Sky High Relief Challenge Challenge Definition Statement_Final.pdf

Sky High Relief Challenge – Challenge Definition Statement

Let's develop an improved, reliable and effective system to enable female aircrew to relieve themselves while flying sky high.

WE NEED YOUR INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS!

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) needs an improved bladder relief system that allows female aviators to hydrate adequately and relieve themselves during flight without interfering with operations or compromising flight safety. Current mission profiles and air refueling ability up to 16 hours have led to longer flight times for aircrew who need to urinate multiple times during flight without removing restraint systems and flight equipment. As a result, many female aircrew resort to

“tactical dehydration” to avoid the difficulties and potential dangers of having to relieve themselves inflight. This challenge aims to address the unmet bladder relief needs for female aircrew flying sky high. It seeks to find innovative solutions that provide comfortable, form-fitting interface options and significantly improved bodily fluid processing and disposal capabilities.

An improved bladder relief system will enhance the overall quality of life for female aviators on and off the job by leading to fewer physical and mental health issues. During flights, dehydration negatively impacts pilots by lowering their G-tolerance by up to 50%. Dehydration can result in a variety of medical problems, including reduced physical and cognitive performance, decreased situational awareness, intense headaches, altered vision and possible G-induced Loss of

Consciousness (GLOC). Other physiological effects include the development of kidney stones, recurring skin irritations, long-term incontinence and urinary tract infections.

Moreover, the focus on addressing women's needs at the highest levels of the Air Force demonstrates USAF's commitment to developing superior aircrew while simultaneously fostering inclusion and supporting gender equality. Addressing female-specific equipment and female aviators’ wellbeing is a top USAF priority. The outcomes of this challenge will help improve retention rates, advance recruitment practices and eliminate gender gaps. For female aviators, the confidence in knowing their equipment performs safely, reliably and is designed for their bodies will allow them to focus on their missions and perform at optimal levels.

Whether you design a comprehensive solution, component, material or develop an entirely novel bladder relief system, we welcome you to the AFWERX Challenge crowdsourcing process. In partnership with USAF, AFWERX invites you to submit your product, service or idea to help develop an improved inflight bladder relief system. Your solution could potentially provide female aviators the relief needed to navigate the skies with the ease and comfort they deserve!

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?

In relation to this specific challenge, here are some reasons to participate:

● Potential to receive funding for rapid prototyping and prospective further development of your solution within USAF

● Potential long-term contract or agreement and continuing business partnerships with the

Air Force, Department of Defense (DoD) and other government agencies

● If selected, you will receive official recognition for you and your company through publication on internal and external USAF communication channels

● Opportunity to collaborate and work with industry and the government to positively impact our Airmen and their families, which will ultimately create a more resilient and mission-ready military force

● Potential invitation to attend the challenge showcase to network with peers, USAF, DoD customers and other investors

WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR WITH THIS CHALLENGE?

We are looking for individuals, companies, teams, academics, investors and government entities from the U.S. and Allied countries who develop or have expertise in the following focus areas of this challenge:

Key focus areas include:

● Comfortable, form-fitting female interface options that are hygienic, easy-to-use and effective in removing urine from the body.

● An improved pump performance to process a variable flow rate from 22 to 46 ml/sec while remaining lightweight, compact and energy-efficient.

● The management and processing of bodily fluids in novel ways.

● The development of an entirely novel and innovative bladder relief system.

You could have:

● A proof of concept

● A component

● A subsystem

● A material

● A complete solution

Challenge submissions do not require a complete solution; however, if your solution represents a component of a complete solution, working with partners or teams to develop an entire solution to submit for this challenge is highly encouraged. Individuals from the U.S. and Allied countries are welcome to submit a solution.

WHAT TYPES OF SOLUTIONS ARE WE SEEKING?

These solution types are designed to give you an example of the types of things we are looking for, but this is not an exhaustive list. Participants may submit one or more entries for each category. However, the same submission may not be applied to multiple categories.

