Notice

Telexistence Phase 2: Competition Document

Updated 21 February 2022

Reminder

Please select only one Use Case when submitting a proposal.

1. Introduction

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is seeking proposals on behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). We are looking for suppliers to develop a complete telexistence system. This will involve the integration of telepresence, robotic and haptic technologies on to a single platform. We will invite successful suppliers to evaluate the capabilities of their systems against a series of tasks that are representative of a Use Case chosen by each supplier from the following: Specialist Nuclear Decommissioning Tasks, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), or Defence and Security Medical applications.

It is not compulsory to have been involved in the previous DASA competition to apply. You should, however, make yourself aware of the previous telexistence competition and the bids that were funded. We are supportive of collaboration between organisations for this competition. To facilitate this, we have a short survey to collect details of those who wish to explore collaboration possibilities. If you are interested in a collaboration, please complete the survey and your details will be shared with other potential suppliers who have completed the survey and are interested in collaborating.

This competition is jointly funded by Dstl and NDA. £1.3m (ex VAT) is available to fund contracts with a maximum value of £400k (ex VAT) each. We anticipate funding 3 to 5 proposals with contract durations no longer than 10 months. The contracts will aim to start at the beginning of July 2022 and complete before the end of April 2023. Dstl and NDA aim to fund a balanced set of proposals over the 3 Use Cases.

2. Competition key information

Submission deadline

Midday on Wednesday 6 April 2022 (BST).

Where do I submit my proposal?

Via the DASA Online Submission Service for which you will require an account. Only proposals submitted through the DASA Online Submission Service will be accepted.

Total funding available

The total funding available for this competition is £1.3m (ex VAT). We anticipate funding several proposals with a maximum value of £400k per proposal. Our aim is to fund at least one proposal per Use Case.

3. Supporting events

Dial-in session

Thursday 27 January 2022 – 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.

Tuesday 01 February 2022 – A series of 15 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. Booking is on a first come first served basis.

Wednesday 09 February 2022 – A series of 15 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. Booking is on a first come first served basis.

Collaboration Survey

We encourage collaboration between organisations for this competition. To support this, we have a short survey to collect details of those who wish to explore collaboration possibilities. If you are interested in a collaboration, please complete the survey and your details will be circulated among other potential suppliers who have completed the survey and are interested in collaborating.

If you choose to complete the Supplier collaboration survey, please be aware that all the information you submit in the survey will be provided to other Suppliers who also complete the survey.

4. Competition Scope and Challenge

4.1 What is Telexistence?

Telexistence is a technology that allows a human operator to project into a different environment, experiencing and interacting with the environment as if physically there, and keeping the ‘human in the loop’. This is achieved using a remotely-operated system, and relies on the integration of:

• telepresence, which enables the operator to see and hear as though in the remote environment
• robotics / wearable assistive technologies, which enable the operator to interact with the remote environment
• haptic feedback / sensors which enable the operator to touch / feel the remote environment

4.2 Background

Dstl and NDA seek to understand the art of the possible, likely development pathways and exploitation opportunities for the technology concept of telexistence. This competition seeks to explore where telexistence technologies can add value. The 3 Use Cases selected for this competition, which, if successfully addressed, are expected to have read across to other capability areas. Examples include casualty extraction; fire scene investigation; chemical, biological, radiological (CBR) disaster response and decontamination; ocean floor / naval damage exploration; space and the oil and gas sector.

Telexistence offers several potential benefits to end users. These benefits can be broadly categorised as strategies to reduce the risk to personnel and / or strategies to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of operations.

As well as reducing risk, telexistence has the potential to reduce logistical burden and increase the speed at which users can be deployed. This would offer advantages to capabilities where there are a limited number of specialists. Telexistence would allow these specialists to support several operations as and when needed, rather than being deployed to a specific operation in case their skills are required. Telexistence also has the potential to reduce operational costs and environmental impact by minimising the requirement for transport and allowing the fast insertion of remote individuals.

