A--DEVELOPMENT OF IMAGING HYPERSPECTRAL ELECTRO-OPTICAL SENSOR AND ALGORITHM TECHNOLOGY FOR AIRBORNE MINEFIELD DETECTION (Correction)

NA REVISED: The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) Acquisition Center-Washington (CAC-W) on behalf of the US Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command, Communications and Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CE RDEC), Science and Technology Division, Countermine Branch, is conducting market research to identify contractors having qualifications and capabilities to conduct research and development of imaging hyperspectral airborne sensor and associated processing technology as discussed below. Contractors should have demonstrated experience in airborne mine detection. Contractors must have the capability to collect airborne hyperspectral sensor imagery with existing assets on a contractor furnished airframe, and h ave the technical personnel and lab capability to further develop and modify sensors as described below. The goal of this research and development effort is to test and assess hyperspectral sensor technologies and algorithms which provide phenomenology and signature exploitation for detection of surface-laid and recently-buried metal and plastic antitank landmines from an airborne platform. The general approach is to perform airborne data collections over multiple government-supplied test sites to develop a landmine signature database, perform analysis on these and other hyperspectral both for sensor evaluation and to design optimized algorithms for mine detection and clutter rejection, provide georegistered imagery and detection statistics to the government for analysis and scoring, evaluate and modify sensor designs based on test results . Ultimately the goal is to provide recommended sensor design specifications and optimized mine/clutter detection algorithms to the follow-on 6.3 effort. The Government con siders this to be a 24-month effort, to start in 2QFY04 (subject to availability of funds). Performance Objectives: Sensor spectral ranges: 400-2300 nm preferred, 400-800 nm necessary for VNIR sensor, 8-11 um for LWIR sensor; capability to add color linesc anner boresighted with other sensors; VNIR/SWIR sensor spectral resolution less than or equal to 10 nm; LWIR sensor spectral resolution less than or equal to 75 nm; number of spectral bands greater than or equal to 40; platform altitude greater than or equ al to 1,000 feet; pixel resolution on ground less than or equal to 5 inches swath width on ground greater than 200 feet; georeference image pixel location error less than or equal to 3 meter. Technical Thrusts: (a) Airborne data collections with currently existing hyperspectral (LWIR, VNIR/SWIR) and active airborne imaging sensors. The system must currently be capable of collecting VNIR hyperspectral data (400-800 nm), with capability to extend to the SWIR (400-2300 nm) (b) Also capable to perform airborne data collections with LWIR hyperspectral (8-12 um) and a VNIR/SWIR active imag ing sensor (c) Signal processing and automatic target detection for landmine signature characterization and phenomenology understanding; must develop capability for sub-pixel ta rget detection, (d) Modifications to existing sensor hardware as government det ermines from results of processing test imagery. Tests and Demonstrations: During this 24 month effort the contractor shall pursue the technical objectives listed above. In thi s effort the contractor shall demonstrate the specified performance of the airborne sensor testbed in the laboratory prior to the field demonstration. In the field, the testbed shall be capable of collecting the airborne hyperspectral imagery with associat ed georeference data using a differential Global Positioning System. The contractor shall perform field tests over Government chosen test sites and collect data over Government-furnished foreign and US antitank landmines with fuzes removed. The first test shall be conducted no later than 6 months after the contract start date. The contractor must make arrangements for installing the sensor and obtaining airworthi ness for the hardware on the airborne platform. In following years, 1-2 tests shall be performed per year, including blind target areas at each test site. This is NOT a request for proposal. Contractors who can satisfy the Government requirements are urged to provide by close of business 21 November 2003, documentation supporting the claim that the contractor presently has the capabilities to perform the required work. This documentation should include resumes of the relevant technical and management person nel, a detailed description of contractor experience in development of hyperspectral sensor and algorithm technology for landmine detection, and other evidence supporting the claim. The Government will consider all responses submitted on time. The contract or shall be responsible for any costs associated with preparing responses. A response shall be no longer than twenty (20) pages, excluding resumes. All responses shall be prepared in MS Word and submitted to the CECOM Acquisition Center-Washington Contract ing Officer via email at contact@example.gov