Advanced Technology Evaluation of Unmanned Maritime Vehicles for ship hull inspection.

HULSFEST ANNOUNCEMENT This is to announce that the U.S. Navy EOD program office and the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division will be hosting an advanced technology evaluation of unmanned maritime vehicles for ship hull inspection missions as part of a market research effort. Purpose: The purpose of this event will be to evaluate the technical feasibility of candidate technologies in conducting underwater ship hull object inspection and localization missions in support of the Navy EOD Ship Hull Object Localization System (HULS) acquisition program. This marine environment offers a tremendous challenge to mechanized solutions due to generally poor acoustic propagation, and the intensely demanding navigation and control requirements placed upon any vehicle attempting to conduct a thorough ship hull search. The Navy is interested in exploring new technologies, both organic and mechanized, to increase search efficiency, while minimizing risk to personnel and high value platforms. This event will examine potential hull inspection technologies and aid in developing a final system Performance Specification to support future procurement of a HULS system. It will also allow early industry involvement in a contemplated U.S. Navy procurement. Participation in th! is event will not ensure any contractual agreement with the government however; it will greatly aid the government in the development of a future EOD HULS. Tentative Dates: 20-24 Feb 2006 - Setup/Rehearsals 27 Feb -03 Mar 2006 - Demonstrations Location: SPAWAR Systems Center's Bayside pier facilities, San Diego, CA Mission/Scenario/Key Performance Parameters: The mission of the HULS system will be to relieve divers of the time-consuming search tasks and yield reliable maps with information on threat objects on areas of interest. The system must also be capable of accurately returning to object locations for closer inspection/identification purposes, enabling operators to rule out objects of non-interest, and provide tactical information in terms of countering an ordnance threat. It is desired that an unmanned maritime vehicle be able to autonomously maneuver near a ship's hull and then conduct a complete scan of the vertical section of the hull down to the keel, and from bow to stern, to precisely map objects of interest. While the vehicle conducts its mission, data will then be sent real-time or near real-time to a topside control unit. Operators at the control unit will have the ability to view data to classify and identify any detected objects of interest. Additionally, mission data should be recorded for later playback a! nd analysis. All mission data will be provided to the government to facilitate analysis. Key performance parameters of interest include: - Detection and classification of targets (probability of detection/classification, and false alarms); - Navigational accuracy (contact localization accuracy); - Hull search rate; - Reliability and - Vehicle portability (system must be easily and rapidly deployable from either a small boat or from a shore location near the ship). Ship Information: Demonstrations will be conducted on a 130 ft long, steel hull, twin screw Oceanographic research vessel moored next to concrete/wood/steel pier. A flat bottom barge will also be available for workups and practice runs. Notification of Interest: Request interested parties for this event provide Company/Organization Name, Personnel contact name(s), Address, Telephone Number, e-mail address, Technical brief of their candidate technology - no longer than 3 pages; no later than 01 Dec 2005. The technical brief shall describe the technology and must address the key performance parameters discussed above. Demonstration Process: It is the Government's intent to allow all interested parties to conduct a demontration. However, due to funding and time contraints, the Government reserves the right to limit the number of demonstrations. The Government will schedule demonstrations based on the merits of the information provided in the technical briefs. Planning Meeting: Approximately one to two months prior to the event, a coordination meeting will be held at Spawar System Center, San Diego to address questions, view demonstration facilities, and resolve any logistical issues. Questions: Any advance questions and/or comments pertaining to this event may be sent through the Technical POC's. Funding: The government does not intend to provide any funding to technology vendors to specifically support this event. Technical POC's: Mr. Brian Granger SPAWAR Systems Center - San Diego, Code 2746 phone: +1 (555) 000-0000 email: contact@example.gov Mr Richard Arrieta SPAWAR Systems Center - San Diego, Code 2744 phone: +1 (555) 000-0000 email: contact@example.gov Administration POC's Ms. Audrey Cosgrove NAVSEA Indian Head Indian Head, MD 20640 Phone: +1 (555) 000-0000 Email: contact@example.gov