4.3 Scope and challenge

This competition is looking to develop telexistence systems that integrate telepresence, robotic and haptic technologies on to a single platform. The system must enable the user to experience and interact with the remote environment as if they were physically there (in real-time), and remain in the loop. At the end of the competition we will test and evaluate the capabilities of the telexistence system against tasks representative of one of the following Use Cases which the supplier picks (more detail in section 6)

1. Specialist Nuclear Decommissioning Tasks
2. Explosive Ordnance Disposal
3. Defence and Security Medical applications

Following test and evaluation, we will invite suppliers to a separate event, where they will be required to attend and demonstrate their telexistence systems to stakeholders from across the Defence and Security and Nuclear Decommissioning communities (note this event will be closed. We may ask selected individuals from outside government to attend).

Funded projects are expected to achieve at least Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 (proof-of-concept) to TRL 6 (demonstration in a relevant environment) by the end of the contract. Systems currently at or above TRL 6 in a civilian environment may be eligible for funding where the technology requires development to operate in a Defence and Security environment (potentially lowering the TRL).

We welcome proposals from across the full range of innovators including academia, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and large companies, from both the UK and overseas. We also welcome joint bids that bring together the strength of different industrial or academic partners. For submissions, there must be a lead supplier who submits the proposal. The other suppliers within the consortium need to be listed as subcontractors.

The competition is open to innovators from the existing Defence and Security sectors as well as those who have not traditionally worked in this domain. Previous experience of Defence and Security work is not a requirement.

5. The Competition Activities

This DASA competition is comprised of 3 activities:

1. Activity 1: Development of the complete telexistence system
2. Activity 2: System Test and Evaluation (Event to be held March 2023)
3. Activity 3: Demonstration (To be held April 2023)

The System Test and Evaluation protocol will be different for each Use Case and the intended capabilities required for that scenario.

5.1 Activity 1: Development

This activity is focused on developing a telexistence system that operates from a single platform. In this activity, successful submissions will clearly detail the development milestones within the project plan, which need to be met to progress the telexistence system to meet the requirements of activities 2 and 3 (which ideally should include preliminary testing). Each submission should also include a roadmap of how the technology could be developed following this competition into an in-service capability.

Each submission should describe deliverables and milestones, including but not limited to a final technical report and a midway presentation to members of the funding organisations which describes the technical progress to date. Successful submissions will also include monthly meetings between the supplier team and the technical partner from the funding organisation(s), followed by a formal record of decisions.

5.2 Activity 2: System Test and Evaluation (March 2023)

In March 2023, the suppliers will be required to attend a test and evaluation (T&E) event. The event is expected to last for up to three days and will be held in the UK. Details differ slightly for each Use Case and are detailed below. The event will be managed by Dstl and attended by DASA and NDA.

The tests are designed to determine if the system is capable of replicating the unique requirements of the task, the capability of the operator or if the same end effect can be achieved in an alternative way. Note that the systems do not have to replicate the way a human would perform the task if there are more effective ways of achieving the end goal with a telexistence system. The emphasis is on robotic dexterity, precision and accuracy with minimal latency.

The Test and Evaluation phase includes 3 elements:

1. Completion of the test battery by an operator from the supplier team
2. Training an end user in the operation of the system (maximum 2 hours duration)
3. Completion of the test battery by the end user. The supplier team may still be present during this phase to troubleshoot technical issues, the end user does not have to be trained up to fully-independent operation

We have gone into as much detail as we can at this point on the test and evaluation tasks. The exact details of the test and evaluation will aim to be provided to the successful suppliers by 29 July 2022.

