Proposers awarded a Phase I contract will be eligible to submit a proposal for Phase II, for a cost up to $3,250,000. This includes a 9-month base effort not to exceed a cost of $1,000,000; a 9-month Option 1 not to exceed $1,500,000; and a 6-month Option 2 not to exceed $500,000.

A separately priced option of up to $250,000 must also be proposed for contractors who would like to be considered for participation in the DARPA Embedded Entrepreneur Initiative (EEI). Refer to Section 2.5, DARPA Embedded Entrepreneur Initiative, of HR001119S0035 for detailed information on EEI.

Proposers should refer to Section 4, Application and Submission Information, of HR001119S0035 for detailed proposal preparation instructions. Proposals that do not comply with the requirements detailed in HR001119S0035 and the research objectives of this SBO are considered non-conforming and, therefore, are not evaluated nor considered for award.

Phase I proposals shall not exceed 20 pages. Phase I commercialization strategy shall not exceed 5 pages. This should be the last section of the technical volume and will not count against the 20-page limit. Please refer to Appendix A, Phase I Proposal Instructions, of HR001119S0035 for detailed instructions on proposal preparation.

c. Human Subjects Research (HSR)/Animal Use Proposers that anticipate involving Human Subjects Research or Animal Use must comply with the approval procedures detailed at http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/additional-baa. For more information, refer to Section 4.7, Human Subjects/Research/Animal Use, of HR001119S0035.

Proposers are highly encouraged to clearly segregate research tasks from human and/or animal testing tasks to allow for partial funding while internal and DoD approvals are being obtained.

d. Evaluation of Proposals Section 5, Evaluation of Proposals, in HR001119S0035 provides detailed information on proposal evaluation and the selection process for this SBO.

e. Due Date/Time Full proposal packages (Proposal Cover Sheet, Technical Volume, Price/Cost Volume inclusive of supporting documentation, and Company Commercialization Report) must be submitted via the DoD SBIR/STTR Proposal Submission website per the instructions outlined in HR001119S0035 no later than November 15, 2019 at 2:00 PM E.T.

II. TOPIC OVERVIEW

a. Objective

Develop a method for passive 3D localization (range, elevation, azimuthal bearing) of an emitter located over a variable sea surface.

http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/additional-baa http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/additional-baa

b. Description This effort will develop methods for passive 3D localization of an overwater emitter under a variety of weather, sea-states, and ducting conditions from a single receiving surface platform. Current methods for direction finding overwater are limited to angle-of-arrival-based measurements with poor elevation measurement at shallow grazing angles. These measurements cannot determine range. The primary source of perturbation is multipath, which is composed of line-of-sight, water reflection, and duct refraction components. These reflections constructively and destructively interfere with the line-of-sight component to create fading and apparent elevation angle changes. This fading limits the reliability and persistence of detection of sea-based emissions. Currently, these effects degrade the capabilities of ship-based onboard receiver systems which provide situational awareness.

Despite the apparently random nature of multipath, the principle contributing components are deterministic. Multipath constituents sum in various combinations, which are unique to time and space, and, if they can be characterized, provide a substantial amount of channel information. If the channel could be adequately interpreted, then range and elevation data could be extracted. Multiple technical articles have been written regarding multipath characterization approaches which collect samples in time and then fit them to a 2-ray or 3-ray surface model. These measurements provide reasonably good fits, but these approaches suffer from measurement consistency given the temporal variability in receiver and transmitter positions over the collection interval. Curve fitting solutions are insufficient and also require assumptions and a generalization about duct height and surface conditions.

Alternatively, samples may also be collected spatially or through a spatio-temporal hybrid method. These spatial measurements from multiple, appropriately placed, simultaneously collecting receivers could be combined to decompose the RF multipath channel. A solution for extracting out emitter characteristics may include supervised or unsupervised learning algorithms, which can be applied for spatio-temporal pattern recognition. These learning methods could train under a variety of sea conditions to incorporate the complexities of the surface channel into the learning method. DARPA is looking for innovative solutions to combine learning methods for passive 3D emitter localization in complex sea-based environments. Participants in this effort must develop and conduct an overwater evaluation of their approach with a non-stationary emitter and a stationary shore-based receiver system. By the end of Phase II, proposers should determine the receiver architecture, channel characteristics, and additional measurement information needed under which the overwater RF multipath channels may be decomposed into their principle constituent components for 3D emitter localization.

c. Phase I The Phase I objective will be a feasibility determination and prototype design for RF multipath characterization of an overwater surface to surface channel. Proposers must describe their methodology for localizing emitters in the presence of multipath and taking advantage of the various RF channel perturbations types. Proposals must include a description of the challenges to be addressed to include environmental conditions and measurement configurations. By the end of Phase I, performers will propose a Phase II prototype architecture that is capable of localizing emitters in 3D.

i. Schedule/Milestones/Deliverables Phase I fixed payable milestones for this program must include:

Month 1: Report on RF channel characteristics and measurement limitations in an overwater channel based on a research review.

