USSOCOM seeks academic partner for tech development

On November 7, the U.S. Special Operations Command posted a request for information about access to applied research and advanced technology development that can be uniquely supplied with a relationship with a dedicated academic partner. Responses are due by 12:00 p.m. Eastern on November 23.

USSOCOM requires access to applied research (as defined in FAR 35.001) and advanced technology development that can be uniquely supplied with a relationship with a dedicated academic partner. Furthermore, USSOCOM intends to develop a relationship allowing an Academic Institution within the MacDill AFB geographical area to provide potential interns, classified work spaces, senior level engineering capstone projects, and to collaborate with other National Academic Institutions in exploring the following USSOCOM primary concepts/capabilities:

• Autonomous Systems: Encompasses Research and Development (R&D) in the supporting disciplines of computer vision, natural language processing, control systems, mapping, navigation, and other machine learning and artificial intelligence methods. Particular focus includes open hardware/software systems and commercial-off-the-shelf technology with associated modifications.
• Human Performance Enhancement: R&D support in various biomedical engineering disciplines including, but not limited to: nutrition and diet; exercise, training, and recovery.
• Cyber and Electromagnetic Security: Includes development of measures in the cyber and electromagnetic domain to protect a computer or computer systems against unauthorized access or attack from both traditional computer systems and networks as well as corresponding weapon embedded/subsystems.
• Transportation and Energy Infrastructure: Encompasses R&D of next generation transportation, energy and logistics capabilities, to include transit and transportation demand management, associated operations and safety research; connected and autonomous vehicle technology; renewable energy along with transmission and storage technologies; and other smart city and smart grid technologies. Provides access to notable, related academic research capabilities.
• Tags: Encompasses development, deployment, and sustainment of integrated information systems.
• Sensors: Encompasses development, deployment, and sustainment of integrated information systems including the integration of technical components, information technology components, organizational components and documentation in support of technologies that provide persistent surveillance unattended ground sensor systems, tactical surveillance systems, and force protection systems.
• Biometrics/Personnel Identification: Encompasses development, deployment, and sustainment of integrated information systems including the integration of technical components, information technology components, organizational components and documentation in support of technologies used to collect, analyze and distribute various physical parameters used to identify personnel focusing on a small form factor capability to rapidly identify (< 2 minutes) personnel at short to long distances in all environmental conditions.
• Signals Intelligence (SIGINT): Encompasses development, deployment, and sustainment of integrated information systems including the integration of technical components, information technology components, organizational components and documentation in support of technologies concentrating on Radio Frequency (RF) communications intercept and location.
• Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination (PED): Encompasses development, deployment, and sustainment of integrated information systems.
• Operations Research and Data Analytics: Involves techniques and methods to solve complex decision making problems in military settings, including but not limited to analysis of alternatives, logistics, scheduling, modeling and simulation, traditional operations research disciplines, optimization algorithms and statistical analysis, large scale data analytics using machine learning, and probabilistic techniques for predictive analytics applications.
• Mission Related R&D: Mission related and public service-oriented research, technology development, test, evaluation, and system analysis (other special operations-related capabilities and topics of importance to DoD) through the application of the above core competencies, along with the complementary capabilities.
• Limited Production and Sustainment: Produce limited quantities of core competency-related hardware and software. Limited production may involve use of Academic Institutions’ advanced additive manufacturing capabilities including delivery of associated initial spares, documentation, and ancillary equipment.
• Academic Capstone Collaboration: Involves building collaborative relationships with other Academic Institutions to allow USSOCOM the ability to reach across the broader intellect of the United States to work on problems and technology needs of the Command.

Full information is available here.

Source: FedBizOpps