It is anticipated that activity 2 will be conducted in the following regions:

• North or South UK for Nuclear Decommissioning Use Case
• South UK for EOD and Medical Use Case

Metrics

The metrics of interest will be consistent across all Use Cases and T&E activities, including:

• task success for each of the above steps (all tasks must be attempted, both successes and failures will provide valuable data)
• number of errors (e.g. breakages, drops, collisions, damage etc)
• time to complete each task
• user feedback (comfort, fatigue etc)

5.3 Activity 3: Demonstration (April 2023)

This activity requires successfully funded proposals to provide a physical demonstration (in the UK) of their systems to stakeholders from across the Defence and Security and Nuclear Decommissioning communities (Note this event will be closed. We may ask selected individuals from outside government to attend). This activity will span two consecutive days (0800 – 1800 per day), with the first day being committed to setting up the technologies for demonstration, and the second day being dedicated to demonstrating the system to the invited delegates. A formal agenda will be circulated prior to the event.

• proposals should include estimated detail on the space, power and Wi-Fi requirements for the demonstration venue. It would also be helpful to detail the anticipated number of attendees from the supplier team
• funded Suppliers are expected to provide their own equipment for the demonstration of the system and provide a list of the equipment they will be bringing 4 months before (for example TV screens to enable viewing)
• funded suppliers will be required to provide DASA with a one-page summary on the supplier organisation(s) and the system being demonstrated 2 months prior to the demonstration event

6. The Use Cases

Although the following Use Cases are specific to certain areas, the capabilities they capture are wide reaching and we would look to exploit them within other areas of Defence and Security. We have gone into as much detail as we can at this point on the test and evaluation tasks. The exact details of the test and evaluation will aim to be provided to the successful suppliers by 29 July 2022.

Suppliers should pick one Use Case to address in their proposal.

Please note: If you believe you can address more than one use case in the same project time frame, you may submit more than one proposal. However, from a cost perspective, these must be standalone. If more than one of your proposals were successful, we would expect there to be a discussion on costs if there is duplication within the work packages, given economies of scale.

6.1 Use Case 1: Specialist Nuclear Decommissioning Tasks

Context

The NDA faces many challenges to decommission the UK’s nuclear legacy. A significant number of these activities are inherently hazardous to humans and activities are often conducted by specialised personnel within purpose built and now ageing on-site facilities. Dose limitations and the wider demands placed on operators limit the amount of productive work that can be undertaken within the limited time that can be spent in these facilities. Access to facilities is also limited by availability of systems, adequate lighting and ventilation systems.

Many nuclear facilities require the use of hot cells and/or remote operations to undertake decommissioning activities, mainly in areas where the presence of operators is prohibited due to the hazard level or access constraints. The use of through-wall master slave manipulators (MSMs) is commonplace in the nuclear industry. Tasks undertaken using MSMs are time consuming and tiring, as using MSMs is a skilled job which can be both physically and mentally challenging for the operators. Another typical activity undertaken by nuclear operatives is the use of gloveboxes to inspect, handle or repackage nuclear materials. Personnel will insert their hands into gloveports/gauntlets to undertake specific tasks within a glovebox (which provides bulk shielding and containment of the hazard).

The NDA has set out the ambition to move humans away from harm, to remotely decommission gloveboxes by 2025 and reduce the activities carried out by humans in high hazard environments by 50% by 2030. Investment in developing viable telexistence systems that can, as a minimum, replicate existing capability and level of performance of a human operative in order to reduce the direct risk to humans is of interest.

Nuclear Decommissioning Scenario with human operator

The operator places their hands and arms within a glovebox system. The operator must inspect, handle and repackage nuclear materials within the glove box through a limited field of vision. With double-gloved hands, the operator must move, open and position objects into specific predetermined locations on the workplace in front of them. Operators must open containers which are most likely cylindrical in shape and made of metal, with screw top, press on or bolted lids. A series of objects in front of them require sorting, weighing and positioning in and out of containers. Tasks are conducted in a single location without the operator needing to move around or be untethered from the glovebox at any point. The operator risks accidental penetration of the glove itself, extremity dose to hands/fingers through gloves and internal dose due to inhalation if wider ventilation systems or containment systems fail.

Nuclear Decommissioning Test & Evaluation

The following tasks will be assessed for technologies aiming to address the NDA Use Case.

