MODIFICATION
A -- JOINT BATTLESPACE INFOSPHERE (JBI) FUSELET RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
- Notice Date
- 5/24/2001
- Notice Type
- Modification
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, AFRL - Rome Research Site, AFRL/Information Directorate 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome, NY, 13441-4514
- ZIP Code
- 13441-4514
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-PRDA-00-09-IFKPA
- Point of Contact
- Joetta Bernhard, Contracting Officer, Phone (315) 330-2308, Fax (315) 330-7790,
- E-Mail Address
-
bernhard@rl.af.mil
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- s 1999 report on Building the Joint Battlespace Infosphere, SAB-TR-99-02. These reports are available at: http://www.sab.hq.af.mil/Archives/index.htm. PRDA Scope: This announcement seeks to acquire the technologies necessary to prototype demonstrable results for the following: 1. JBI Fuselets: What are they? How do they work, especially in the context of the JBI? 2. JBI Fuselet Scripting and Rule Sets: How do you easily build and govern fuselets? 3. JBI Fuselet Server and Library: How do you store fuselets for reuse? Deploy them quickly into operation? Configure them? 4. Tools for JBI Fuselet Execution Monitoring and Management: How do you monitor fuselets, control them, fix or kill them when they don't work right? as well as to answer the following kinds of research questions: 1. How do we develop JBI fuselets and model, simulate, and control their combinatorial structure and behavior? 2. What technology can be used to model and build JBI Platform (JBIP) components like the Fuselet Server and Fuselet Library, and examine/control their interaction with fuselets, information objects, clients, and other JBIP components 3. How can we use component-connector probe and gauge technology to determine the fusibility of information objects, and what kinds of fuselets would be appropriate for them 4. How can we build off of all this to provide the scripting, diagnostic, repair, configuration, monitoring, inspection, and management tools needed by the JFC Information Management Staff 5. Can fuselets circumvent publish/subscribe/query mechanisms? Can they go directly to the data source to monitor/get information? Should they be able connect directly to a client to provide information? Are they allowed to roam the network? Directly connect clients? 6. To what extent must fuselets be light-weight? To what extent do you embed rule-based/procedural logic and ontology-aware infrastructure within fuselets themselves? 7. Is it allowed, and how do you go about chaining fuselets together? Assembly-line (LEGO? block) style or autonomous interaction (bee hive). 8. Is mobile code an illegal mode of operation for fuselets? This PRDA seeks to be open to ALL innovative approaches, and is seeking demonstrable results as there is a need for proof-of-concept evaluations. Particular attention is given to the JBI principle concerning off-the-shelf solutions, i.e.: Adopt where possible. Adapt where necessary. Build as a last resort. Finally, this PRDA is focused on the research and development of fuselet concepts and components. While it may be necessary to propose JBI-like infrastructures to support them, these infrastructures are not the main emphasis of this research. Turn-key solutions to the entire JBI solution space should be avoided with the emphasis of the research and development focused on fuselet technology. JBI Characteristics: At the foundation of the JBI is a JBI Platform (JBIP) of protocols, processes, and common core functions that permit participating applications and organizatios publish/subscribe mechanism. Fuselets are part of the glue that makes the linkages that cause information in the JBI to flow to the right places in the right forms. Fuselets use JBI's Structured Common Representation (SCR), and are often designed to be pertinent to particular object types (like squadron) and levels (like wing level). Tools are needed to configure, monitor, manage and repair fuselets and their associated information structures during execution. Relevant COTS/GOTS technologies include, but are not limited to, the eXtensible Markup Language (XML), ontologies, agents and agent-markup-languages, Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), Common Object Model (COM), Distributed Common Object Model (DCOM), Visual Basic, Java/Jini, and JavaScript. However, in the implementation of fuselets, there exists the need to be mindful of security concerns (e.g., those associated with JavaScript and mobile code). The JBI Fuselet Server mentioned above is part of the JBIP that manages and executes fuselets. It utilizes a library of fuselets designed to support generic and mission-specific requirements for which the JBI is stood up. The typical information objects that a fuselet works with consist of a set of attribute/value pairs that can be used to express arbitrary data structures. Information objects have associated metadata attributes to aid in JBI query, subscription, publication, and management (dealing with storage access and security) processes. PRDA Approach: It is anticipated that offerors will investigate and apply off-the-shelf technologies to incrementally develop a component-based framework comprised of capabilities for the development (scripting language and tools), execution (rule/constraint monitoring and enforcement mechanisms), and management (JBI Fuselet Sever/Library functions) of JBI fuselets and associated components (information objects, other JBI clients, and the JBIP). Technical solutions should emphasize the use of open systems that accommodate distributed, modular, and extensible approaches. It is desirable for the Government to acquire software that it is completely maintainable and modifiable without reliance on any non-delivered computer programs or documentation. It is also desirable for the Government to acquire open, non-proprietary software solutions that offer functionality across