Comfortable, Form-Fitting Female Interface

Capabilities:

● Aviator stays dry

● No flow back

● Void on-demand

● Form-fitting

● Comfort design

● Materials that are comfortable on the skin

● Easy to use

● Easy to don and doff

● Super absorbing

● Leakproof

● Hygienic

● Sanitary

● Disposable interface

● Easy to maintain

● Biodegradable

● Lightweight and thin

● Universal connector and quick disconnect in the event an ejection is needed

● Ability to remain in place while seated and when moving (particularly walking and climbing in/out of the aircraft)

Possible Technologies:

● Moisture-wicking fabrics and materials

● Hydrophilic materials and/or coatings

● Hydrophobic materials and/or coatings

● Nanotechnology applications

● Self-sterilizing

● Biocompatible materials

● Adhesives

● Antimicrobial components

● High absorbent compounds

● Elastics

● Biomimicry

Constraints addressed:

● No in-dwelling / No catheters

● Minimally invasive

● Cost-effective

● No modifications to airframe, cockpit or ejection seat

● Compatible and will not interfere with the current flight suit, flight equipment and other safety systems

● Compatible and will not interfere with the ejection seat system

● Non-flammable, fire-resistant

Improved Flow Performance / Pump Technology

Capabilities:

● Process a rapid, variable flow rate

● Lightweight

● Compact size

● Energy efficient

● No flow back

● Easy to clean and maintain, post-mission

● Battery-powered

● Variable flow rate capable

● Ability to adapt to pressure changes within the airframe

● Operational for a minimum of 16 hours

Possible Technologies:

● Pressure generator

● One-way valves

● Pressure release valves

● Battery chemistry

● Autosensing

● Flow-sensing

● Piezoelectric

● Miniaturization

● Microelectronics

Constraints addressed:

● Processing urinary flow rate operation between 22 to 46 ml/sec

● No modifications to airframe, cockpit or ejection seat

● Compatible and will not interfere with the current flight suit, flight equipment and other safety systems

● Compatible and will not interfere with the ejection seat system

● Non-flammable, fire-resistant

Management and Processing of Bodily Fluids

Capabilities:

● Process a rapid, variable flow rate

● Self-contained

● No leaks

● No flow back

● Easy to clean and maintain, post-mission

● Handle volume, up to 3.9 liters, for a maximum of 16 hours

● Puncture and tear-resistant

● Ease of disposal

Possible Technologies:

● Changes of state, liquid to solid to gel to gas

● Super evaporative technologies

● Eco-processing

● Self-sterilizing

● Antimicrobial

● Recycling

Constraints addressed:

● Waste removal post-flight

● No modifications to airframe, cockpit or ejection seat

● Compatible and will not interfere with the current flight suit, flight equipment and other safety systems

● Compatible and will not interfere with the ejection seat system

● Non-flammable, fire-resistant

Pump-Less Bladder Relief System

Capabilities:

● Void on-demand

● Minimally invasive

● Fully automatic

● Hands-free

● No leaks

● No flow back

● Disposable interfaces

● Easy to clean and maintain, post-mission

● Puncture and tear-resistant

● Process a rapid, variable flow rate

● Lightweight

● Compact

● Ability to adapt to pressure changes within the airframe

● Operational for a minimum of 16 hours

● Handle volume for a maximum of 16 hours

● Universal connector and quick disconnect in the event an ejection is needed

Possible Technologies:

● All of the above components and features but pump-less

Constraints addressed:

● No in-dwelling / No catheters

● Non-invasive

● Processing urinary flow rate operation between 22 to 46 ml/sec

● Waste removal post-flight

● No modifications to airframe, cockpit or ejection seat

● Compatible and will not interfere with the current flight suit, flight equipment and other safety systems

● Compatible and will not interfere with the ejection seat system

● Non-flammable, fire-resistant

● Cost-effective

WHAT BENEFITS COULD YOUR SOLUTION OFFER USAF?

