Proposal To:
University of Southern California
Information Sciences Institute - East
3811 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 200
Arlington, VA 22203
(703) 248-6166
By: Syracuse University
Dave Warner, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Date: August 12, 2002
For:
Design & Fabrication Services and Consulting Services for the ACDE projects.
Description of Services:
The Design and Fabrication of various human interface elements for the ACDE Projects.
Qualifications:
Syracuse University, (Dave Warner MD PhD as PI ) , is currently engaged in multiple efforts of the ongoing project and is familiar with the needs of the NRO and other sponsors of the ACDE
Period of Performance:
Design & Fabrication Deliverables below are due on September 30, 2002
And include as specified as Task 1 Below
1 Aeron Chair accessory kit
1 Command Chair
1 Monitor Arm
1 Knowledge Fountain
1 Pair Standing Hands
1 Pair Wall-Mounted Hands
Research and Reporting Deliverables are to be completed by Dec 31st 2002
Introduction
The research, prototyping, development and demonstration of technologies to support interpretation of data is a major challenge. For any complex phenomenon, the large number of relevant input systems and techniques creates an interface problem with exponential proportions. It is therefore critical that technologies be researched and demonstrated for the representation and interpretation of multiple, diverse data sources, and for human interpretation of these data sources.
To achieve this goal the Sponsor has been tasked to support the prototyping and demonstration of advanced intelligence oriented technologies in the planning and conduct of U.S. National Security operations.
Background
The capacity of intelligence oriented sensor assets and interconnecting information systems is continually increasing. Current systems receive, process, and transmit massive amounts of information. Efforts to develop new human-computer interaction options to exploit these ever increasing information opportunities are ongoing. The development and experimental utilization of the ACDE is intended to greatly enhance our ability to intelligently interact with this increasing flow of information by creating an information enriched experiential interactive environment enabled with communication and computation resources.
Human computer interaction in the ACDE incorporates technology which augments the ability to create / express / retrieve / analyze / process / communicate / experience information in an interactive mode The ACDE is designed to use multi-sense rendering technologies, giving sustained perceptual effects, and natural user interface devices to facilitate effective human to computer communication.
The ability to achieve the integration of a set of advanced human-to-computer input devices into a single interface system and demonstrate data fusion to enable meaningful
correlations across various input modalities will significantly enhance progress toward this end.
INTENT of EFFORT
The contractor’s efforts are to ensure that the design and fabrication of initial experimental development units of various interactive display control systems and their support technologies will be optimally implemented in the acde in a modular and interchangeable manner.
SCOPE of EFFORT
The Contractor shall provide the systems, architecture, and design engineering required to research, prototype, and demonstrate capabilities in the following areas: the integration and fusion of information from human-to-computer input devices and their application to problems such as innovative mechanisms to support interactive environments; data rendering ,analysis and design and development of experimental protocols.
REQUIREMENTS
4.1 PLANNING
.1 The contractor shall develop project plans to provide insight into the various phases of the research.
4.2 INTEGRATION AND FUSION
4.2.1 The contractor shall provide the systems, architecture, and design engineering required to research, prototype, and demonstrate the integration of a set of advanced human-to-computer input devices into a single interface system.
The Contractor will design fabricate and deliver the following experimental development units (see attached pdfs for more details)
Aeron Chair Accessory Kits
Accessory kits are modular
components designed to attach to the Herman Miller Aeron Chair. These kits
provide data connections for audio and video, as well as control functionality
for the user. The Flying Hands control interface increases flexibility of functionality
and expressive capacity which allow the user to communicate intention more
effectively.
The Command Chair is designed
to integrate the human user at a neuro-cognitive level with advanced
multi-sensory perceptualization systems. This provides for a much greater
capacity to confront and manipulate information for specific purposes.
The standing hands are a self
standing set of flying hands. Developed to maximize the hands as inputs for
data rendering systems, these increase the capacity to manipulate
multi-dimensional environments.
The knowledge fountain
provides a rapid prototyping and experimentation platform for up to 4
simultaneous users. This provides a unified interface system comprised of a
core infrastructure intended to optimize the integration of human intelligence
through increased multi-sensory perceptualization and enhanced expressive
capacity.
The monitor arm tower is
designed to support a 24 inch lcd panel on an articulated arm. The tower's
weight is carried by the raised floor, and the top is anchored to the ceiling
grid. The articulated arm is capable of extended the lcd panel up to 6 feet
from the tower. Multiple arms can also be connected to the tower to create a
grid of lcd panels.
A set of multi modality hand based interface devices used to control multiple interaction parameters simultaneously
In addition to the physical interface systems ,,,,aka “experimental development units”
4.2.2 The contractor shall provide the systems, architecture, and design engineering required to research, and recommend data fusion methodologies to enable meaningful correlations across various interaction modalities.