1. Using a Minnesota Dexterity test, flip the red disks so they are all black side-up
2. Pick up a cylindrical metal container (approximately the size of a thermos flask) and report any text written on it
3. Open the metal container’s screw-top lid and position this in a predetermined location
4. Remove the small object from within the container and weigh it
5. Place the small object back into the metal container and pour in 100g of sand over the top (or other medium provided from a zip lock plastic bag).
6. Screw the lid back into the metal container
7. Take a swab from the side of the container using a flat cotton pad and place this swab within a plastic bag.

6.2 Use Case 2: Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)

Context

Worldwide, EOD seeks to render safe suspect devices remotely wherever possible. A sophisticated suite of robots, tools and techniques are commercially available to enable this. However, there remains some EOD operations for which a manual approach is still an option, due in part to the complexity and uniqueness of the task and human dexterity in preference to robotic systems.

EOD Scenario with human operator

This scenario is an example Use Case of what the human operator may currently undertake in order to render safe suspect devices.

On approaching a suspect device location, an operator is required to diagnose the type of device. The device overall may be partly or fully concealed or contained. The operator will need to identify the different components of the device– and gain access to those parts of the device necessary to render it safe. This could include (but is not constrained to) unscrewing covers or panels, lifting lids or breaking seals. Once access has been achieved, the operator diagnoses the different components and begins to render safe. This could involve cutting of wires, removing or extracting components or physically separating components. Once rendered safe, the operator may be required to place separated components into a protective container before withdrawing.

The Test and Evaluation tasks set out for the EOD Use Case aim to cover the tasks required of a Telexistence system to replace the human operator in the above scenario.

EOD Test & Evaluation

The following tasks will be assessed for technology aiming to address the EOD Use Case.

1. Visually identify the object of interest from distance (between 5-10 metres). This will be a bag, no bigger than a duffle bag, weighing up to 25kg.
2. Traverse to the object of interest. The distance will vary between 5-10 metres. The traverse may include non-uniform terrain including slopes, steps, or uneven surfaces. Snags and other objects in your path must be avoided
3. Listen to live audio (at normal speaking levels) around the object and report this information back at the end user
4. Open the bag and retrieve the container from inside without damaging it. The container will weigh no more than 10kg
5. Rotate the container and read any text written on it
6. Open the hinged container
7. Cut and separate wires and/or connectors inside the container
8. Remove an object from the container. Place the object within a plastic zip lock bag and close securely

6.3 Use Case 3: Defence and Security Medical applications

Context

The medical support structure that enables UK Military personnel to operate is vital. At present, any casualties sustained in the field must be stabilised by Combat Medic Technicians (CMT (CMTs undertake similar training to a civilian paramedic, but operate with reduced facilities and supplies)) and moved from the point of wounding back to a Regimental Aid Post (RAP). Care covers battlefield injuries and any Disease & Non-Battlefield Injury (DNBI) too. RAPs have some medical staff and limited facilities and treatments available, but primarily triage and provide care until patients can be moved to a more advanced medical facility as required, which can take hours or days. Telexistence systems may increase the survival rates of patients by providing enhanced capability to CMTs and RAPs who provide frontline care in order to close the sophistication gap between theatres. They also offer ‘near-remote’ medical care in situations where contagion or contamination might be a contributing factor.

Medical Scenario with Human Operator

A section (a section is a group of 7 to 12 individuals) on the frontline come across an unconscious casualty in a high-risk contagious disease area. The CMT would instruct others in the area to stand-back whilst they assess and triage the patient. The patient may be feverish and have low blood pressure, the CMT must take a blood sample and a swab from the patient’s mouth. The CMT would take approximately 10 minutes to complete the assessment and conclude that the individual must be taken for treatment. The patient may be unstable so whilst awaiting transportation to a medical facility the CMT would continuously monitor the patient’s vital signs whilst administering pain relief, despite the risk of contagion.

