A -- Micro Inertial Navigation Technology (MINT)

DARPA is soliciting innovative research and development (R&D) proposals in the area of Micro Inertial Navigation Technology (MINT). Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice. The overall goal of this program is to create navigation sensors that use secondary inertial variables, such as velocity, to enable long term precise navigation that a traditional IMU equipped only with accelerometers and gyros cannot accomplish. This program seeks the creation of micro and nano scale low-power navigation sensors that allow long term (hours to days) GPS denied precision navigation. The sensors should be small enough to be placed in small compartments, such as the shoe sole or small UAVs, where zero relative velocity measurement may be accomplished with high accuracy. The power consumption of the sensors should be small, ideally compatible with energy harvested during locomotion, so that the weight load due to batteries powering the sensors is minimized. The sensor technology should work over wide temperature range and shock environment that is typical in DOD applications DARPA Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) No. 07-53, entitled "Micro Inertial Navigation Technology (MINT)," is provided as an attachment to this solicitation notice and includes information on the specific areas of interest; the submission process; abstract and proposal formats; evaluation and selection/funding processes; as well as all other pertinent administrative and contractual information. The BAA may be obtained from the FedBizOpps website: http://www.fedbizopps.gov/, Grants.gov website: http://www.grants.gov/, World Wide Web (WWW) at URL http://www.darpa.mil/mto (go to "solicitation" area) or by fax, electronic mail, or mail request to the administrative contact address given below. Proposals not meeting the format or following the submission instructions described in the BAA may not be reviewed. PROPOSER'S QUESTIONS A "Proposer's Questions," website will be posted for BAA 07-53 on the DARPA, Microsystems Technology Office solicitations page (www.darpa.mil/baa/#eto). If you would like to have a question answered and posted on this site, please send your question to the following address: BAA07-53@darpa.mil.