● An improved bladder relief system will address the immediate needs for female aircrew and may eventually be adaptable for male aircrew

● Improve the health, wellbeing and safety of female aviators

● Create a more effective and military-ready USAF to benefit our national security

WHO WILL BENEFIT?

Female aircrew will benefit from:

● Eliminating tactical dehydration, which will lead to improvements in their health, wellbeing and safety

● Improved mental and physical performance and safety with reduced inflight stresses

● Improved aviator situational awareness

● Increased availability of female aircrew

● Improved retention of female aviators

● Dramatic increases in safety by reducing the potential for inflight mishaps and distractions

The United States Air Force and other DoD agencies will benefit from:

● Improved inflight hydration for all aircrew

● A more effective, ready and capable force resulting from increased mission performance, productivity and situational awareness

● Improvements in the quality of life for Airmen

● Reduction in healthcare costs due to injury prevention

The U.S. and our Allies will benefit from:

● Saving and improving lives

● Increased national security stemming from a more mission-ready, capable force

● A strengthened military force

WHAT IS NEXT?

The Sky High Relief Challenge is an open AFWERX Challenge for entities interested in participating in this effort.

● The submission period will be open on 4 August 2020 at 9:00 PM Pacific Time.

● Submissions shall be made on afwerxchallenge.com and will need to answer all required submission fields to be accepted.

● All submissions will be officially reviewed by the evaluation team beginning 21

September 2020 using the criteria mentioned below to select the teams that will be invited to the showcase event.

● Communication to all successful and unsuccessful teams will be sent by 13 October

2020 via email.

● The showcase is expected to take place as an online event on 4 - 6 November 2020. A confirmation will be sent by 13 October 2020.

● The showcase will be an excellent opportunity to meet individuals, teams and enterprises that were also selected to attend. Another evaluation will be completed at the showcase via private pitches and public discussions on the virtual showcase site with evaluators.

● There may be some additional criteria used in the evaluation at the showcase. If this is the case, all teams invited to the showcase will be notified at the same time before 13

October 2020.

● Winner(s) of the prize competition will be notified following the evaluation at the showcase. A separate request for a prototype proposal will be extended to the highest-ranking solution(s) after the challenge showcase has occurred to participate in the Prototype

Phase based on the availability of funding. The request for a prototype proposal will include the full details and requirements for the Other Transaction for Prototype Agreement.

● All dates are subject to change. We will communicate any changes on this site.

HOW DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN THIS CHALLENGE?

Participation in this challenge requires a completed submission using the web form on the

AFWERXchallenge.com website for this topic. The web form for this challenge can be found here: https://afwerxchallenge.com/andmore/inflightbladderreliefequipmentequality

● Note that it is possible to create a private draft during the submission period by selecting

“Save as Draft.” You can edit and then launch the public submission

● Public submissions can be edited until the submission deadline

● Participants can attach private attachments only visible to the evaluation team

PRIZE CHALLENGE OPPORTUNITY

https://afwerxchallenge.com/andmore/inflightbladderreliefequipmentequality

The Government reserves the right to award prize challenges to one or more performers for each category at a minimum amount of $100,000.00 in the following categories (up to 10 in total):

-Comfortable, Form-Fitting Interfaces

-Urine Transfer and Storage Technology

-Compact, High-Flow Rate Pump Technology

A minimum of $250k in prize money for the following full system category (up to 2 in total):

-Complete Pump-less Bladder Relief System

If a challenge contestant is not selected for prize money, the Government still reserves the right to award an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) to further develop the performer's system/design.

In order to participate in the prize challenge, a contestant (whether an individual, team or legal entity) must have registered to participate and complied with all of the requirements under section 3719 of title 15, United States Code as contained herein. At the time of entry, the Official

Representative (individual or team lead in the case of a group project) must be age 18 or older and a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States or its territories. In the case of a private entity, the business shall be incorporated in and maintain a place of business in the

United States or its territories. Multiple individuals and/or legal entities may collaborate as a group to submit a single entry, and a single individual from the group must be designated as an

Official Representative for each entry. That designated individual will be responsible for meeting all entry and evaluation requirements.

