Man-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T)

SOURCES SOUGHT TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION FOR SERVICES TEMPLATE INTRODUCTION The Army Contracting Command - Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG) is issuing this sources sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support the requirement for Army Science Board Request for Information Man-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T). The intention is to procure these services on a competitive basis BASED ON THE RESPONSES TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE/MARKET RESEARCH, THIS REQUIREMENT MAY BE SET-ASIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES OR PROCURED THROUGH FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION. All Small Business Set-Aside categories will be considered. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. DISCLAIMER "THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A "REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)" TO BE SUBMITTED. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY. RESPONSES WILL NOT BE RETURNED TO THE RESPONDER. NOT RESPONDING TO THIS NOTICE DOES NOT PRECLUDE PARTICIPATION IN ANY FUTURE REQUEST FOR QUOTE (RFQ) OR INVITATION FOR BID (IFB) OR RFP, IF ANY ISSUED. IF A SOLICITATION IS RELEASED, IT WILL BE SYNOPSIZED ON THE GOVERNMENT-WIDE POINT OF ENTRY (GPE). IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF POTENTIAL OFFERORS TO MONITOR THE GPE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMMATION PERTAINING TO THIS REQUIREMENT." PROGRAM BACKGROUND Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C., Appendix, as amended), the Sunshine in Government Act of 1976 (U.S.C. 552b, as amended) and 41 Code of the Federal Regulations (CFR 102-3.140 through 160) the Department of the Army requests industry information on products, science and technology (S&T) research, operational concepts, and mission support innovations to support Army Man-Unmanned Teaming concepts. No funds are available for any proposal or information submission and submitting information does not bind the Army for any future contracts/grants resulting from this request for information: (a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. (b) Although "proposal" and "offeror" are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. (c) This solicitation is issued for the purpose of: market research. The Army Science Board is requesting information from organizations external to the Army that will help the board complete its analysis and ensure that all viable sources of information are explored. Based on information submitted in response to this request, the Army Science Board may subsequently conduct additional market research. To supplement the information developed in previous studies and otherwise available to the Board, organizations are invited to submit information on products or technologies to support Man-Unmanned Teaming. The Army Science Board (ASB) is conducting a 2018 study on "Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T)". A MUM-T system consists of a human operator or supervisor interacting with a robotic and autonomous system (RAS) vehicle as a team to achieve defined objectives. Principal objectives of this study include: (1) developing insights into critical MUM-T capability needs and Concepts of Operation (CONOPS) for MUM-T concepts to be operationally effective, and (2) understanding technical, operational and human challenges to satisfy the capability needs and implement the CONOPS. The Terms of Reference (TOR) for the study is provided in the Supplemental Information provided below. MUM-T concepts of interest include those that operate in the ground, air, cyber, electronic warfare (EW) and/or multiple domains. Effective MUM-T operations will be dependent on viable solutions to the following capability needs: resilient communications between human operators and RAS within dense electromagnetic and EW environments; RAS autonomous algorithms for terrain maneuvering, obstacle avoidance, and recognition/identification of targets or other objects of interest; sensors and sensor fusion techniques for developing shared situational awareness (SA) between human and RAS and for providing essential input to the autonomous algorithms; dynamic reallocation of cognitive functions between human and RAS in response to changing operational conditions; and human-RAS interactions for reducing operator cognitive burden and optimizing human-RAS team performance. If your organization has the potential capacity to perform these contract services, please provide the following information: 1) Organization name, address, email address, Web site address, telephone number, and size and type of ownership for the organization; and 2) Tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements. The Government will evaluate market information to ascertain potential market capacity to: 1) provide services consistent, in scope and scale, with those described in this notice and otherwise anticipated; 2) secure and apply the full range of corporate financial, human capital, and technical resources required to successfully perform similar requirements; 3) implement a successful project management plan that includes: compliance with tight program schedules; cost containment; meeting and tracking performance; hiring and retention of key personnel and risk mitigation; and 4) provide services under a performance based service acquisition contract. ELIGIBILITY The applicable NAICS code for this requirement is 541712 with a Small Business Size Standard of 500 employees. The Product Service Code is R408. Businesses of all sizes are encouraged to respond; however, each respondent must clearly identify their business size in their capabilities statement. