Virtual Human Integration supporting Intelligent Tutoring / Adaptive Training (IT/AT)

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM SBIR 21.4 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Small Business Opportunity (SBO) Announcement May 19, 2021: SBO issued for pre-release June 16, 2021: Army begins accepting proposals July 8, 2021: Deadline for receipt of proposals no later than 12:00 p.m. ET IMPORTANT Deadline for Receipt: Proposals must be completely submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. ET, July 8, 2021. Proposals submitted after 12:00 p.m. will not be evaluated. The final proposal submission includes successful completion of all firm level forms, all required volumes, and electronic corporate official certification. Classified proposals will not be accepted under the DoD SBIR Program. This BAA and the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) sites are designed to reduce the time and cost required to prepare a formal proposal. The DSIP is the official portal for DoD SBIR/STTR proposal submission. Proposers are required to submit proposals via DSIP; proposals submitted by any other means will be disregarded. Proposers submitting through this site for the first time will be asked to register. The Small Business Administration, through its SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, purposely departs from normal Government solicitation formats and requirements and authorizes agencies to simplify the SBIR/STTR award process and minimize the regulatory burden on small business. Therefore, consistent with the SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, the Department of Defense is soliciting proposals as a Broad Agency Announcement. SBIR/STTR Updates and Notices: To be notified of SBIR/STTR opportunities and to receive e-mail updates on the DoD SBIR and STTR Programs, you are invited to subscribe to our Listserv by visiting https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login and clicking - DSIP Listserv located under Quick Links. 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If information provided during an exchange with the topic author is deemed necessary for proposal preparation, that information will be made available to all parties through DSIP Topic Q&A module. Once the Army begins accepting proposals on June 16, 2021, no further direct contact between proposers and topic authors is allowed unless the Topic Author is responding to a question submitted during the pre-release period. However, proposers may submit written questions through the DSIP Topic Q&A module at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login. The DSIP Topic Q&A for this BAA opens on June 2, 2021 and closes to new questions on June 23, 2021 at 12:00PM ET. Once the BAA closes to proposal submission, no communication of any kind with the topic author or through Topic Q&A regarding your submitted proposal is allowed. This Small Business Opportunity (SBO) is issued under the Army Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for SBIR/STTR 21.4. All proposals in response to the technical area(s) described herein will be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided under 21.4, found here: a. Eligibility The eligibility requirements for the SBIR/STTR programs are unique and do not correspond to those of other small business programs. Please refer to Section 3.1, Eligible Applicants, of BAA 21.4 for full eligibility requirements. Multiple venture capital operating companies (VCOCs), hedge funds, or private equity funds who own a majority part of a company, are not eligible to apply under this BAA. Companies that are more than 50% directly owned and controlled by one or more individuals (who are citizens or permanent resident aliens of the United States), and have VCOCs, hedge fund, or private equity funds who whole a minority stake in the business are eligible to apply under this BAA. b. Anticipated Structure/Award Information Please refer to Section 1, Funding Opportunity Description, provided in BAA 21.4 for detailed information regarding SBIR/STTR phase structure and flexibility. For this SBO Department of the Army will accept Phase II proposals for the cost of up to $750,000 for a 18- month period of performance. Proposers should refer to Section 4, Application and Submission information, of BAA 21.4 for detailed proposal preparation instructions. Proposals that do not comply with the requirements detailed in BAA 21.4 and the research objectives of this SBO are considered non-conforming and therefore are not evaluated nor considered for award. Phase II proposals shall not exceed 15 pages for the technical volume. Proposers can submit an optional slide deck of 10 slides in Volume 5: Supporting Documents. The slide deck can contain information on the technical approach, the team, commercialization plans, or relevant technology/research the proposers have developed, and it can contain additional/complementary information to the technical volume. If a proposer elects to submit a slide deck, its information will be used in the evaluation process. Please refer to Appendix A and Appendix B of BAA 21.4 for detailed instructions on proposal preparation. More detailed instructions for what information to include in your Phase I proposal and a sample Slide Deck template are attached to this SBO. Discretionary Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) will not be offered under this SBO c. Evaluation of Proposals Section 5, Evaluation of Proposals, in BAA 21.4 provides detailed information on proposal evaluation and the selection process for this SBO. d. Due Date/Time Full proposal packages (Proposal Cover Sheet, Technical Volume, Price/Cost Volume inclusive of supporting documentation, Company Commercialization Report (CCR), optional slide deck in Supporting Information, and Fraud, Waste and Abuse documentation) must be submitted via the DoD SBIR/STTR Proposal Submission website per the instructions outlined in BAA 21.4 Section 4.3 Electronic Submission no later than July 8, 2021 at 12:00pm ET. A214-036 Virtual Human Integration supporting Intelligent Tutoring / Adaptive Training (IT/AT) OBJECTIVE: Develop, demonstrate, and deliver a solution for computer controlled virtual human entities as well as intelligent tutoring systems to simulate realistic behavior and scenarios, evaluate Soldier training performance, provide feedback, and tailor training scenarios to optimize Soldier performance. DESCRIPTION: Soldiers are constantly training, and the Army is always looking for ways to make them more effective. The creation of a synthetic training environment that will interact with users, and enhance live training, is a critical Army modernization priority. The goal is to create a system that can train skills to multiple Soldiers simultaneously, using realistic and dynamic virtual reality/augmented reality scenarios. This type of training will enable our Soldiers to train together, even when geographically separated, and help them make better decisions