The Test and Evaluation tasks set out for the Medical Use Case aim to cover the tasks required of a Telexistence system to reduce the burden on the CMT in the above scenario by allowing ‘near-remote’ medical triage to the patient.

Medical Test & Evaluation

The following tasks will be assessed for technology aiming to address the Medical Use Case.

1. Visually identify the patient (from 5m distance) and report any observations and injuries (from 1m distance)
2. Listen to the patient breathing and/or take a medical history and respond
3. Provide real-time visual/video feedback to a third party, which could include holograms/3D images of up to 2m distance from the patient

4. Monitor and log (dummy patient or mock-up, a real person will not be acting as the patient):

   a. Skin temperature

   b. Position the Blood Pressure cuff at the top of the arm and secure it. Take the Blood Pressure reading

   c. Take a swab from the patient’s mouth

   d. Take a venous blood sample from the arm

5. Conduct a physical examination (palpation) of the patient’s abdomen and provide feedback

n.b. the system is NOT required to perform medical evacuation via robotic capability.

6.4 We are interested in…

We want novel ideas to benefit end users. Your proposal should include evidence of:

• a system that integrates telepresence, robotic and haptic capabilities onto a single platform, which can be operated in real-time
• a clear demonstration of how the system capabilities will be developed to be able to complete the pre-determined test battery of tasks
• a proof of concept system with a clear, costed outline plan for the development of a TRL 4-6 system
• an outline plan for how the system development and performance will be matched against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in order to provide quantifiable metrics of progress and performance against the milestone plan

6.5 We are not interested in…

We are not interested in proposals that:

• constitute fully autonomous systems, which do not offer the human operator control
• are systems that cannot be operated in real-time
• require the completion and attainment of ethical favourable opinion from the Ministry of Defence Research Ethics Committee (MODREC)
• constitute consultancy, paper-based studies or literature reviews which just summarise the existing literature without any view of system development in this competition
• are an identical resubmission of a previous bid to DASA or MOD without modification
• offer demonstrations of off-the-shelf products requiring no experimental development (unless applied in a novel way to the challenge)
• offer no real long-term prospect of integration into defence and security capabilities
• offer no real prospect of out-competing existing technological systems

7. Accelerating and exploiting your innovation

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 in order to develop and implement an exploitation plan.

All proposals to DASA should articulate the expected development in technology maturity 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. Your deliverables should be designed to evidence these aspects with the aim of making it as easy as possible for potential collaborators/stakeholders to identify the innovative elements of your proposal in order to consider routes for exploitation.

7.1 How to outline your exploitation plan

Include the following information to help the assessors understand your exploitation plans to date:

• the intended 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 system 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

7.2 Is your exploitation plan long term?

Long term studies may not be able to articulate exploitation in great detail, but it should be clear that there is credible advantage to be gained from the technology development.

Include project specific information which will help exploitation. This competition is being carried out as part of a wider MOD programme and with cognisance of cross-Government initiatives.

8. How to apply

Submission deadline

Midday on Wednesday 6 April 2022 (BST)

Where do I submit my proposal?

Via the DASA Online Submission Service for which you will be required to register.

Only proposals submitted through the DASA Online Submission Service will be accepted.

Total funding available

The total funding available for this competition is £1.3m (ex VAT). We anticipate funding several proposals with a maximum value of £400k per proposal. Our aim is to fund at least one proposal per Use Case.

For further guidance

Click here for more information on our competition process and how your proposal is assessed.

Queries should be sent to the DASA Help Centre – accelerator@dstl.gov.uk.