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND SUBMISSION DETAILS (CAPABILITIES STATEMENT) Background. The Terms of Reference (ToR) provided by the Office of the Secretary of the Army directs the Army Science Board (ASB) to undertake a 2018 Study on "Man Unmanned Teaming." In accordance with the ToR, the MUM-T study team has been asked to postulate and characterize ground and air MUM-T concepts that offer potential solutions to difficult Army warfighting challenges; analyze the operational effectiveness of these concepts, with sensitivities to key MUM-T capabilities and performance parameters, evaluate doctrinal, operational and human interaction issues for effective deployment of the MUM-T concepts and identify technology needs to mitigate these issues, assess the adequacy of the Army S& T portfolio to satisfy the technology needs and offer suggestions for improvement, recommend MUM-T system and system-of-systems architectural frameworks that will facilitate continuous improvement in cognitive functionality of the unmanned system and human-machine teaming synergies, and propose time-phased schedules for experimentation, prototyping and development of the MUM-T concepts. Interested parties are requested to submit a capabilities statement of no more than ten (10) pages in length in Times New Roman font of not less than 10 pitch. The deadline for response to this request is no later than 2 pm, EST, 31 MAY 2018. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be e-mailed to contact@example.gov This documentation must address at a minimum the following items: 1.) What type of work has your company performed in the past in support of the same or similar requirement? 2.) Can or has your company managed a task of this nature? If so, please provide details. 3.) Can or has your company managed a team of subcontractors before? If so, provide details. 4.) What specific technical skills does your company possess which ensure capability to perform the tasks? 5.) Please note that under a Small-Business Set-Aside, in accordance with FAR 52.219-14, the small business prime must perform at least 50% of the work themselves in terms of the cost of performance. Provide an explanation of your company's ability to perform at least 50% of the tasking. 6.) Provide a statement including current small/large business status and company profile to include number of employees, annual revenue history, office locations, DUNs number, etc. 7.) Respondents to this notice also must indicate whether they qualify as a Small, Small Disadvantaged, Women-Owned, HUBZone, or Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern. 8.) Include in your response your ability to meet the requirements in the Facility and Safeguarding requirements. 9.) What MUM-T concepts are currently being evaluating or in development that offer potential solutions to Army warfighting challenges? 10.) What are the most significant technical, operational, or other DOTMLPF challenges that must be resolved for these concepts to be operationally effective? 11.) What research & development (R&D), either contracted or internally-funded, is being conducted to define or develop technically mature solutions to these challenges? 12.) What is your assessment of relevant Army 6.1-6.4 funded work to address these challenges? 13.) What additional work would you suggest the Army R&D community pursue if funding were made available? 14.) What contract type would you recommend for this effort? Why? All Proposers should review the NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL SECURITY PROGRAM OPERATING MANUAL, (NISPOM), dated February 28, 2006, as it provides the baseline standards for the protection of classified information and prescribes the requirements concerning Contractor Development information under paragraph 4-105. Defense Security Service (DSS) Site for the NISPOM is: http://www.dss.mil/isp/fac_clear/download_nispom.html. The proposed contract is anticipated to include tasking that would be accomplished by labor categories that are subject to the Service Contract Act or a collective bargaining agreement. Upon evaluation of the capability statements, if it is determined that this requirement will be an unrestricted competition, the Government intends to evaluate the Small-Business responses and conduct further market research to identify a subcontracting goal. Your response to this Sources Sought, including any capabilities statement, shall be electronically submitted to the Contract Specialist, Jerry Simmons, in either Microsoft Word or Portable Document Format (PDF), via email contact@example.gov. All data received in response to this Sources Sought that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary will be fully protected from any release outside the Government. No phone calls will be accepted. All questions must be submitted to the contract specialist identified above. The Government is not committed nor obligated to pay for the information provided, and no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought.