Notice

Competition document: semi-autonomous reconnaissance vehicles for the Army

Updated 15 May 2019

1. Introduction

This Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) competition is seeking proposals that can deliver unmanned semi-autonomous forward reconnaissance assets controlled from manned mobile assets (a concept known as Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T)). These systems can be ground or air based and need to be controlled from either ground based armoured platforms such as Ajax, Warrior or Challenger, or air based platforms such as Wildcat or Apache.

This competition has been designed to deliver a demonstrable system at Army Warfighting Experiment (AWE 2019) which will take place in March 2020.

This is a single phase competition with a total funding of £1.8M available over 8 months, to potentially support 3 to 5 bids. Each proposal will be capped at £600K.

This competition closes on 18 June 2019 at midday.

2. Competition Scope

2.1 Background

Forward reconnaissance and surveillance in hostile territory represents a significant risk for military personnel even when they are partially protected by armour. The recent development of autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles and unmanned air systems (UAS) for the Army is expanding operational opportunities whilst reducing the risk to life and thus has the potential to be game-changing on the battlefield.

The military concept of Manned Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) involves increasing situational awareness and survivability by utilising unmanned semi-autonomous assets in a forward (stand-off) position supported controlled by the more vulnerable manned assets which would be located in a more secure position. The term MUM-T is often used in the context of manned air assets such as the Wildcat or Apache platforms; however, for this competition we are using a broader definition to include manned ground based systems such as the Ajax, Warrior or Challenger platforms.

MUM-T operations combine the strengths of both manned and unmanned platforms allowing the Army to conduct a range of operations that could include combat support and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, without the manned platform needing to break cover. The key difference with MUM-T approaches and the broader autonomy opportunities for the military is that MUM-T allows effective operations to be conducted under human control using a semi-autonomous unmanned asset.

To successfully deliver MUM-T systems for the Army, it is essential that the cognitive load of operating the unmanned asset on the operator of the manned platform is minimised as they will be operating in a restricted environment and will have additional military functions in the manned system which will require their attention. Therefore while the unmanned asset must be under human control and not be fully autonomous, periods of semi-autonomous operation must be possible if, for example, communications are lost with the manned system or if the operator needs to focus on an alternative task.

2.2 Scope

This competition is seeking innovation in, and development of, existing systems that currently fall between technology readiness levels (TRL) 4-6, such that they can be developed and demonstrated at a MUM-T demonstration at AWE 2019 (ideally at TRL 5/6). Proposals could include further development of an existing operator interface, a semi-autonomous unmanned asset or both.

We are interested in ground-to-ground, air-to-air and ground-to-air systems. For ground-based systems it should be assumed that future operational deployment will be from an armoured vehicle such as the Ajax, Warrior or Challenger platforms. For air-based systems it should be assumed that future operational deployment will be from an air platform such as Wildcat or Apache. However, bidders must note that the demonstrations at AWE 2019 may not be in one of these specified platforms as it will depend on availability of suitable assets (we currently anticipate Gazelle and Warrior systems will be used).

The unmanned (stand-off) asset should have the potential to be operated up to 8km ahead of the manned platform it is deployed from, though for AWE2019 we will likely operate line-of-sight tests.

The control system for the semi-autonomous unmanned asset must be designed with a single operator in mind who is working in the manned asset; the unmanned asset must be able to be deployed and operated by one of the existing crew (e.g. commander or gunner).

We are entirely agnostic as to the choice of semi-autonomous unmanned system selected, though it must be deployable from the relevant ground- or air- based platform. For air-based systems the unmanned system could be a single UAS or it could incorporate swarming technologies.

Additionally, this competition is agnostic as to the operator interface with the unmanned system; options could range from a mobile phone to a sophisticated virtual reality headset, provided it can be operated by a single person within their military environment.

3. Competition Challenges

This competition has 3 challenges, all of which need to be met for a proposal to be successful.

3.1 Challenge 1: An unmanned system capable of semi-autonomous operation

By the end of the project you must be able to demonstrate, at AWE 2019, that you have a semi-autonomous unmanned system capable of being operated in a representative military environment.

While we expect the unmanned system to be controlled by the human operator, we expect the system to be able to operate autonomously for at least short periods of time (e.g. 5 min), for example, if communications are lost and it needs to operate safely until further instructions are forthcoming or if the operator needs to undertake other tasks within the manned platform. The system must not be fully autonomous, it needs to be controllable from the manned platform, however, highly automated systems will be considered if they are capable of rapid remote re-tasking from the manned platform. While we are not looking for fully autonomous systems, we equally do not want fully remote-controlled systems which require constant operator control.

