IN-VEHICLE ALCOHOL DETECTION TECHNOLOGIES

This effort is part of a five year program to be funded by ACTS and NHTSA. Please do not send any materials or questions to the NHTSA Primary Point of Contact. All materials and questions regarding this request may be directed to Dr. Susan Ferguson at 703-847-5317, or at sferguson@dadss.org. ******************************* General This Request for Information (RFI) seeks to solicit interest from companies with the expertise and capabilities to develop and demonstrate in-vehicle alcohol detection technologies that are less intrusive than present breath-based ignition interlocks. The technologies are envisioned as a key component of a system that can prevent vehicles from being driven when the drivers' blood alcohol concentration (BAC) exceeds a preset threshold. Description The Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) and the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration (NHTSA) have entered into a Cooperative Research Agreement, under the authority of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301, to develop in-vehicle alcohol detection technologies as one strategy to combat the problem of alcohol-impaired driving. This effort seeks to develop alcohol detection technologies that will quickly and accurately measure driver BAC noninvasively. These technologies will be a component of a system that can prevent the vehicle from being driven when the device registers that the driver's BAC exceeds the legal limit. Such devices ultimately must be compatible for mass-production at a moderate price, meet acceptable reliability levels, and be unobtrusive to the sober driver. The agreement seeks to assess the current state of impairment detection devices, and to support the development and testing of prototypes and subsequent hardware that may be installed in vehicles. The following are examples of current technologies that have potential application. Note that this list is not intended to be inclusive or exclusive, and companies are encouraged to propose other technologies for consideration: -Near infrared spectroscopy ----Alcohol and metabolized alcohol bi-products -Voice pattern recognition -Volatile gas analysis ----Rapid ambient air analysis -Transdermal Analysis ----Contact and evaporation sweat/perspiration analysis ----Transdermal blood gas analysis -Ocular Movement and ocular blood gas -Microwave analysis of bounded atmosphere -Sonar detection of fluid content variations -Touch/skin contact based diagnostics Requested Information This effort is part of a five year program to be funded by ACTS and NHTSA. Prospective sources possessing the qualifications, capability, and experience to respond to this RFI, are invited to submit documentation (no more than 15 pages) outlining the following items: 1. Company background and information, to include point of contact, address, e-mail, type of company, documentation of business status (e.g., incorporation status, annual reports, regulatory filings, proof of capitalization, or other relevant information). 2. Technical capabilities. 3. Relevant technology development experience and credentials. 4. Synopsis of experience and expertise of potential staff. 5. Description of the technology to be utilized and its state of development. 6. Relevant projects completed related to the anticipated objectives of the project with information on the client, scope, and products. 7. Government references from other relevant contracts if available. 8. Performance ratings received on other relevant contracts. 9. Description of available facilities to perform the work. Submission Instructions -Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI inclusive of answers to the requested information listed above. -ACTS reserves the right to review late submissions but makes no guarantee to the order of or possibility for review of late submissions. -Responses shall be limited to 15 pages in length single-spaced with font size twelve or larger and submitted via e-mail ONLY to RFI@dadss.org. -The responses shall be in Adobe PDF or Microsoft Word compatible format and are due no later than 5:00 PM (local Eastern Standard Time) on Monday May 5, 2008. Point of Contact Questions regarding this request may be directed to Dr. Susan Ferguson at 703-847-5317, or at sferguson@dadss.org.