Autonomous Systems Test Capability - Safety Environment, Engagement and Response (ASTC-SEER) System.

The U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) in support of the Project Manager Instrumentation, Targets and Threats Simulators (PM ITTS) presented a similar RFI posted January 24th 2017 (ref "W900KK-ASTC-E-Stop"). The Government intends to use this special notice to obtain responses through white papers that reflect current industry capabilities. White paper submissions shall provide possible technical solutions for all or part of the requirements identified below. The Government is requesting whitepapers from interested vendors that recommend a commercial approach to employ an independent intelligent stop to autonomous SUTs. Brief Description: ASTC-SEER is a system that will be used to mitigate safety concerns when conducting live testing of large, military size unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). The goal is to build a capability to continuously monitor UGVs and safely bring the system under test (SUT) to a safe state if unsafe behaviors or system faults are exhibited. ASTC-SEER desires to develop a safety monitoring hardware kit that uses the vehicle control system or soft-stop mechanism to bring the vehicle to a controlled, safe stop if a fault or violation is detected. Table 1 presents the function, description and threshold for intelligent stop capabilities. Table 1. Intelligent Stop Capabilities Function Description Threshold Communications - Onboard Health Monitoring The system shall have the capability to conduct onboard and remote monitoring of the autonomy's health information. The communication shall operate the parameters via the (Control Area Network) CAN Bus and Ethernet messages. Onboard monitoring and remote monitoring. Monitor a minimum of three "Follower" vehicles simultaneously that will follow a "Lead" vehicle. Communications -Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) The system shall monitor vehicle-to-vehicle communications and message traffic. Monitor V2V communications between a minimum of three "Follower" vehicles and one "Lead" vehicle. Agile Safety Zones - Geo-boundaries The system shall monitor the vehicle's location to detect a breach to pre-defined boundary constraints on a test range. Detect geo-boundary breach in less than or equal to 0.10 seconds. Agile Safety Zones - Mobile The system shall create a mobile safety zone ("hemispheric safety bubble"), with respect to other objects, of a size that may vary with the vehicle's speed and terrain characteristics. Mobile boundary encroachment detection in less than or equal to 0.10 seconds. The mobility safety zone size and shape shall be determined by modifiable, user-specified rules. Anomaly Detection The system shall detect system faults generated by the vehicle including critical mechanical and electrical anomalies that may lead to unsafe conditions. Detect anomaly in less than or equal to 0.25 seconds. Intelligent Stop The system shall engage an intelligent stop mechanism using emergency stop or soft-stop via combination of hardware and software functions if the vehicle's safety system fails or an anomaly is detected. Bring the vehicle to a controlled, safe stop that does not stress the abilities of the vehicle to perform stable mobility. In addition to addressing the above stated functions, responses should address the following: - 1. What required infrastructure would be required to implement recommended approach? - 2. What position-navigation-and-timing (PNT) source is recommended (e.g.; GPS, localized-PNT solution)? Does the solution organically produce the PNT information or rely on PNT information from another source? - 3. What is the recommended integration architecture of the intelligent stop kit with respect to the SUT autonomy controller and the SUT by-wire controller? Does the recommended solution have a completely organic health monitoring system interfacing with the SUT's autonomy controller or would the solution require the Government to provide additional health monitoring data to the solution through another source/interface? - 4. What is the recommended physical integration method on the SUT? Is it platform-specific? If not, what other types of platform can be integrate to? What are the space, weight, and power (SWAP) requirements of the solution? - 5. Explain how the recommended solution will be used for autonomous vehicles in other domains such as maritime (Unmanned Surface Vehicles)? - 6. Explain how the ASTC-SEER will be designed to minimize risk from cyber threats consistent with DoD Instruction 8500.01. Request: Interested parties are to provide whitepaper responses outlining technical solutions, capabilities, and critical cost and schedule drivers related to the above-mentioned functions and questions. Whitepapers should indicate those functions that the response satisfies currently and those functions that would require additional design and development efforts in order to satisfy the stated function. As part of the white paper response it is requested to provide a Rough Order of Magnitude. The cover page of the response shall include the company name, Commercial Activity Government Entity (CAGE) Code, address, point of contact including phone number and email address, as well as the small business status of the responding company. There is no specified format for the white papers but they shall be limited to no greater than 20 pages and shall address the functions and questions. Font size shall not be smaller than 12-point Times New Roman. Responses: Responses shall be due no later than 3:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on 26 July 2019. The responses shall be emailed to the Contracts Specialist, Ms. Patsy Beraha, Patsy.Beraha.civ@mail.mil with a courtesy copy to Assistant Program Manager, Mr. Tom Montgomery, William.T.Montgomery34.civ@mail.mil. Disclaimer: This notice does not constitute an invitation for bids or a request for proposal and is not a commitment by the U.S. Government to procure subject products or services nor will the Government reimburse any parties for costs associated with this request. The Government will use the information received to forge its acquisition strategy. Additionally, all submissions become government property and will not be returned. No basis for a claim against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this RFI.