We are not specifying any particular communication protocols for the system.

3.2 Challenge 2: A system capable of being deployed by a suitable armoured platform

The unmanned system is intended to be deployed from mobile forward manned assets and not from static operating bases or transports. As noted above, for ground-based systems you should assume Ajax, Warrior or Challenger platforms, and for air-based systems you should assume Wildcat or Apache platforms for future operational deployment. You must be able to demonstrate that the unmanned asset can be transported by the manned platform (e.g. in terms of weight, size and power) and that deployment from the platform is practical in operational scenarios (e.g. by a single operator or whilst airborne).

Please note, the physical deployment of the unmanned asset from the manned platform is unlikely to be part of the AWE 2019 demonstration and we will accept proposals where the practicalities of deployment have not yet been fully developed. However, you will need to demonstrate that you understand what would be required to make the unmanned asset deployable from the manned platform and the time and costs associated. Unmanned systems that already meet the likely size and weight requirements for such deployment are more desirable than those that don’t.

3.3 Challenge 3: A system with an appropriate operator interface

The future operational system will require that the unmanned asset is controlled by a single operator in the manned platform. The operator interface with the unmanned asset must be portable and operate with its own power supply. The operator will have limited training in its use and will have other designated operational roles to perform in the manned platform. Therefore, you will need to demonstrate that the system is capable of being used by a non-specialist alongside their other operational activities.

In addition, you will need to consider how the system alerts the operator of any issues, and how the unmanned asset switches to semi-autonomous operation if the operator cannot access the control system for periods of time. The cognitive burden of the system on the operator will be assessed during the AWE 2019 demonstration and therefore any supporting information on how you have designed and tested the system to minimise cognitive loading will help us in assessing your proposal.

3.4 Clarification of what we want

We want solutions that will benefit users working in UK Defence. Your proposal should include evidence of:

• innovation or a creative approach to the specific MUM-T concept
• a semi-autonomous unmanned system which can be demonstrated in the field by the end of the project (at AWE 2019)
• a semi-autonomous unmanned system which is of suitable size and weight to be carried and deployed by relevant armoured platforms
• a control interface for the semi-autonomous system which can be operated by a single user who will not be required to maintain constant operation
• a control interface suitable for operation within an armoured ground or air platform but that can be removed from that platform and operate with its own power supply
• a system which seeks to consider and minimise cognitive load on the operator in relation to the manned and unmanned systems whilst not being fully autonomous

3.5 Clarification of what we don’t want

For this competition we are not interested in proposals that:

• constitute consultancy, paper-based studies or literature reviews (we expect a practical demonstration at the end)
• are identical resubmission of a previous bid to DASA or MOD without modification
• are demonstrations of off-the-shelf products requiring no development (unless applied in a novel way to the challenge)
• offer no real long-term prospect of integration into ground or air MUM-T related systems
• offer no real prospect of out-competing existing technological solutions
• will not be mature enough to demonstrate at AWE 2019
• have an excessive cognitive load on the operator and/or require constant manned support
• are fully autonomous or only offer sensor development and other cosmetic (non-essential) enhancements to autonomous systems.

3.6 Demonstration at AWE 2019

All proposals to this competition must participate in the final demonstration at AWE 2019 (demonstrations at alternative locations or on different dates will not be considered). AWE 2019 is likely to take place in March 2020. However, final details of AWE 2019 are yet to be confirmed and will be provided to successful suppliers once available.

In costing your bid you must plan and budget for the following AWE 2019 related activities:

• attendance at AWE for 5 days, plus an additional day to set up (6 days total)
• a workable demonstration of your solution over 2 days of the 6 day period at AWE
• additional attendance at AWE for a visitors’ day (potentially in addition to the 6 days)
• attendance at a AWE pre-demonstration event for half a day in February 2020 to visit the AWE 2019 venue

During AWE 2019 it is likely that you will be asked to demonstrate certain tasks such as mission surveillance or identifying/designating a target at range. This may be undertaken in open land, semi-concealed environment, and if possible a semi-urban scenario. Please note, all demonstrations will be during the daytime and there will not be any scenarios which involve the avoidance of adversaries or combat. Further details on scenarios will be provided in advance of the event.

During the AWE 2019 demonstration, any land-based demonstrations (including those associated with air-to-air systems) will be operated primarily by the supplier but personnel likely to use it in the field will be present to evaluate the practicability of the system. However, if a flight trial is possible during the demonstration, the system will need to be operated by Army personnel whilst airborne.