Contestants may not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within the scope of their employment. A contestant shall not be deemed ineligible because the contestant consulted with

Federal employees or used Federal facilities in preparing its submission to the challenge if the

Federal employees and facilities are made available to all contestants on an equitable basis.

Employees of any official co-sponsoring entities are not eligible to enter.

Contestants, including individuals and private entities, must not have been convicted of a felony criminal violation under any Federal law within the preceding 24 months and must not have any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability.

Contestants must not be suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded from doing business with the Federal Government.

By registering for the prize competition, the participant and any related entity agrees to assume any and all risks, and waive claims against the government, associated with the competition except: (1) in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from their participation in a prize competition, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise and (2) the unauthorized use or disclosure of the intellectual property, trade secrets, or confidential business information of the participant. The term “related entity” means a parent company, subsidiary, contractor or subcontractor at any tier, and a supplier, user, customer, cooperating party, grantee, investigator, or detailee.”

The Federal Government shall not, by virtue of offering a prize competition or providing a cash prize purse or non-cash prize award under this section, be responsible for compliance by registered participants in a prize competition with Federal law, including licensing, export control, and nonproliferation laws, and related regulations.

The Air Force will not gain an interest in intellectual property developed by a participant in this prize competition without the written consent of the participant. By participating in this competition, the participant agrees to negotiate in good faith a license for the use of intellectual property in the event the Air Force wishes to pursue the participant’s solution.

The submissions will be judged by a qualified panel of expert(s) selected by the Division Chief of WNU. The panel consists of government, medical, aircrew flight equipment, and technology experts who will judge the submissions using the judging criteria identified below and will select winners. Judges will not (A) have personal or financial interests in, or be an employee, officer, director, or agent of any entity that is a registered contestant in a challenge; or (B) have a familial or financial relationship with an individual who is a registered contestant. Members of the judging panel are required to complete an Agreement of Nondisclosure, conflicts of interest, and rules of conduct. The decisions of the judging panel for the challenge will be announced in accordance with the dates noted in the "What Is Next?" section of these rules. Contestants’ evaluation results from the judging panel will not be made available to contestants or the public.

To support collaboration and the development of technology and systems in the Inflight Bladder

Relief System (IBRS), interested participants of this challenge will need to include in the submission of interest a statement acknowledging agreement to sign an Associate Program

Performer Agreement (APPA) if selected as an awardee on an Other Transaction Agreement

Prototype. The APPAs are intended to ensure appropriate coordination and potential integration of work done by program performers.

CHALLENGE SHOWCASE SELECTION CRITERIA

A team of government personnel will evaluate all challenge submissions to determine which solutions will be invited to attend the showcase event. The government team may be advised by contracted and impartial subject matter experts, using the criteria listed below:

● Fit and adaptability of your solution to the challenge topic

● Viability of your solution

● Feasibility of your solution

● Ability to execute your solution should it be selected

● Speed to market of your development, deployment and integration

Note there may be future criteria applied for the next stages of this challenge, these will be communicated to all teams. For example, there may be discussions around cost and implementation time at a future date. Working with partners or teams to meet or exceed the criteria is highly encouraged.

Selected teams will be issued an invitation to participate in an Other Transaction Agreement for

Prototyping using 10 USC 2371b, which could lead to a follow-on production Other Transaction

Agreement or FAR based Contract for the full development and production of the improved bladder relief system.

SOME GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING TERMS AND CONDITIONS

● The improved bladder relief system scope includes but is not limited to the full development/production of bladder relief systems for the United States Air Force.

● The announcement of AFWERX events, considered to possess high potential for further efforts, may be made at https://www.afwerxchallenge.com. FAR-based contracting instruments, Other Transaction Authority (OTA) for Prototype Projects 10 USC 2371b, to include follow-on production OTs, and Prize Competitions 15 USC 3719 may support the accomplishment of these events.