4.3. INTERFACING
4.3.1 The contractor shall provide the systems, architecture, and design engineering required to research, and report methods for the integration of comprehensive sets of visual, aural, tactile, proprioceptive, and somatosensory rendering devices into a prototype system to demonstrate an integrative experiential interaction with the complex data types.
4.3.2 The contractor shall provide the systems, architecture, and design engineering required to research, prototype, and demonstrate advancedinterfacing technology protocol for the rendering of computer information onto multiple human sensory systems to achieve and demonstrate a sustained perceptual effect (i.e., a sensation with a context).
4.3.3 The contractor shall research, prototype, and demonstrate the combination of these different rendering modalities with somatotopic placement, in order to achieve and demonstrate spatial coding of the rendered information
4.3.4 The contractor shall research, and report recommendations on how the implementation of vision, hearing, and touch technologies can allow for simultaneous sensation of multiple independent and dynamic data sets that can be integrated physiologically into a single perceptual state.
4.4. INTERACTIVE ENVIRONMENTS
4.4.1. The contractor shall research, new ways to render complex information with advanced human-to-computer input devices well as providing technical guidance for the measurement of same.
4.5 DATA RENDERING AND ANALYSIS
4.5.1 The contractor shall research, interface systems to match the human nervous system's ability to transduce, transmit, and render to consciousness the necessary information to interact intelligently with information.
4.5.2 The contractor shall provide the systems, architecture, and design engineering required to research, design and oversee the implementation of a data analysis subsystem designed to enhance the ways that relevant data may then be rendered optimally to the operators' sensory modalities
4.6 EXPERIMENTAL PROTOCOLS
4.6.1 The contractor shall provide the systems, architecture, and design engineering required to research, prototype, and demonstrate an experimental protocol to support the evaluation of systems for providing mission critical support, including the interaction with appropriate agencies to ensure the specific requirements of mission critical objectives are met.
4.7 DEMONSTRATIONS
4.7.1 The contractor shall provide support for demonstrations of the developing functionality,
5.0 REPORTS, DATA AND DELIVERABLES.
Delivery of reports shall be submitted electronically.
Where devices are the deliverable they will be delivered to the site specified by the sponsor.
6.0 SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
6.1 The work for this contract will be performed primarily at the contractor's off-site facilities. Associated efforts may be performed in Washington, DC area and other sites as necessary to complete each delivery order. The facilities shall contain sufficient space and equipment required to perform the tasks of this Statement of Work. The contractor's facilities shall include equipment necessary for preparation and final reproducible copy of technical documentation, for making copies of documentation, and for producing view graphs.
6.2 Travel is both required and expected, Travel will be estimated on similar effort histories
- contractor will provide travel and logistics support within budget constraints
--current similar efforts for travel under similar time constraints will be used to estimate for budget purposes only
6.3 The Sponsor shall provide access to all government facilities with schedules established by the government. The contractor is not guaranteed a specific site or amount of computer time. The contractor shall adjust work schedules to accommodate site and computer time availability and to minimize efforts in excess of a normal work week.
7.0 LIMITATIONS, CONSTRAINTS, AND CONDITIONS
7.2 Work shall be performed at contractor's facility in Syracuse, NY, at other government facilities and as required at other contractor offices and facilities. The contractor shall provide facilities necessary for this effort
7.3 The contractor is authorized to subcontract with prior approval of the Contracting Officer. All requirements of the Basic Contract shall apply to Subcontracts .
7.4 Textual materials and other documentation shall be delivered by the contractor in a format compatible with the MICROSOFT OFFICE environment.
Statement of Work
The Contractor will apply best efforts towards the following task groups
Task group 1 Design And Fabrication
Design and fabricate the experimental development units
Timely delivery of experimental development units as required by the sponsor
Task group 2 Implementation Testing And Evaluation
Perform best efforts toward supporting sponsors initial implementation and operation of experimental units. To include experimental design, interface testing, protocol development.
Task group 3 Initial Instrumentation And Experimental Methods
Apply best efforts towards the research design, development and testing of experimental methods of “use” tracking in an intelligence oriented interactive environment.
Costs are summarized as follows (see attached budget for details)
Task group1 Design And Fabrication (4.1 – 4.2.1 )
Task group 2 Implementation Testing And Evaluation (4.2.2 – 4.3.4)
Task group 3 Initial Instrumentation And Experimental Methods (4.4.1 – 4.71)
Task groups 1 & 2 have a combined cost of $124,500
Task group 3 has a cost of $175,000
The total contract cost is $299,500