HR001119S0035-23.pdf

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

(STTR)

Opportunity Announcement

HR001119S0035-23

Self-Reconfigurable Modular Ground Robots

Which program will fund this topic?

STTR

What type of proposals will be accepted?

Phase I Only

Technology Area(s): Ground and Sea Vehicles DARPA Program: Emplace to Enable (E2E)

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 of self-reconfigurable modular robotics. In particular, DARPA is interested in understanding the feasibility of small ground robots that can autonomously reconfigure without human intervention to enable operation in unknown, complex environments in support of off-road delivery tasks.

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.

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 12-month period of performance.

Proposers awarded a Phase I contract will be eligible to submit a proposal for Phase II, for a cost up to $1,500,000. This includes a 12-month base period not to exceed a cost of $1,000,000 and a 6-month option period not to exceed $250,000. 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. Refer to https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/HR001119S0035/listing.html

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 October 28, 2019 at 2:00 PM E.T.

II. TOPIC OVERVIEW

a. Objective

Investigate, design and demonstrate, through study, simulation and/or hardware demonstrations, the feasibility of self-reconfiguration of modular/composable ground robots to enable autonomous operations in unknown, complex environments.

b. Description To date, research and development into modular, composable ground robots for military applications has relied on a high level of knowledge about the expected mission tasks and environments to support preparation and planning. This has facilitated significant progress in development of composable and compositional architectures to shorten the timeline to build and deploy a task-specific robotic platform using a modular robot ‘kit’ http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/additional-baa http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/additional-baa requiring human assistance. However, DARPA envisions future military operations where small robotic systems - enabled by on-board autonomy (navigation and perception)

- may need to self-reconfigure (autonomously change shapes, modes, form, or function) to operate independently in unknown, highly complex environments. Elements of complexity in the environment may include: varied terrain (sand, rocks, mud, asphalt);

multiple modes of mobility, including verticality (crawling, climbing, digging); obstacles (trees, rocks, streams, structure); maneuver distance (short, long); and precision/orientation associated with mission objectives.

In remote ground environments, especially those denied to either small air assets or human operators, DARPA believes that a self-reconfigurable modular ground robot may offer unique benefits including system versatility, maintainability, and reliability.

DARPA desires to solve the next challenge in modular robotics by developing and demonstrating ground robots that can autonomously reconfigure in ‘real-time’, enabling multi-dimensional maneuver through an unknown environment without physical human intervention. An example of a complex maneuver could be: move over rocks/loose dirt, traverse a ditch, move through trees/bushes, mount a curb, and deliver a package in a precise location and orientation. Designs should consider system approaches that are compact, lightweight, low power, low cost, and appropriate for use as expendable assets, when necessary. In order to maintain a small operational footprint, systems whose primary components effectively share resources (e.g., power) are desirable over marsupial systems or those containing numerous ‘nested’ vehicles. Performers should analyze environmental/terrain considerations to develop a relevant and reasonable mission profile for off-road delivery tasks, and explore the means for platform reconfiguration in preparation for – or response to – the selected terrain elements or mission tasks. Performers should primarily focus on development and demonstration of robotic platform mobility and re-configurability.

DARPA envisions ground platform solutions less than 24” tall and 25 pounds, able to travel at least 1 km and carry/deploy payloads up to 300 cubic inches, weighing 2 – 10 pounds. Concepts may be initially developed and demonstrated in software and simulation only, culminating in a physical demonstration by the end of the final Phase.

Proposers are encouraged to explore the use of existing modular robot hardware, but may identify and pursue development of new assemblies necessary to support desired mobility characteristics. Software development within the effort should focus only on the means to autonomously reconfigure the modular robot. Performers are not expected to develop platform-level navigation or perception approaches and may assume a human operator in the loop via remote control or teleoperation. However, performers may elect to pursue local perception or environmental cues to prompt and execute autonomous reconfiguration. For example, as a robot transitions from rocky terrain to sand, it may sense the difference in terrain to prompt a reconfiguration; or, a robot may need to change configuration to shift from a crawling mode to a climbing mode.

