Contracting
Office Address
Other Defense Agencies, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Contracts
Management Office, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA, 22203-1714, UNITED
STATES
Description
PROGRAMMABLE MATTER; BAA 07-21,
Addendum 7; Full Proposals Due:
January 3, 2008, no later than
4:00PM ET. Technical Point of
Contact: Dr. Mitchell R. Zakin,
DARPA/DSO; Ph: (703) 248-1509,
Email: BAA07-21@darpa.mil; URL:
http://www.darpa.mil/dso/solicitations/solicit.htm;
Website Submission: http://www.sainc.com/dsobaa/
DESCRIPTION
(Note: This Broad Agency Announcement
(BAA) Addendum 7 is submitted
as a Special Focus Area as described
in the original BAA, 07-21.)
The properties of future military
systems must be more fluid and
controllable in order to meet
the challenges of complex missions.
One means of achieving such
enhanced capability is the development
of dynamic materials which can
be directly programmed to reversibly
change their fundamental properties,
on demand and in real-time,
when desired by the user. These
properties include size, shape,
form factor, and moduli. Such
programmable materials will
create revolutionary new capabilities
for the warfighter. A simple
example would be an "Instant
Toolkit," an amorphous
material that can be programmed
to instantly become a hammer,
wrench, or screwdriver on demand,
and then return to its initial
form so it can be reused.
In response to this challenge, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is seeking innovative proposals to develop Programmable Matter: a new functional form of matter constructed from mesoscale building blocks ("MesoParticles" up to 1 cm size), which reversibly assemble into complex 3D objects upon external command. These 3D objects will exhibit all the functionality of their conventional counterparts. Programmable Matter represents the convergence of chemistry, information theory, and control, into a new materials design paradigm, referred to here as "InfoChemistry," building information directly into materials.
A key feature of Programmable Matter is the MesoParticle-based construction. At the mesoscale level, building blocks are large enough to contain intricate structures with real functionality. MesoParticles can have a variety of sizes, shapes, compositions, and functions; they communicate and interlock with their neighbors to create dynamic bulk structures with mechanical integrity. Building blocks can include mesoscale computers, wireless transmitters, machines, gears, fluidics, and other devices, as well as polymer, metal, ceramic, and other particles. MesoParticles are of sufficient size to build practical macroscale objects. Importantly, MesoParticles exhibit the critical feature of separability of structure and function: the external geometry determines packing, assembly, and bulk structure, while the interior has the machinery to process information, generate action, etc. In principle, separability can be exploited to create dynamic materials of unprecedented complexity and capability.
In order to create 3D objects from building blocks, Programmable Matter must be capable of performing the following key unit operations in sequence:
- Activate by external signal;
- Decode and propagate instructions;
- Translate information into action;
- Transport particles and assemble shapes;
- Interlock particles to form object;
- Perform error-checking and encode final state information;
- Activate by external signal; and
- Disassemble into starting materials.
The first phase of this program focuses on the design and modeling of practical Programmable Matter with manufacturable properties. The second phase focuses on experimental realization of the key elements of Programmable Matter: assembly of 3D solid objects of varying geometry from a common set of building blocks, and reversible interlocking of MesoParticles to create bulk materials with the elastic modulus of typical plastics. The specific Phase I/II milestones are presented under the Program Goals and Milestones section.
BACKGROUND
Critical features that must
be considered in the development
of Programmable Matter include:
Chemistry: (1) Mesoscale particles
with the right size, shape,
composition, and functionality;
(2) Means for transporting particles
around in fluid and dry states;
and (3) Interlocking/adhesive
mechanisms to reversibly hold
particles together and create
materials with mechanical integrity.
Information Theory: Particles
that variably decode and encode
information (i.e., instruction
sets), propagate information,
and translate instructions into
action (e.g., bind, move, etc.),
in response to internal or external
commands.
Control: Particles that are
addressable by external means
(e.g., EM field), and that ideally
have error-checking capability
to test the structural/functional
integrity of the assembled object.