● All announcements made at both beta.sam.gov (formerly fbo.gov) and https://www.afwerxchallenge.comwebsite(s) are considered to satisfy the reasonable effort to obtain competition per 15 USC 3719 (e) and 10 USC 2371b (b)(2).

● Possibility of working with existing prime contractors on existing Air Force contracts.

● All FAR-based actions will follow announcement procedures per FAR 5.201(b) accordingly.

● Subject Matter Experts advising the government team may include firms contracted by other participating DoD branches (U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast

Guard). These firms are contracted to provide advisory and assistance services to USAF or https://www.afwerxchallenge.com/ https://www.afwerxchallenge.com/ other DoD branches. These firms are an important supporting element in on-going efforts;

however, they may be asked to provide limited advice on potential solutions.

● It is the responsibility of participating firms to protect their intellectual property or other proprietary information as necessary.

● Notice to Offeror(s): The Government reserves the right to cancel this open call, either before or after the closing date. In the event the Government cancels this open call, the

Government has no obligation to reimburse an offeror for any costs.

● The submission deadline is noted in the section labeled “What is next?” The submission deadline is controlled by the AFWERX Challenge server time and is not dictated by local participant computer time. AFWERX Challenge shall not be held responsible for discrepancies in computer times, delays due to internet connectivity, server performance due to large numbers of participants utilizing the software at the same time or other factors outside of AFWERX Challenge’s control. No exceptions will be made for late submissions regardless of the reason. It is advisable to complete submissions well in advance of the submission deadline.

SUBMISSION FORM

Question # Global 1

Label Title for your solution

Instructions {This field is global and cannot be changed as it will affect all challenges}

Question # Global 2

Label Executive summary: Explain your overall solution or concept in 500 characters or less.

Question # 1

Label Solution Description

Hint/Tool Tip (i) Explain in detail how your team advances USAF efforts to improve inflight bladder relief

Placeholder Explain in detail how your team advances USAF efforts to improve inflight bladder relief

Required Yes

Field Type Text

Char Limit none

Instructions

Question # 2

Label Value Proposition

Hint/Tool Tip (i) If the Air Force had this solution, what would the benefits be?

Placeholder If the Air Force had this solution, what would the benefits be?

Required Yes

Field Type Text

Char Limit

Question # 3

Label Solution Maturity

Hint/Tool Tip (i) State the development level of your proposed solution.

Required Yes

Field Type Option

Options Idea Stage: conceptual understanding but not yet prototyped.

Prototype/Experiment: just beyond an idea and have started to experiment and build prototypes.

Complete Application: the solution has been prototyped and tested and is ready for launch.

Commercial Product: the solution is a commercial product.

Instructions This was instructed as “check-boxes,” but it has been a single selection on all prior submissions.

THIS SHOULD BECOME A UNIVERSAL FIELD ELEMENT

Question # 4

Label Focus area of your submission

Hint/Tool Tip (i) What area is your solution focused on

Required Yes

Field Type Checkbox

Options 1. Comfortable, form-fitting female interface

2. An improved flow performance / pump technology

3. Management and processing of bodily fluids

4. Novel and innovative bladder relief system

5. Other

Instructions Only wanting one selected per submission, this is the one that is most relevant

Question # 5

Label If “Other”

Hint/Tool Tip (i) If “Other” was selected above, please specify the additional component(s) that your solution possesses.

Placeholder If “Other” was selected above, please specify the additional component(s) that your solution possesses.

Required No

Field Type Text

Char Limit

Question # Global 3

Label Keywords for your solution

Hint/Tool Tip (i) Please specify any keywords that may be useful for a search. Enter a comma to complete your keyword term. For example, “bladder relief” will create the term

(bladder relief).

Required No [TURNED OFF]

Question # 6

Are you willing to sign an associated agreement in the event that you are selected for an Other

Transaction award for prototype?