Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Contract Management Directorate (CMD), 3701 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203-1714

A -- AIR-COUPLED ACOUSTIC MICROSENSOR TECHNOLOGY SOL BAA00-08 DUE 011800 POC Dr. Edgar J. Martinez, DARPA/MTO, fax (703) 696-2206 Air-Coupled Acoustic Microsensor Technology, SOL BAA 00-08, DUE 011800, POC: Dr. Edgar J. Martinez, DARPA/MTO, FAX (703) 696-2206. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) often selects its research efforts through the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) process. The BAA will appear first in the Commerce Business Daily, published by the U. S. Government, Department of Commerce. The following information is for those wishing to respond to the BAA. DARPA is soliciting research and development proposals in air-coupled acoustic microsensors. This program is a comprehensive three-year technology thrust aimed at creating new capabilities for sound and/or voice identification in noisy environments. A strong technical approach would be to develop a smart, miniature, sound transducer and/or transducer array capable of operating from sub-sonic frequency (less than 1 Hz) to ultra-sonic frequency (greater than 200 KHz) ranges with signal processing capabilities that surpass the performance capabilities of the most sensitive biological auditory system (i.e., highly directional, operates under very noisy conditions, has a broad bandwidth, consumes very low power, and can be embedded in small platforms -- preferably less than one inch in any direction). Frequency and sensitivity performance shall be defined by the selected applications. The goal of this program is to demonstrate the ability to manufacture smart, miniature, passive, and acoustic sensors, which are capable of locating, tracking, and identifying a voice or a sound source in a noisy environment, at a low cost. Multi-disciplinary, innovative research approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, and system capabilities are highly desirable. Research projects that primarily result in evolutionary improvements to existing technologies are specifically excluded and will not be considered in the zone of consideration for award. A compelling technological approach is how to take advantage of recent advances in micromachining and micro-electro-mechanical devices (MEMS) to achieve a new class of sensitive, low-cost acoustic transducers. It is highly desirable that these transducers be compatible with conventional silicon semiconductor fabrication processes commonly used for the demonstration of coupling structures and integrated readout electronics. Revolutionary technical approaches that merge at the chip-scale level, unusual implementations of novel MEM transducers, and biologically-inspired analog/digital signal processing architectures for the demonstration of extremely sophisticated auditory systems are highly desirable. An example of these biologically-inspired auditory systems could be a cochlea-like detection and signal processing which exploits both frequency and time domain information, neural delay-lines for echolocation and target ranging, multi-resolution adaptive acoustics based on biological hearing models, etc. Technical approaches of less interest are those based on concepts that fuse commercial acoustic transducers with conventional electronics and signal processing (i.e. commercial-off-the shelf microphones packaged with commercial analog-to-digital converters, signal processors, ICs, etc.). Innovative proposals in the following areas are being requested: (I) development and application of unconventional micro-electro-mechanical (MEM) devices for the demonstration of acoustic transducers and transducer arrays, (II) active/adaptive noise control in acoustic micro-sensors, and (III) sensor enclosure and demonstration of miniature, highly directional sound transducers. Additional information on these technology areas is provided in the Areas of Interest section of the BAA 00-08 Proposer Information Pamphlet referenced below. PROGRAM SCOPE: Awards totaling approximately $11M over three years are expected to be made during the first quarter of calendar year 2000. Multiple awards are anticipated. Individual efforts of over $3M should provide exceptional technical quality in all three-focus areas. Collaborative efforts/teaming and cost sharing are highly encouraged. The technical POC for this effort is Dr. Edgar J. Martinez, fax: (703) 696-2206, electronic mail: emartinez@darpa.mil. GENERAL INFORMATION: Proposers must obtain a pamphlet titled "BAA 00-08, Air-Coupled Acoustic Microsensor Technology, Proposer Information Pamphlet" which provides further information on the areas of interest, the submission, evaluation, and funding processes, proposal abstract formats, proposal formats, and other general information. This pamphlet may be obtained from the World Wide Web (WWW) at http://www.darpa.mil/baa or by fax, electronic mail, or mail request to the administrative contact address given below. Proposals not meeting the format described in the pamphlet may not be reviewed. In order to minimize necessary effort in proposal preparation and review, proposers are strongly encouraged to submit proposal abstracts in advance of full proposals. An original and nine (9) copies of the proposal abstract must besubmitted to DARPA/MTO, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714 (Attn.: BAA 00-08) on or before 4:00 p.m., local time, Monday, November 29, 1999. Proposal abstracts received after this time and date may not be reviewed. Upon review, DARPA will provide written feedback on the likelihood of a full proposal being selected and the time and date for submission of a full proposal. Proposers not submitting proposal abstracts must submit an original and nine (9) copies of the full proposal to DARPA/MTO, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714 (Attn.: BAA 00-08) on or before 4:00 p.m., local time, Tuesday, January 18, 2000, in order to be considered. This notice, in conjunction with the BAA 00-08 Proposer Information Pamphlet, constitutes the total BAA. No additional information is available, nor will a formal RFP or other solicitation regarding this announcement be issued. Requests for the same will be disregarded. The Government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received. All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal which shall be considered by DARPA. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals; however, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of research in air-coupled microsensor technology. All administrative correspondence and questions on this solicitation, including requests for information on how to submit a proposal abstract or full proposal to this BAA, should be directed to one of the administrative addresses below; e-mail or fax is preferred. DARPA intends to use electronic mail and fax for correspondence regarding BAA 00-08. Proposals and proposal abstracts may not be submitted by fax or e-mail; any so sent will be disregarded. DARPA encourages use of the WWW for retrieving the Proposer Information Pamphlet and any other related information that may subsequently be provided. EVALUATION CRITERIA: Evaluation of proposal abstracts and full proposals will be accomplished through a technical review of each proposal using the following criteria, which are listed in descending order of relative importance: (l) overall scientific and technical merit, (2) potential contribution and relevance to DARPA mission, (3) plans and capability to accomplish technology transition, (4) offeror's capabilities and related experience, and (5) cost realism. Note: cost realism will only be significant in proposals which have significantly under or over-estimated the cost to complete their effort. The administrative addresses for this BAA are: Fax: (703) 696-2206 (Addressed to: DARPA/MTO, BAA 00-08), Electronic Mail: BAA00-08@darpa.mil, and Mail: DARPA/MTO, ATTN: BAA 00-08, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714 . This announcement and the Proposer Information Pamphlet may be retrieved via the WWW at URL: http://www.darpa.mil/ in the solicitation area. Posted 10/25/99 (W-SN394628). (0298)

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