At the end of the Phase I effort, performers should be able to identify the capabilities and limitations associated with autonomous reconfiguration, including advantages and disadvantages of their use in military delivery tasks. Self-reconfigurable robot design concepts should be matured, including mechanical assemblies and the control software architecture. Phase II should further mature system design and progress to applied demonstration(s) of developed capability, showcasing at least two unique terrain elements or mission tasks prompting autonomous reconfiguration.

c. Phase I Phase I should define environmental and mission constraints related to off-road payload delivery tasks given the system and payload size and weight constraints. DARPA desires a design that is capable of operating in a diverse set of terrains and situations. These may include rivers, lakes, subsurface tunnels, rocky, forested, highly sloped, and uneven terrains. Situations should be sufficiently complex to tax the system design and include at least four distinct terrain elements or mission tasks. Performers should identify and assess the capability, challenges and limitations associated with autonomous deployment and re-composition of a complex robotic system, including computational requirements, system and component interfaces and architecture (physical, logical, electrical), cues to prompt re-configuration, and the physical means to perform it, as well as platform durability and maintainability. Performers should develop a conceptual design, including both mechanical assemblies and a set of compositional software/algorithms that enable a modular robot to autonomously move through a complex mission set, reconfiguring when/if needed to achieve the objective. Performers are encouraged to use modeling and simulation tools to demonstrate efficacy of software/algorithms.

Phase I deliverables shall be:

A mid-term report detailing the tasks, terrains, situations, or mobility elements driving system design A final report detailing the areas of research performed within the Phase I effort, including conceptual design A final demonstration/analysis of developed software/algorithms, through simulation or other method chosen by the performer

d. Phase II Phase II efforts should further mature the design of mechanical architecture, software, algorithms, models or simulations developed during the Phase I effort. Performers should conduct hardware-in-the-loop demonstrations of at least two autonomous reconfiguration events tied to the mission profile developed in Phase I. Performers are encouraged to apply the developed software/algorithms through a lab-based hardware demonstration, leveraging existing or newly developed hardware.

Phase II Option efforts may pursue a limited field demonstration, or additional lab-based demonstrations of up to 2 more autonomous reconfiguration activities. Performers should assess and identify technology gaps and opportunities for follow-on development to improve robustness of hardware and software.

Phase II deliverables shall be:

A final report detailing the areas of research performed during Phase II.

An applied demonstration of the final system architecture to demonstrate at least two self- reconfiguration events in a lab-based setting.

Option: A limited field demonstration of Phase II reconfiguration capabilities, or a lab-based demonstration of additional reconfiguration events.

Option: A final report detailing areas of research performed during the Phase II Option, including a description of technology gaps for follow-on research.

e. Dual Use Applications (Phase III) Commercial – At the end of Phase II, a performer team should have products that are directly viable for follow-on developments in the research and commercial sectors. A successful demonstration of an autonomous reconfiguration capability could allow for enhancements in mobile robotic manufacturing, household robotics, healthcare robotics, logistics/material handling, unmanned systems, and construction robotics, to include robotics for use in hazardous environments, including natural disasters. A successful development could fundamentally change the paradigm of robotics system development.

Military – Autonomous composable platforms, have direct application to the current mission space of small reconnaissance robots for infantry units, engineering robots, mobile manipulation, explosive ordnance destruction, and remote/unmanned needs for robots in hazardous environments. The diversity of component composition would allow for multi-mode configurations for different mission sets with the same elements (for example, wheeled maneuver recomposed for walking maneuver, then recomposed for climbing maneuver, all with the same components). The ability to recompose autonomously, without physical human support, could enable increased robot mobility and utility across mission activities. The result would be robots that are no longer custom for a specific use, and yet are highly optimizable for multiple missions using largely the same hardware and software.

f. References Alattas, Reem J., Sarosh Patel, and Tarek M. Sobh. "Evolutionary Modular Robotics:

Survey and Analysis." Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems (2018): 1-14.

Yim, Mark, et al. "Modular self-reconfigurable robot systems [grand challenges of robotics]." IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine 14.1 (2007): 43-52.

g. Keywords Composable, modular, compositional, architecture, robotics, ground, simulation, autonomy/autonomous

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 HR001119S0035-23 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 HR001119S0035-23 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.