To achieve the Programmable
Matter vision, key technological
breakthroughs will center on
the following critical areas:
- Encoding information into chemistry, or fusing materials with machines;
- Fabrication of mesoscale particles with arbitrary complex shapes, composition, and function;
- Interlocking/adhesion mechanisms that are strong AND reversible;
- Global assembly strategies that translate information into action; and
- Mathematical theory for construction of 3D objects from particles.
Of critical importance are
radical new material architectures
that maximize the efficiency
of information processing/transfer,
and design rules for the optimal
number, size, and shape of particles
required to create objects of
a specific size and spatial
feature resolution.
Any innovative approach for
Programmable Matter that meets
the goals of this BAA will be
considered.
PROGRAM GOALS AND MILESTONES
The goal of this program is
to demonstrate a new functional
form of matter, based on mesoscale
particles, which can reversibly
assemble into complex 3D objects
upon external command.
Program Phases
The Programmable Matter Program
will be separated into three
phases. The goal of Phase I
is to develop designs, theoretical
models and computer simulations
for Programmable Matter. The
goal of Phase II is the physical
realization of Programmable
Matter. Depending on the success
of the Phase II demonstrations,
the goal of Phase III will be
to develop fully-functional
Programmable Matter for specific
applications.
Phase I will be a 6-month research
effort. Phase II will be a research
effort of 18 months or less;
shorter duration efforts are
strongly encouraged.
A successful proposal will thoroughly
cover all details for meeting
the milestones set forth for
both Phase I and Phase II. Thus
programs should be submitted
as 24-month (or less) efforts
encompassing both Phase I and
an optional Phase II, including
detailed budgets for both phases.
At the end of each phase, performance
will be evaluated based on achievement
of the stated milestones. Successful
completion of Phase I does not
guarantee selection in Phase
II.
Program Milestones
The Phase I milestone is:
1. Build a mathematical model
that, given a set of mesoscale
particles with manufacturable
properties, theoretically confirms
at least one viable procedure
for constructing and disassembling
macroscopic 3D solid objects
under external command. The
objects must have functional
properties that are useful in
the real world (e.g., a wrench).
The Phase II milestones are:
1. Starting with a single set
of mesoscale particles, experimentally
demonstrate externally-directed
assembly of four distinct macroscopic
3D solids (cube, cylinder, sphere,
triangular prism), each ~100
cm3 in volume;
2. Experimentally demonstrate
interlocking/adhesion of mesoscale
particles to create bulk matter
with an elastic modulus typical
of plastics (0.2 to 4 GPa),
followed by unlocking to recover
the original particles.
Phase III is expected to be
a research effort of between
18 and 24 months. The Phase
III milestones will be determined
by the results of the Phase
I/II effort and the specific
applications that are proposed.
To realize the program vision
and meet the Phase I/II milestones,
each research effort requires
performers with expertise in
materials chemistry and physics,
information theory, control
theory, modeling, and computer
simulation. Teaming is encouraged,
especially when interdisciplinary
approaches to a problem are
required.
FULL PROPOSAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
All proposals submitted electronically
by means of an Electronic
Business Application Tool
or proposal submission web
site (not including Grants.gov)
must be encrypted using Winzip
or PKZip with 256-bit AES
encryption. Only one zipped/encrypted
file will be accepted per
proposal and proposals not
zipped/encrypted will be rejected
by DARPA. An encryption password
form must be completed and
emailed to BAA07-21@darpa.mil
at the time of proposal submission.
See https://www.tfims.darpa.mil/baa/
for the encryption password
form.
The word "PASSWORD" must
appear in the subject line of
the above email and there are
minimum security requirements
for establishing the encryption
password. Failure to provide
the encryption password may
result in the proposal not being
evaluated. For further information
and instructions on how to zip
and encrypt proposal files,
see https://www.tfims.darpa.mil/baa/.
