Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Contracts Management Office (CMO), 3701 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203-1714

A -- CHEMICAL PLUME TRACING SOL RA98-09 POC Dr. Regina Dugan, DARPA/DSO fax (703) 696-3999 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Office of Naval Research seek proposals in the area of Chemical Plume Tracing. Many animals, e.g., lobsters, moths, and dogs, are capable of tracking chemical plumes to their source. It is believed that a careful understanding of how animals accomplish this task will lead to the development of artificial plume tracing systems that can be employed to locate the source of chemical plumes for a variety of applications, including the location of land mines, using plumes in air, and underwater unexploded ordnance, using plumes in water. Proposers should address the multi-disciplinary nature of this problem, from improved understanding of the local fluid dynamics to signal acquisition, processing, and interpretation of chemical information by plume tracing animals. As such, strongly-coupled interdisciplinary efforts are sought. Proposals that will demonstrate how results from animal behavior studies can be implemented effectively in artificial systems are especially encouraged, since the ultimate goal of this program is the development of automated mine and unexploded ordnance detection systems. Additional information about this joint DARPA-ONR program, including a partial list of key unresolved scientific issues, and details about the relevant ONR Broad Agency Announcement Number 97-024, may be found on the WWW at URL http://www.darpa.mil/DSO/solicitations/index.html. (0064)

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