Month 4: Report on RF channel model with a proposed Phase II physical experiment; evaluation methodology; and anticipated measurement performance.

Month 6: Final Phase I Report summarizing approach; prototype architectures and algorithms; data sets; results; comparison with alternative state-of-the-art methodology; measurement architecture; and performance metrics.

In addition to the above payable milestones, there is also a requirement for monthly technical and financial status reports. There is also a requirement to participate in teleconferences as required by the DARPA Program Manager.

d. Phase II Phase II will accomplish the development of a prototype architecture for 3D localization of an emitter and an evaluation of the prototype in a relevant overwater environment.

The prototype will consist of receiver hardware for measuring the RF channel using pattern recognition or channel decomposition algorithms for extracting location information of a non-stationary emitter. The evaluation will be arranged and configured by the performer to include a mobile emitter and a shore or sea-based prototype system for localization of the emitter. The prototype should be tested over multiple sea state and ducting conditions.

i. Schedule/Milestones/Deliverables Phase II fixed milestones for this program must include:

Month 0: Phase II Base effort – design development and review Month 3: Report detailing scope of Phase II evaluation event with planned locations, dates, participants, and schedule of critical events.

Month 6: Preliminary design review with DARPA to assess planned system prototype against Phase I proposed metrics.

Month 9: Final design review with DARPA to present modeling of system architecture in the planned evaluation and broader transition context.

Month 9: Phase II, Option 1 funding – building the prototype Month 12: Interim report on technical progress towards prototype development to include challenges and risks with mitigation approaches.

Month 15: Interim review on development progress with first demonstration of limited capability prototype.

Month 18: Lab-based measurement and evaluation of prototype hardware in preparation for field study.

Month 18: Phase II, Option 2 funding – conducting test event Month 21: Test readiness review in preparation for sea-based testing.

Month 22: Test event conducted in an overwater environment based on the approved prototype architecture and test locations.

Month 24: Final Phase II report documenting final prototype architectures and algorithms; methods; evaluation results; transition package with system design and specifications.

In addition to the above payable milestones, there is also a requirement for monthly technical and financial status reports. There is also a requirement to participate in teleconferences as required by the DARPA Program Manager.

e. Dual Use Applications (Phase III) The DoD may take advantage of 3D passive localization in the context of naval vessels maintaining situational awareness with various emitters in the environment. Third-party emitters from other surface vessels and shore-based emitters could be used for navigation and reference. This capability could be used to augment the situational awareness picture of commercial and DoD systems.

f. References K. Haspert and M. Tuley, "Comparison of Predicted and Measured Multipath

Impulse Responses," in IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, vol. 47, no. 3, pp. 1696-1709, July 2011. doi: 10.1109/TAES.2011.5937259

Lee, Yee Hui & Dong, Feng & Meng, Yu Song. (2014). Near Sea-Surface Mobile Radiowave Propagation at 5 GHz: Measurements and Modeling.

Radioengineering. 23. 824-830.

Y. S. Meng and Y. H. Lee, "Measurements and Characterizations of Air-to- Ground Channel Over Sea Surface at C-Band With Low Airborne Altitudes," in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, vol. 60, no. 4, pp. 1943-1948, May

2011. DOI: 10.1109/TVT.2011.2136364

g. Keywords Multipath, RF channel, emitter localization, pattern recognition, spatial mapping, channel decomposition, RF tomography

III. SUBMISSION OF QUESTIONS

DARPA intends to use electronic mail for all correspondence regarding this announcement.

Questions related to the technical aspect of the research objectives and awards specifically related to this SBO should be emailed to HR001119S0035@darpa.mil. Please include BAA number HR001119S0035-21 in the subject line. All questions must be in English and must include the name, email address, and the telephone number of a point of contact.

DARPA will attempt to answer questions in a timely manner; however, questions submitted within 7 days of the proposal due date listed herein may not be answered. DARPA will post a consolidated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document. To access the posting go to:

http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities. Under the HR001119S0035-21 summary will be a link to the FAQ. The list will be updated on an ongoing basis until one week prior to the proposal due date.

In addition to the FAQ specific to this SBO, proposers should also review the SBIR/STTR General FAQ list at: http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities. Under the HR001119S0035 summary will be a link to the general FAQ.

Technical support for the DoD SBIR/STTR Proposal Submission website is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET. Requests for technical support must be emailed to sbirhelp@bytecubed.com with a copy to sbir@darpa.mil.