MODIFICATION
A -- DEFENSE SCIENCES RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY
- Notice Date
- 8/21/2002
- Notice Type
- Modification
- Contracting Office
- Other Defense Agencies, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Contracts Management Office, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA, 22203-1714
- ZIP Code
- 22203-1714
- Solicitation Number
- BAA01-42
- Response Due
- 12/15/2002
- Point of Contact
- Steven Wax, Deputy Director, Defense Sciences Office, Phone 703-696-2281, Fax 703-696-3999,
- E-Mail Address
-
none
- Description
- BAA 01-42, Addendum 11, Special Focus Area: BIODYNOTICS: BIOLOGICALLY INSPIRED MULTIFUNCTIONAL DYNAMIC ROBOTICS. The Defense Sciences Office is interested in new proposals in BIODYNOTICS (BIOLOGICALLY INSPIRED MULTIFUNCTIONAL DYNAMIC ROBOTICS). This program represents a new thrust area for DSO that will comprise a multidisciplinary, multi-pronged approach with far reaching impact on robotic capabilities for national security applications. Biologically Inspired Multifunctional Dynamic Robotics: The Vision. One of the many shortcomings of today?s robotic platforms is the limited mobility and behavior in operational environments. These limitations are largely due to the complexity of the environments in which robots are expected to perform and the lack of adaptability to unplanned and unpredictable change. Biological systems, on the other hand, have adapted unique principles and practices that if captured in robotic platforms could dramatically increase their performance in tasks for national security needs (e.g., surveillance, search and rescue, sentry duty, logistics support, chemical and biological agent detection). Specifically we are interested in: (1) Dynamic Mobility: biologically inspired appendages to demonstrate multifunctional, dynamic, energy efficient and autonomous locomotion to enable revolutionary mobility capabilities such as running over multiple terrains, climbing (trees, cliffs, cave walls), jumping and leaping, and manipulating the world with an appendage in tasks such as grasping and digging. The successful exploitation of biological appendages will also enable transitions between environments (e.g. a leg on land used to swim, a flyer perching or landing with legs, a swimmer emerging from the water and running on land). (2) Behavior: biological inspirations in animal behavior that will enable the ability to autonomously recognize and navigate in operational environments to perform critical simple and complex capabilities (navigation, terrain following, grazing incidence landings, target location and tracking, plume tracing, cooperative tasks such as hive and swarm behavior). This activity may incorporate principles derived from biological behaviors of both single and social groups and (3) Integration: the integration of locomotion and behavior to achieve specific demonstrations using multifunctional dynamic biorobotic platforms, culminating in a Phase I platform demonstration with clearly defined metrics across a number of defined capabilities. The ability to adapt to an ever changing challenging world is likely to arise from dynamical approaches to this challenge (rather than finite state machines) and proposals are encouraged that consider computational dynamics (e.g. neuromechanical closed feedback loops, dynamic signal processing and sensor fusion) and architectural aspects of dynamics (e.g. distribution of control between central and distributed control) are especially encouraged. Each of these areas (mobility and behavior) will be integrated as phase I demonstrations of capability. Phase II proposals will be invited from those phase I contracts that demonstrate the ability to successfully integrate the two tasks in one bioinspired dynamic platform and achieve clear metrics of performance across the stated tasks such as ability to complete the task, energy efficiency, adaptability of the platform, and others to be determined. Integrated multidisciplinary teams are encouraged to form in preparation for submission. Opportunities to create teams from component proposals will also be considered. Evaluation of successful proposals will be based on the explicit biological inspiration and the integration of mobility and behavior in one platform. Phase II goals will focus on benchmarking performance of the developed platform in operational environments. Parallel research and development and iteration on platform design will be expected during Phase II in addition to proliferation of early designs for operational testing. Proposals should clearly state phase I goals and milestones over an 18 month period. Brief outlines of phase II milestones should be included with proposals. Autonomous Locomotion: The inspirations from biology that employ the use of multifunctional legged appendages for running, jumping, leaping, climbing, perching, swimming, flying, grasping, manipulating and digging are of interest. Hybrid appendages that enable mobile transitions between air, land, and-water are also of interest. The demonstration of these capabilities should consider opportunities to incorporate multifunctional materials that incorporate sensing and actuating performance, especially for grasping and manipulating, and soft elastic compliance and mobility of appendages or sub-appendages (hands, fingers, claws, wings). Integrated sensors should be considered in this portion of the program that allows closed-loop feedback necessary to accomplish biologically inspired mobility tasks. Design principles that demonstrate the dynamic interaction between neural and mechanical controls, the integration of force dynamic principles, central pattern generators or other neural control dynamics, and architectures of centralized and decentralized control are encouraged. The ability of legged robots to robustly perform in the face of environmental perturbations and unplanned changes in terrains will be demonstrated in Phase I (18 