faster. The ultimate end state: improved outcomes on the battlefield. Current synthetic training environments are constrained by intelligent entities that are not as realistic or responsive as desired. The U.S. Army is looking for the implementation of virtual humans with natural behaviors as well as intelligent entities to act as Subject Matter Experts (SME) to tutor the Soldiers by providing feedback, guidance, and if necessary, demonstrate a defined skill for the Soldier. Simulations should focus on interfacing synthetic entities with intelligent tutoring functionality to support coaching and feedback functions. Systems should provide dynamic simulation adjustments, reinforce decision making, identify performance gaps, and determine the appropriate level of interaction/challenge for the next training event based on previous interactions. The intelligent tutoring / adaptive training solution will occur in a Virtual Reality (VR) environment to use realistic training scenarios and will be accessible remotely to Soldiers. Improving intelligent entities to be more responsive, fluid and adaptable will enable identification of individualized end user performance struggles and learning gaps. This will allow the intelligent tutoring entities to adjust scenarios and modify the difficulty level as required for each training iteration. Capabilities of this solution could include (but are not limited to): 1. Ability to interact with multi-user training audiences to provide realistic interactions in the way of standard speech patterns, defined work actions, emotional reactions, and reactivity 2. Training scenarios should allow the Soldier to rehearse and run multiple engagements to prepare them for future activity in a Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) environment 1. Dynamic behaviors that react to users decision processes with fluidity and account for group behavior 2. Customizable and scalable Patterns of Life (POL) activities to include cultural activities and norms 3. Applicable with the Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring (GIFT) 4. Designed with an open architecture format to facilitate integration into the Army's Training Management Tool (TMT) and the Training Simulation System (TSS) 5. Software solution that can be integrated with future hardware PHASE I: Design proof of concept solution for monitoring and providing feedback for Soldier performance, and modify training scenarios. Solutions will be evaluated based on a holistic view of factors including: the ability to integrate with existing government software such as STE TMT or TSS, cost of development, ability to adapt based on individual Soldiers needs or scenarios, and any additional factors proposed. Final deliverable will be a concept design presentation, proof of technology demonstration, and plans for follow-on Phase 2 work. DIRECT-TO-PHASE-II proposals must provide documentation to substantiate that the scientific and technical merit and feasibility described in the Phase I section of this topic has been met and describes the potential commercial applications of the solution. This could be accomplished through the use of GIFT or other intelligent tutoring system technology. Soldier touchpoint will be provided free of charge. Proposers that plan to participate in the Soldier touchpoint (if awarded a Phase II) are encouraged to include travel costs for three touchpoints, within the continental US, of 1-2 days each for in-person event. In-person events may be substituted for virtual events depending on COVID-19 travel restrictions. Details will be provided to awardees under this topic at Phase I award. PHASE II: Design a prototype demonstration of virtual human entities simulation for future integration into the Army's Synthetic Training Environment. Solution shall contain all capabilities listed above, as well as any additional features proposed by the vendor, and will be evaluated on a holistic basis including: the ability to integrate with existing government software such as TMT or TSS, cost of development, ability to adapt based on individual Soldiers needs or scenarios, and any additional factors proposed. Confirmation of training effectiveness through product verification shall be demonstrated. Accurate models for measuring performance, valid feedback and scenario adaptation logic, and experiments to determine type of intervention shall confirm that technology is viable and meaningful within the environment. Phase II deliverables include a demonstration and delivery of a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 prototype for further Army evaluation, as well as quarterly and final reports detailing design and performance analysis of the prototype. PHASE III: The objective of Phase III, where appropriate, is for the small business to pursue commercialization objectives through the effort. Companies may develop a manufacturing-ready product design, capable of integration with the existing or future platform, and demonstrate technology integration. Companies will engage in laboratory or operational testing as required. Potential commercial uses include video game design, AR/VR industries, realistic video game environments. Phase III deliverables include system-level integration technical data package, installation documentation, and system-level prototype for demonstration and government-sponsored testing The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b(7) of the solicitation. WEBINAR DATES: Wednesday, June 2nd, 2021 10:00 am CT Please register for webinars at: https://it_at_webinar.eventbrite.com Links to video recordings of the webinars will be posted in the DSIP portal in the days following each. KEYWORDS: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Intelligent Entities, Intelligent tutoring, Adaptive, STE, Synthetic Training Environment, Scenario based, Natural Language Processing. REFERENCES 1. Intelligent Tutoring - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_tutoring_system#:~:text=An%20intelligent%20tutoring%20 system%20(ITS,intervention%20from%20a%20human%20teacher. 2. Patterns of Life (POL) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern-of-life_analysis 3. Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) - https://adminpubs.tradoc.army.mil/pamphlets/TP525-3-1.pdf 4. Generalized Intelligent Framework for tutoring (GIFT) - https://gifttutoring.org/projects/gift/wiki/Overview 5. Adaptive Tutoring - https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA612782.pdf 6. Synthetic Training Environment (STE) - https://www.peostri.army.mil/synthetic-training-environment-ste/ 7. Training Management Tools (TMT) - https://www.peostri.army.mil/tsis-2020-iitsec-update-pm-se 8. Training Simulation Software (TSS) - https://www.peostri.army.mil/tsis-2020-iitsec-update-pm-se Author Information Technical POC Name: Brad Friedman Second Technical POC: Gregory Julock https://calendly.com/tpoc-itat/30min. Webinar Information Webinar #1: Wednesday, June 2nd, 2021 10:00 am CT https://it_at_webinar.eventbrite.com