AWE 2019 will take place on MOD land and you should factor in variable weather conditions consistent with March. You must articulate in your proposal how you would intend to demonstrate your system in low visibility, high winds and other adverse conditions. In extreme circumstances demonstrations may need to be conducted undercover and a brief plan for how you could do this must also be included.

In the case of air based systems we cannot guarantee conditions will be suitable for flight operations or that all Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approvals will be in place. You should have a contingency plan as to how you could demonstrate your system without flight.

Key to this competition and the AWE 2019 demonstration is the ability to understand the potential cognitive load on the operator of operating the MUM-T system, so it is most important that any contingency plans allows for demonstration of how the operator will need to interface with the system, e.g. with an appropriate simulator.

Please note that whilst we have asked for contingency plans for AWE 2019 we still require all proposals to have a viable plan to deliver a system which can undertake the full demonstration.

4. Exploitation

It is important that over the lifetime of DASA competitions, ideas are matured and accelerated towards appropriate end-users to enhance capability. How long this takes will be dependent on the nature and starting point of the innovation. Early identification and appropriate engagement with potential end-users during the competition and subsequent phases are essential.

All proposals to DASA should articulate the expected development in TRL (for this competition starting at 4 or 5 and reaching 6) of the potential solution over the lifetime of the contract and how this relates to improved operational capability against the current known (or presumed) baseline. DASA Innovation Partners are available to support you with defence and security context.

Though this competition is focused on delivering a demonstration at AWE 2019, you must also provide evidence that you have considered the next steps in exploitation beyond the demonstration. You may wish to include some of the following information, where known, to help the assessors understand your exploitation plans:

• the intended defence users of your final product and whether you have previously engaged with them, their procurement arm or their research and development arm
• awareness of, and alignment to, any existing end-user procurement programmes
• the anticipated benefits (for example, in cost, time, improved capability) that your solution will provide to the user
• whether it is likely to be a standalone product or integrated with other technologies or platforms
• expected additional work required beyond the end of the contract to develop an operationally deployable commercial product (for example, ‘scaling up’ for manufacture, cyber security, integration with existing technologies, environmental operating conditions)
• additional future applications and wider markets for exploitation
• wider collaborations and networks you have already developed or any additional relationships you see as a requirement to support exploitation
• how your product could be tested in a representative environment in later phases
• any specific legal, ethical, commercial or regulatory considerations for exploitation

5. How to apply

Proposals for funding must be submitted by 18 June 2019 at midday via the DASA submission service for which you will be required to register.

Funding of £1.8M is expected to be available to fund 3 to 5 proposals.

Further guidance on submitting a proposal is available on the DASA website.

5.1 What your proposal must include

When submitting a proposal, you must complete all sections of the online form, including an appropriate level of technical information to allow assessment of the bid and a completed finances section.

A project plan with clear milestones and deliverables must also be provided. Deliverables must be well defined and designed to provide evidence of progress against the project plan and the end-point for this phase. Your deliverables must include a demonstration at AWE 2019 (UK) in March 2020, a pre-demo at your facility in Jan 2020, a planning event at the AWE site in Feb 2020 and a final report detailing the work undertaken on this project.

A resourcing plan must also be provided that identifies, where possible, the nationalities of those proposed Research Workers that you intend working on this phase. In the event of proposals being recommended for funding, the DASA reserves the right to undertake due diligence checks including the clearance of proposed Research Workers. Please note that this process will take as long as necessary and could take up to 6 weeks in some cases for non-UK nationals.

You must identify any ethical / legal / regulatory factors within your proposal and how the associated risks will be managed, including break points in the project if approvals are not received. MODREC approvals can take up to 3 months therefore you should plan your work programme accordingly. Further details are available in the DASA guidance. If you are unsure if your proposal will need to apply for MODREC approval, then please contact DASA for further guidance.

In addition, requirements for access to Government Furnished Assets (GFA) should be included in your proposal. DASA cannot guarantee that GFA will be available.

Your proposal must complete all research and development activities/services and provide all deliverables within the competition timescales (for this competition, the competition timescales are 8 months maximum duration and the contracts must be completed by 31 March 2020). Proposals with any deliverables (including final report) outside the competition timeline will be rejected as non-compliant.

Proposals must be for a maximum of £600k each, but you may not wish to bid for this full amount. Any proposals received that are for in excess of £600k will be automatically deemed non-compliant.

Proposals must include costed participation at the following three DASA events:

• a project start-up/kick-off meeting
• a working demonstration of your technology at your premises in Jan 2020
• a planning day and full demonstration at AWE 2019 (UK) in Feb/Mar 2020 (as described above)

Failure to provide any of the above listed will automatically render your proposal non-compliant.

5.2 Public facing information

When submitting your proposal, you will be required to include a proposal title and a short abstract. If your proposal is funded, the title and abstract you provide will be used by DASA, and other government departments as appropriate, to describe the project and its intended outcomes and benefits. It will be used for inclusion at DASA events in relation to this competition and included in documentation such as brochures for the event. This proposal title will also be published in the DASA transparency data on GOV.UK, along with your company name, organisation type e.g. SME and the amount of funding received.

5.3 How your proposal will be assessed

All proposals will be checked for compliance with the competition document and may be rejected before full assessment if they do not comply. Only those proposals who demonstrate their compliance against the competition scope and DASA criteria will be taken forward to full assessment. Failure to achieve full compliance against stage 1 will render your proposal non-compliant and will not be considered any further:

The proposal outlines how it meets the scope of the competition (this will include evidence that the bidder’s proposed solution already meets the requirements of TRL4).	Within scope (Pass) / Out of scope (Fail)
The proposal fully explains in all three sections of the DASA submission service how it meets the DASA criteria	Pass / Fail
The proposal clearly details a financial plan, a project plan and a resourcing plan to complete the work proposed	Pass / Fail
The proposal identifies the need (or not) for MODREC approval	Pass / Fail
The proposal identifies any GFA required	Pass / Fail
Maximum value of proposal is £600k	Pass / Fail
The proposal includes a demonstration at AWE 2019	Pass / Fail
The proposal demonstrates how all R&D activities/services (including delivery of the final report) will be completed by end of March 2020	Pass / Fail
The bidder confirms their unqualified acceptance of the Terms and Conditions of contract	Pass/ Fail

Proposals will then be assessed against the standard DASA assessment criteria by subject matter experts from the MOD (including Dstl), other government departments and front-line military commands. You will not have the opportunity to comment on assessors’ comments.

DASA reserves the right to disclose on a confidential basis any information it receives from bidders during the procurement process (including information identified by the bidder as Commercially

Sensitive Information in accordance with the provisions of this competition) to any third party engaged by DASA for the specific purpose of evaluating or assisting DASA in the evaluation of the bidder’s proposal. In providing such information the bidder consents to such disclosure. Appropriate confidentiality agreements will be put in place.

Further guidance on how your proposal is assessed is available on the DASA website.

After assessment, proposals will be discussed internally at a Decision Conference where, based on the assessments, budget and wider strategic considerations, a decision will be made on the proposals that are recommended for funding.

Proposals that are unsuccessful will receive brief feedback after the Decision Conference.

5.4 Things you should know about DASA contracts

Please read the DASA terms and conditions which contain important information for suppliers. For this competition we will be trialling a new Standardised Contracting (SC) Innovation Contract, links to the contract here: Terms and Schedules. We will require unqualified acceptance of the terms and conditions. For the avoidance of any doubt, for this Themed Competition we are NOT using the DASA Short Form Contract (SFC).

Funded projects will be allocated a Technical Partner as a technical point of contact. In addition, the DASA team will work with you to support delivery and exploitation.

We will use deliverables from DASA contracts in accordance with our rights detailed in the contract terms and conditions.

For this phase/competition, £1.8M is currently available to fund proposals. There may be occasions where additional funding from other funding lines may subsequently become available to allow us to revisit those proposals deemed suitable for funding but where limitations on funding at the time prevented DASA from awarding a subsequent Contract. In such situations, DASA reserves the right to keep such proposals in reserve. In the event that additional funding subsequently becomes available, DASA may ask whether you would still be prepared to undertake the work outlined in your proposal under the same terms. Your official DASA feedback will indicate if your proposal was fundable or not.

6. Dates

Dial-in	22 May 2019
Pre bookable 1-1 teleconference sessions	as above
Competition closes	Tuesday 18 June
Contracting	Aim to start 1st Aug 2019 and will end 31st Mar 2020

6.1 Supporting events

22 May 2019 – A dial-in session providing further detail on the problem space and a chance to ask questions in an open forum. If you would like to participate, please register on the Eventbrite page.

22 May 2019 – A series of 20 minute one-to-one teleconference sessions, giving you the opportunity to ask specific questions. If you would like to participate, please register on the Eventbrite page.

7. Help

Competition queries including on process, application, technical, commercial and intellectual property aspects should be sent to accelerator@dstl.gov.uk, quoting the competition title. While all reasonable efforts will be made to answer queries, DASA reserves the right to impose management controls if volumes of queries restrict fair access of information to all potential suppliers.