months) of the program. Autonomous Sensing and Navigation: The new DARPA program in Bioinspired Multifunctional Dynamic Robotics will seek to integrate dynamic revolutionary mobility with functional capabilities that enable a robotic platform to perform relevant tasks for national security. In order to accomplish this, the new program will exploit biologically inspired principles, mobility, sensing and navigation that will enable revolutionary functional capability in a robotic platform. These include the dynamic symbolic representations and adaptive algorithms that enable autonomous sensing and navigation (coordinated sensory-motor activity) to targets of interest. Performance capabilities of biologically inspired principles of target recognition in cluttered backgrounds, navigation principles such as terrain following, contact guidance, visual target tracking and acquisition, landing maneuvers, and chemical or biological plume tracing are possible modalities a revolutionary mobile platform could demonstrate. These autonomous functions should be demonstrated by independent means where communications might be difficult or absent (prohibiting continuous geoposition information or other coordinates). DARPA is interested in exploiting these biological inspirations in creating new robotic platforms that demonstrate revolutionary performance relevant to national security needs. Interdisciplinary teams, which incorporate biologists, engineers, computational scientists, material scientists, roboticists, neuroscientists and biomechanicists are encouraged. The exploited biological principles and practices should be clearly described in the proposal. Phase I goals should clearly describe work performed in individual component development and the integration of components that will demonstrate stated capabilities and demonstrate functional performance of tasks. Specific tasks should be chosen from a provided list of desired demonstration goals. Proposers are encouraged to integrate as many of these capabilities as possible. All platforms should be man portable, weather-proofed against water and soil contamination, and have operational run times of at least 4 hours. Specific capabilities of interest to be demonstrated in phase I using a multifunctional dynamic biorobotic platform include: 1. Running speeds of at least 3-5 body lengths a second over rough unplanned terrain; 2. Jumping or leaping at least 3-5 body lengths; 3. Jumping from a height of 10 feet and gliding or flying to a safe landing; 4. Landing from air and running over rough unplanned terrain; 5. Climbing slopes of 45-90 degrees that comprise glass, dirt, concrete or rock surfaces; 6. Digging a hole of at least 6 inches depth; 7. Manipulating or grasping an object; 8. Semi-autonomously or autonomously navigating to, and returning from, a specified location. Initial tasks may develop individual components that complete the above-described capabilities. We seek to exploit the multifunctional aspects of legged systems, so proposals that integrate as many of the above capabilities as possible are encouraged. System integration of components should be explicitly described that culminate in clearly defined early demonstrations of capability in the first phase. The second phase of the program (42 months) will choose from first demonstrations and refine capabilities to perform more mission specific tasks. We would like to invite proposals that are far reaching in their implications, innovative, and ambitious in their goals and implementation. It is essential that the preparation of proposals include the following areas: (1) A clear statement of the envisioned utility of the proposed research and development. We are looking for revolutionary applications and goals that could be enabled if the proposed work is completed successfully. While distinct goals for the execution of the proposal are required, the vision presented may extend past the performance period. (2) A concise statement of the research challenges, approach, and potential anticipated solutions to the challenges that will be addressed. This should include explicit timelines for which progress toward the goals can be determined. Intermediate milestones with demonstrable metrics of performance must be included in the Phase I period (18 months) of the proposed work. (3) A cost estimation for resources required for the proposed timeline. This should include a clear description of the human resources needed as well as funding. A management plan that describes how the different disciplines represented on the team will be integrated is critical. DARPA is sponsoring an informational and team-forming workshop in preparation for a new program in this area. This workshop will take place October 7, 2002, in Arlington, Virginia. Information regarding the workshop may be obtained at the following website: http://www.darpa.mil/baa/sn02-25.htm. White Papers are not sought for this addendum. Proposals received by DARPA before 4:00 P.M. ET, November 21, 2002 will be considered for the first submission. Submittals after that date will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Proposals (original plus three hard copies) should be mailed to DARPA/DSO, ATTN.: BIODYNOTICS Program, BAA 01-42, 3701 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203. DARPA will acknowledge receipt of each proposal within ten days and assign a control number that should be used in all further correspondence regarding the proposal. For general administrative questions and proposal formatting, please refer to the original CBD Announcement, BAA 01-42 (http://www.darpa.mil/baa/baa01-42.htm). Point of Contact: Dr. Alan S. Rudolph, Defenses Sciences Office, Phone: (703) 696-2240, Fax: (571) 218-4553, e-mail: dsobaa01-42@darpa.mil (Please reference "Special Focus Area: BIODYNOTICS" in any electronic correspondence.)
- Record
- SN00147131-W 20020823/020821214125 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |