Automated Management of Maritime Navigation Safety
Navy SBIR 2020.1 - Topic N201-059 NAVSEA - Mr. Dean Putnam - [email protected] Opens: January 14, 2020 - Closes: February 26, 2020 (8:00 PM ET)
TECHNOLOGY
AREA(S): Ground/Sea Vehicles ACQUISITION
PROGRAM: PMS 406, Unmanned Maritime Systems Program Office. The
technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in
Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and
import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive
technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts
730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use
of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or
work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for
accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 3.5 of the Announcement.
Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be
restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. OBJECTIVE:
Develop software or a combination of software and hardware that enable an
Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) to tailor its navigation safety active emissions
and passive signatures to the current situation based on broad guidance given
days earlier by a distant controlling station. DESCRIPTION:
Unmanned Vessels should be able to present an appearance that is appropriate to
the current local situation. For example, a USV transiting through
pirate-infested waters may seek to minimize its signatures to avoid attracting
unwanted attention and a potential boarding. At the other extreme, a USV with a
relatively low signature may want to increase its visibility in a high-traffic
area to give other vessels more time to react to its presence. The USV may only
be in intermittent communications with a distant oversight station, or
communications may be completely severed. Therefore, the USV must be able to
take the most recent broad guidance received and use it to adapt to the current
local situation without real-time human assistance. The signature management
may be limited to controlling radiofrequency (RF) emissions, but it may also
include installing and operating hardware such as a hoisted radar reflector.
Current manned vessels can and do manage their signatures, but the
decision-making is done by people on those vessels. Research, development, and
innovation are required to enable unmanned vessels to perform this function.
The concept can be a novel way to reduce or enhance a particular signature, or
it can be software for a USV to manage the signature that it presents, or both.
Signature enhancement or reduction could be focused in one direction from the
USV, or it could be an overall enhancement/reduction. Companies must include
the expected scope of the Phase II effort in their Phase I proposals. Performance
and technical requirements will be based on the solution that is proposed. PHASE I:
Provide a concept to solve the stated Navy problem and demonstrate the
feasibility of that concept. At the end of Phase I, deliver a technical report
including analysis showing how the concept would work and documenting its
expected effectiveness. If the concept is for signature enhancement/reduction,
its effectiveness should be measured in terms of expected percentage or dB
enhancement/reduction as well as radians of coverage (2D case) or steradians of
coverage (3D case) for the signature change. If the concept is for signature
management software, its effectiveness should be measured in terms of expected
probability of matching a desired signature and expected time latency in
changing the vessel�s signature. If practical and advantageous, conduct limited
sub-scale prototyping and testing ashore or on a surrogate vessel. PHASE II:
Produce two prototype systems for testing and evaluation. If the solution is
entirely a software product, integrate it with two different USVs using an
Interface Control Document (ICD) supplied by Navy at the beginning of Phase II.
Finish prototypes within three months prior to the end of Phase II, with the
last three months of Phase II devoted to testing and demonstration of the
prototypes. If the prototype includes any software, ensure that it complies
with the Unmanned Maritime Autonomy Architecture (UMAA), which the Navy will
provide at the beginning of Phase II. PHASE III
DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Support the Navy in transitioning the technology for
Navy use. Ensure that, at the end, the Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV)
and/or the Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle (LUSV) will have better control of
its signatures even though the final product will vary based on the proposed
solution. Deliver an integrated and tested hardware and software solution.
(Note: Navy will provide ICDs in a timely fashion to support software
integration.) Validate the product in a series of in-port tests followed by
at-sea testing in a variety of conditions, depending on the nature of the
solution. For example, if the solution changes the vessel�s appearance to an
Electro-Optical sensor, then testing would occur in day and night conditions,
clear visibility, haze, and fog. REFERENCES: 1. Daya,
Zahir A., Hutt, Daniel L. and Richard, Troy C. �Maritime electromagnetism and
DRDC signature management research.� Defence R and D Canada Atlantic Dartmouth,
NS, 2005. https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/1005158.pdf 2. Thompson,
J., Vaitekunas, D. and Brooking, B. "Signature management-The pursuit of
stealth lowering warship signatures: Electromagnetic and infrared."
Proceedings of Signature Management-The Pursuit of Stealth Conference, 2000. http://www.wrdavis.com/docs/papers/lowering_warship_signatures.pdf KEYWORDS:
Vessel Signature Management; Vessel Radar Cross-Section; Vessel Infrared
Signature; Vessel Radiated Noise; Vessel Electromagnetic Signature; USV
Autonomy
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