Specifications.pdf

Specifications: Outdoor Multi-Agent Tracking System

Introduction:

The Guidance Technologies Branch of the Army Research Laboratory is investing in a facility for research of “Swarming Weapons in Contested Environments”. This facility is described as “a large scale, outdoor motion tracking system that will provide researchers with the ability to precisely localize agents of an aerial swarm”. The intent of this capability is to enable the development of Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GN&C) strategies for control of a projectile swarm and verify the performance of such strategies. It is envisioned that such a facility will be capable of both operating on swarms of low speed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) acting as projectile surrogates, as well as soft launched and gun launched projectiles. The proposed capability for tracking of projectile swarms presents inherent technical challenges associated with precision tracking of multiple fast moving objects at a large scale in uncontrolled environmental conditions.

Scope:

The Contractor shall provide a refined version of a pre-existing motion capture system that utilizes technology for optical tracking of actively illuminated markers in an outdoor environment.

The Government intends on obtaining the required solution in two (2) phases. The first phase will allow the vendors to demonstrate the current capability of their motion capture systems and to prepare a detailed design for extension of that capability to meet the requirements listed below. The Government will then evaluate the designs provided by the Contractor detailing how they would refine their systems and will select the one (1) vendor, whose technology provides the greatest value to the Government, for the second phase of the procurement: developing the refined system.

Contract Execution:

The Government will evaluate the Contractor’s proposal submitted in response to this solicitation to determine which companies (approximately two (2) – three (3)) will receive a contract consisting of a base Contract Line Item (CLIN) 0001 for Phase I performance and an option CLIN 0002 for Phase II performance. The companies selected for an award will then receive the aforementioned contract and begin performance towards providing the Deliverables of the Base CLIN 0001 (listed below) within 45 days of contract award. The total period of performance for CLIN0001 will be 60 days. In the last 15 days of CLIN0001’s period of performance on each of the contracts, the Government will evaluate the existing systems capabilities and refined system design to select one (1) of the contract holders to develop the system. Option CLIN 0002 will be exercised on the selected vendor’s contract prior to the end of the 60 day period of performance, beginning the six (6) month period of performance towards providing the Deliverables of the Option CLIN 0002 (listed below).

Proposal Requirements:

The Contractor’s proposal shall include:

A description of their existing solution to optically track actively illuminated markers in an outdoor environment. The description shall demonstrate that the existing technology is mature enough and that modifications needed to meet the requirements of CLIN 0002

(precisely localize agents of an aerial swarm on a large scale) present low technical risk and can be achieved in the six (6) month period of performance for CLIN 0002. The proposal shall provide examples of prior implementations of the technology which highlight the solution’s capabilities.

A description of the refinements that the Contractor intends to make to their system to allow the system to precisely localize agents of an aerial swarm.

A price proposal for phase 1 and 2 performance.

Contract Requirements:

The Contractor shall provide the following Deliverables for Base CLIN 0001 (Phase I):

A design of the refined existing technology that includes a detailed system configuration, a description and physical layout of all functional hardware components, and a discussion of any technology gaps between the Contractor’s existing technology and the refined technology design. The Contractor shall consider the following items of concern when designing the refined system:

o Network requirements for imagers/detectors and other hardware. Depending on system configuration, the cable length may exceed CAT5 specification. If a fiber optic network or other solution is required, this shall be presented in the design.

o Tracking reliability of markers in daylight conditions at range required by system design. Layout of system to minimize effect of sun within field of view of camera(s). Impact on performance if sun obscures one or more markers during a portion of the test, including loss and reacquisition of a marker.

o Setup/Breakdown time for the system. The developed system will be implemented on a shared use range facility and installation must be temporary.

Anticipate typical test events to be on the order of five (5) days in length.

Additional range time needed to setup and breakdown the system will impact utility and cost effectiveness for the Government.

o Environmental limitations and weatherproofing of the system. Testing of the developed system is expected to occur year round at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. While testing is not expected to be conducted in rain or snow, a system that is capable of being partially or completely left in place during weather events and overnight will save significant test time and increase utility and cost effectiveness of the system for the Government.

o Disambiguation of markers located on multiple agents operating in close proximity and markers that transition from unobservable to observable or vice versa.

o Integration of markers into projectile flight hardware. A notional projectile to be tracked consists of a fin stabilized 83mm diameter cylinder. The markers used to track this projectile must conform to the cylindrical mold line of the projectile but still be observable by the motion capture system. The system design should address a strategy for integrating markers within an 83 mm diameter by 50 mm tall “puck” section of this notional cylindrical projectile. In addition to the space constraint above, the design should consider power, RF communication, and thermal management.

o RF connectivity of any wireless components.

A technical narrative of the refined system design that discusses the items of concern detailed above as well as the following:

o Environmental restrictions of the system design.

o Description of effort required to setup/breakdown at the start and end of each test day.

o If radio links are used in the system design, a discussion of the expected effective range of wireless connections and any special considerations for antenna design and/or placement.

An analysis of the expected performance of the refined technology as designed. The following performance parameters shall be addressed:

o Coverage volume o Position tracking accuracy (3-DoF) o Measurement update rate o Measurement latency o Marker spacing required for attitude tracking (6-dof) o Number of agents that can be tracked o Marker integration requirements (size, power, observability, thermal management) A demonstration of the core elements of their existing motion capture technology to verify that the solution can:

o Track actively illuminated markers, outdoors, in the lighting conditions present on the day of the demonstration at mid-day.

o Track the markers in near real-time at the range specified by the vendor as the current performance limit of their system.

o Uniquely identify multiple markers.

o Have the ability to integrate the markers with aerial agents in the future.

The Contractor shall provide the following Deliverables for Exercised Option CLIN 0002 (Phase

II):

A refined system in accordance with the system design plan established as one of the deliverables for the base award delivered to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, Maryland. The refined system shall meet the following requirements:

REQUIREMENT OBJECTIVE THRESHOLD

PROVIDES NEAR REAL‐TIME TRACKING RESULTS Yes yes

SYSTEM COVERAGE AREA LENGTH/WIDTH/HEIGHT (M) 500/200/200 300/60/75

MARKER INTEGRATION VOLUME (CM3) 63 270

MAXIMUM AGENT VELOCITY (M/S) 100 50

NUMBER OF AGENTS 100 10

POSITION ACCURACY (M) 0.01 0.5

MEASUREMENT OF VEHICLE ATTITUDE (6‐DOF) Yes no

MEASUREMENT UPDATE RATE (HZ) 100 10

A final report that includes o a functional description of the system and its capabilities o a list of system components and estimated replacement costs o deviations from the phase 1 design o known system limitations o an engineering analysis of expected system performance o lessons learned o recommendations for future system improvements

X Fatimata Diallo Contracting Officer

X Rebecca Clark Chief Counsel