|
COMMERCE BUSINESS DAILY ISSUE OF DECEMBER 18,1997 PSA#1995AFMC, Air Force Research Laboratory/IFK, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome,
NY 13441-4514 A -- IMAGERY EXPLOITATION PROGRAM RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
ANNOUNCEMENT SOL PRDA 98-03-IFKPA POC Joetta Bernhard, Contracting
Officer, 315-330-2308; Paul Hagerty, Program Manager, 315-330-4221 The
Multi-Sensor Exploitation Branch (IFEC) of the Air Force Research
Laboratory (AFRL) Rome is soliciting white papers for new and creative
technical research and development solutions to demonstrate
improvements in the efficiency and timeliness of generating
intelligence information from multiple reconnaissance imaging sensor
inputs. Imagery exploitation associated with modern digital imagery
sensor collection systems presents many technical challenges in
satisfying the needs of the operational user. Among these are:
exploiting increasing quantities of imagery required for search
missions; new requirements for monitoring activities associated with
peace keeping missions; requirements to extract information on
"difficult targets" which are movable, deceptively concealed, or both;
and limitations in the numbers of human exploiters due to downsizing
of the force. In addition, methods of collection (Unattended Air
Vehicles-UAVs) and sensing modalities (Video, Multi and Hyperspectral)
are changing and require innovative and synergistic imagery
exploitation functionality. The increased emphasis on supporting the
unit level warfighter and presenting a complete picture of the battle
space to the commander requires fusion of imagery with other sources of
information (electronic, cartographic, intelligence, etc.) and
dissemination of information (textual reports, annotated imagery, etc.)
and exploitation capabilities down the chain of command. The solutions
to the above described imagery exploitation problems must encompass a
number of technical disciplines, take advantage of technologies
developed in related areas (i.e., medical imaging, environmental
sensing, commercial video processing, etc.) and to the greatest extent
possible employ commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) capabilities which are
cost effective, supportable, and allow for evolutionary growth. Of
particular interest are automated capabilities and applications for:
finding areas of interest on the imagery, and extracting imagery
information and correlating imagery exploitation with other forms of
information to generate battle scene awareness. Imagery exploitation
capabilities which function in the "open systems" computational
environment and utilize networking and object oriented brokering in
order to improve interoperability and transportability/usability are of
particular interest. This PRDA seeks technical solutions in the areas
of automated exploitation from imager (visual, IR, radar, video, etc.),
improved synergistic imagery exploitation with other forms of
information (i.e., intelligence, cartographic, other sensor, etc.) and
improved imagery exploitation products (text, annotated imagery,
video, etc.) generation. Technical solutions will be implemented within
AFRL/IFEC facilities thereby allowing for extensive evaluation by
Laboratory personnel and for demonstration/interaction with Air Force
user personnel. These demonstrations will also investigate the
potential for dual use applications of the technologies implemented.
Deliverables will be technical reports, computer software/hardware
capabilities and system demonstrations. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES
THE ONLY SOLICITATION. DO NOT SUBMIT A FORMAL PROPOSAL AT THIS TIME.
Offerors are required to submit 3 (three) copies of a 4 (four) page or
less white paper with a cover letter indicating whether the offeror is
a large, small, women-owned small, or small disadvantaged business, or
Historically Black College, University, or Minority Institution. The
white paper must be formatted as follows: Section A: Title, Period of
Performance, Cost of Task, Name of Company; Section B: Task Objective;
and Section C: Technical Summary. All responses to this announcement
must be addressed to ATTN: Paul Hagerty, Reference PRDA #98-03-IFKPA,
AFRL/IFEC, 32 Hangar Rd, Rome NY 13441-4114. Small businesses should
also send one (1) copy of the cover letter only, by First Class mail
(DO NOT SEND CLASSIFIED), to ATTN: Janis Norelli, Director of Small
Business, AFRL/IFB, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome NY 13441-4514. Multiple
whitepapers 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 receive an award. Complete instructions for proposal
preparation will be forwarded with the invitation for proposal
submission. Evaluation of proposals will be performed using the
following criteria: (1) new and creative technical research and
development solutions which demonstrate improvements in imagery
exploitation; and (2) reasonableness and realism of proposed costs and
fees (if any). In addition, the Government may consider other factors
such as: (1) offeror's capabilities, related experience, facilities,
techniques, or unique combination of these which are integral factors
for achieving proposal objectives; (2) offeror's qualifications,
capabilities and experience of proposed principal investigator, team
leader, and other key personnel who are critical to achieving proposal
objectives; and (3) offeror's record of past and present performance.
No further evaluation criteria will be used in selecting the
proposals. The technical criteria will also be used to determine
whether white papers submitted are consistent with the intent of this
PRDA and of interest to the Government. Proposals submitted will be
evaluated as they are received. Options are discouraged and unpriced
options will not be considered for award. Principal funding of this
PRDA and the anticipated awards are contemplated to start in FY98.
Individual awards will not normally exceed 18 months in duration, with
dollar amounts normally ranging from $100,000 to $300,000. Awards made
as a result of this PRDA will be in the form of contracts, grants,
cooperative agreements, or other transactions as determined by the work
to be performed. Total funding for this PRDA is $2,000,000. Foreign
allied participation at the prime contractor level is authorized for
the countries of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France,
Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom. 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 Center at 1-800-352-3572. The cost of preparing proposals in
response to this announcement is not an allowable direct charge to any
resulting award or any other award, but may be an allowable expense to
the normal bid and proposal indirect cost in FAR 31.205-18. The work
to be performed may require a secret facility clearance and
safeguarding capability; therefore, personnel identified for assignment
to a classified effort must be cleared for access to secret information
at time of award. An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear significant
concerns from offerors or potential offerors during the proposal
development phase of this acquisition. Routine questions, such as
clarifications of the Statement of Work or the terms and conditions,
are not considered to be "significant concerns" and should be
communicated directly to the Contracting Officer, Joetta
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, disagreements and
recommendations to the appropriate Government personnel. The Ombudsman
for this acquisition is Vincent Palmiero, Deputy Director of
Contracting, at 315-330-7746. When requested, the Ombudsman will
maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The
Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals or in the
source selection process. An informational briefing is not planned.
This PRDA is open and effective until 30 Sep 2000. To receive a copy of
AFRL Rome "BAA & PRDA: A Guide for Industry", Sep 1997 write to ATTN:
Lucille Argenzia, AFRL/IFKR, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome NY 13441-4514,
or the Guide may be accessed at the following WEB address:
http://www.rl.af.mil/Lab/PK/bp-guide.html. All responsible firms may
submit a white paper which shall be considered. Respondents are asked
to provide a FAX number, an e-mail address and their Commercial and
Government Entity (CAGE) number with their submission and reference
PRDA #98-03-IFKPA. Only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to
commit the Government. (0350) Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0001 19971218\A-0001.SOL)
A - Research and Development Index Page
|
|