Note: the TFIMS website listed
above will not be used for DSO
proposal submissions. After
visiting the TFIMS link for
encryption instructions, please
use the following website for
all DSO white paper and proposal
submissions: http://www.sainc.com/dsobaa/.
Full proposals will be due January
03, 2008, NO LATER THAN 4:00PM
ET. Proposals submitted by fax
will not be accepted. Note that
a full proposal may be submitted
at any time before the close
of the solicitation.
As described in BAA 07-21, full
proposals shall consist of two
volumes: Technical and Cost.
Follow the general guidelines
for full proposal format and
content provided at: http://www.darpa.mil/baa/BAA07-21pt2.html.
In addition to the guidelines
found at the link above, the
Technical section of the research
proposal must contain the following
information:
In addition to the guidelines
found at the link above, the
Technical section of the research
proposal must contain the following
information:
1. Concept Definition: Clearly
describe the proposed chemical,
information theory, and control
concepts for Programmable Matter,
including the structure and
composition of the MesoParticles,
the means for particle manipulation
and assembly, the activation
process, and how information
will be processed and translated
into action. Describe the underlying
physical mechanisms that enable
construction of solid 3D objects
from MesoParticle building blocks,
and the reversible interlocking/adhesion
of particles to achieve desired
bulk moduli. Proposals MUST
describe an end-to-end solution
for Programmable Matter, from
modeling/simulation to physical
realization; the proposer team
must have demonstrated expertise
in ALL pertinent technical areas.
2. Supporting Technical Analysis:
Provide a detailed analysis
of the technical rationale that
supports the proposed Programmable
Matter concept, including performance
estimates.
3. Research Plan: Provide a
detailed research plan that
describes the methods for achieving
the Phase I/II milestones specified
in this BAA. Provide several
specific, quantitative milestones
at intermediate stages of the
program to assess progress towards
meeting the Phase I/II milestones.
4. Brief list of relevant references.
Awards made under this BAA are
subject to the provisions of
the FAR Subpart 9.5, Organizational
Conflicts of Interest. Consequently,
all proposers and proposed subcontractors
must, therefore, affirm whether
they are providing scientific,
engineering and technical assistance
(SETA) or similar support to
any DARPA technical office(s)
through an active contract or
subcontract, either sponsored
and awarded by DARPA through
the Contracts Management Office
(CMO) or through an outside
Contracting Agent acting on
behalf of DARPA (i.e. Army,
Navy, Air Force issued contract
award). All affirmations must
state which office(s) the proposer
supports, and identify the prime
contract numbers.
Evaluation of Proposals
Evaluation of the proposals
will be in accordance with
BAA 07-21. For general administrative
questions, please refer to
the original FEDBIZOPPS solicitation,
BAA07-21, of February 14,
2007: http://www.darpa.mil/dso/solicitations/solicit.htm.
All proprietary information
should be marked on the full
proposal. It is the policy of
DARPA to treat all proposals
as competitive information and
to disclose their contents only
for the purpose of evaluation.
Standard proprietary disclaimers
notwithstanding, proposals may
be reviewed by non-Government
technical experts who have signed
a nondisclosure agreement with
DARPA, unless the specific phrase "TO
BE REVIEWED BY GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
ONLY" appears on the cover
sheet. In any case, personnel
under exclusive contract with
DARPA who have completed the
appropriate nondisclosure agreements
will handle the proposals for
administrative purposes.
Web Address for Proposal Submission:
http://www.sainc.com/dsobaa/.
Address for Proposal Submission:
DARPA/DSO
ATTN: BAA 07-21, Addendum 7,
Dr. Mitchell R. Zakin
3701 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203-1714
General Information
In all correspondence, reference
BAA 07-21, Addendum 7
Technical Point of
Contact
Dr. Mitchell R. Zakin, DARPA/DSO;
Phone: (703) 248-1509; Email:
Mitchell.Zakin@darpa.mil
Point of Contact
Barbara McQuiston, Deputy Director,
DSO, Phone 703-526-4759, Fax
703-248-1916, Email Barbara.McQuiston@darpa.mil