a number of operating environments using various infrastructures. Deliverables will be technical reports, robust software prototypes, and demonstrations. Additional information concerning this PRDA 00-09 can be found at: http://www.if.afrl.af.mil/div/IFK/prda/prda-main.html. Principal funding of the PRDA and the anticipated award of efforts as a result of this PRDA will start in 2Q FY01, and will be in the form of contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or other transactions depending on the nature of the work proposed. Individual awards will not normally exceed six (6) months in duration with dollar amounts normally ranging between $50K to $150K. Total funding for exploratory development and demonstration under this PRDA is anticipated at $1.2M over four (4) fiscal years starting in FY01. Offerors are encouraged to submit one or more white papers that address exploratory development with demonstrable results. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION. DO NOT SUBMIT A FORMAL PROPOSAL AT THIS TIME. Offerors are required to submit (5) copies of a 10 page (or less) white paper with a cover letter. All responses to this announcement must be addressed to ATTN: James R. Milligan, Reference PRDA-00-09-IFKPA, AFRL/IFTD, 525 Brooks Road, Rome NY 13441-4505. The white paper will be formatted as follows: Section A: Title. Period of Performance, Cost, Name of Company, Principle Investigator; Section B: Effort objective; and Section C: Technical Summary. Offerors must mark their white papers/proposals with the restrictive language stated in FAR 15.609. Also, Small Businesses only should send one (1) copy of the cover letter only (1st Class Mail, Unclassified Only) to ATTN: Ms Janis Norelli, Director of Small Business, AFRL/IFB, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome NY 13441-4514. Multiple white papers within the purview of this announcement may be submitted by each offeror. The purpose of the white paper is to preclude unwarranted effort on the part of an offeror whose proposed work is not of interest to the Government. Those white papers found to be consistent with the intent of the PRDA may be invited to submit a technical and cost proposal. Such invitation does not assure that the submitting organization will be awarded a contract. Complete instructions for proposal preparation will be forwarded with the invitation for proposal submission. Evaluation of proposals and white papers will be performed using the following criteria, which are listed in descending order of relative importance, 1) Overall scientific and technical merit, including the approach for the development and/or enhancement of the proposed technology and its evaluation, 2) Related Experience - the extent to which the offeror demonstrates technology and domain knowledge, 3) The extent to which existing capabilities and standards are leveraged and the relative maturity of the proposed technology in terms of reliability and robustness, and 4) Reasonableness and realism of proposed costs and fees (if any). Options are discouraged and unpriced options will not be considered for award. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this announcement is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting contract or any other contract. It is, however, an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost specified in FAR 31.205-18. Foreign-owned offerors are advised that their participation is excluded at the prime contract level. Data subject to export control constraints may be involved and only firms on the Certified Contractor Access List (CCAL) will be allowed access to such data. For further information on CCAL, contact the Defense Logistics Service Center at 1-800-352-3572. The work to be performed may require a SECRET/NOFORN facility clearance and safeguarding capability, therefore personnel identified for assignment to a classified effort must be cleared for access to SECRET/NOFORN information at the time of award. The cutoff date for submission of white papers is 18 Oct 00 for FY01, 15 Oct 01 for FY02, 15 Oct 02 for FY03 and 15 Oct 03 for FY04. This PRDA is open and effective until cancelled. An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear significant concerns from offerors or potential offerors for this announcement. Routine questions are not considered to be significant concerns and should be communicated directly to the Contracting Officer, Joetta A. Bernhard, (315) 330-2308. The purpose of the Ombudsman is not to diminish the authority of the Contracting Officer or Program Manager, but to communicate contractor concerns, issues, disagreement and recommendations to the appropriate Government personnel. The Ombudsman for this acquisition is Reid S. Lerum, Lt Col, Chief, AFRL/IFK at (315) 330-7746. When requested the Ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The Ombudsman should only be contacted with issues or problems that have been previously brought to the attention of the contracting officer and could not be satisfactorily resolved at that level. A copy of the AFRL/IFK BAA & PRDA: A Guide for Industry, Sep 1996 (Rev), may be accessed at: http://www.if.afrl.af.mil/div/IFK/bp-guide.html. All responsible firms may submit a white paper which shall be considered. Respondents are asked to provide their Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) number with their submission as well as a fax number, and an e-mail address, and reference PRDA-00-09-IFKPA. Only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government. NOTE: THIS NOTICE WAS NOT POSTED TO FEDBIZOPPS.GOV ON THE DATE INDICATED IN THE NOTICE ITSELF (24-MAY-2001). IT ACTUALLY FIRST APPEARED ON THE FEDBIZOPPS SYSTEM ON 15-MAY-2002. PLEASE CONTACT fbo.support@gsa.gov REGARDING THIS ISSUE.
- Web Link
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- Record
- SN00077998-F 20020517/020515214620 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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