8.1 What your proposal must include

• the proposal should focus on the Phase 2 requirements but must also include a brief (uncosted) outline of the next stages of work required for exploitation
• 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
• completed proposals must comply with the financial rules set for this competition. The upper-limit for this competition is £400k (ex VAT). Proposals will be rejected if the financial cost exceeds this capped level
• you must include a list of other current or recent government funding you may have received in this area if appropriate, making it clear how this proposal differs from this work
• a project plan with clear milestones and deliverables must 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; they must include a final report
• you should also plan for attendance at a kick-off meeting at the start of Phase 2, a mid-project event, system test and evaluation event for 3 days and demonstration event for 2 days, as well as regular reviews with the appointed Technical Partner and Project Manager; all meetings will be in the UK. Dstl and the NDA may decide to run some meetings virtually
• your proposal must demonstrate how you will complete all activities/services and provide all deliverables within the competition timescales (10 months). Proposals with any deliverables (including final report) outside the competition timeline will be rejected as non-compliant

8.2 What your resourcing plan should include

Your resourcing plan must identify, where possible, the nationalities of proposed employees that you intend to work on this phase.

If your proposal is recommended for funding

In the event of a proposal being recommended for funding, the DASA reserves the right to undertake due diligence checks including the clearance of proposed employees. 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. As stated in Section 6.5 We are not interested in you must make it clear in your proposal that you DO NOT require the completion and attainment of ethical favourable opinion from the Ministry of Defence Research Ethics Committee MODREC. Due to the timescales for this project, if MODREC approval is required your proposal will be rejected. If you are unsure if your proposal will need to apply for MODREC approval, then please refer to the MODREC Guidance for Suppliers or contact your Innovation Partner for further guidance.

Requirements for access to Government Furnished Assets (GFA), for example, information, equipment, materials and facilities, may be included in your proposal. DASA cannot guarantee that GFA will be available. If you apply for GFA, you should include an alternative plan in case it is not available.

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

8.3 Export control for overseas partners

All relevant export control regulations will apply if a company ultimately wants to sell a developed system to a foreign entity. All innovators must ensure that they can obtain, if required, the necessary export licences for their proposals and developments, such that they can be supplied to the UK and other countries. If you cannot confirm that you can gain the requisite licences, your proposal will be sifted out of the competition.

Additionally, if we believe that you will not be able to obtain export clearance, additional checks may be conducted, which may also result in your proposal being sifted out of the competition.

8.4 Cyber risk assessment

Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ)

Innovators must complete a Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ), using the DASA Risk Assessment Reference (RAR) for this competition: RAR-217765474 and answer questions for risk level “Very Low”.

DASA has completed a Cyber Risk Assessment (CRA) for this competition. In order to submit to this competition innovators are required to work towards cyber resilience. If selected for funding, the innovator must prove cyber resilience before a contract will be awarded.

Defence Cyber Protection Partnership

The Defence Cyber Protection Partnership (DCPP) will review your SAQ submission and respond with a reference number within 2 working days. The completed SAQ form and resulting email response from DCPP must be downloaded and included within the DASA submission service portal when the proposal is submitted. Please allow enough time to receive the SAQ reference number prior to competition close at midday on Wednesday 6 April 2022.

If the proposal is being funded, the SAQ will be evaluated against the CRA for the competition, and it will be put into one of the following categories: 1. compliant – no further action 2. not compliant – if successful in competition and being funded, the innovator will be required to complete a Cyber Implementation Plan (CIP) before the contract is placed, which will need to be reviewed and agreed with the relevant project manager

Innovators can enter a proposal without all controls in place, but are expected to have all the cyber protection measures necessary to fulfil the requirements of the contract in place at the time of contract award, or have an agreed Cyber Implementation Plan (CIP).

The CIP provides evidence as to how and when potential innovators will achieve compliance. Provided the measures proposed in the Cyber Implementation Plan do not pose an unacceptable risk to the MOD, a submission with a Cyber Implementation Plan will be considered alongside those who can achieve the controls.

A final check will be made to ensure cyber resilience before the contract is placed. Commercial staff cannot progress without it. This process does not replace any contract specific security requirements.

Further guidance for completing this process can be requested by emailing the DASA Help Centre: accelerator@dstl.gov.uk.

Additional information about cyber security can be found at: DCPP: Cyber Security Model industry buyer and supplier guide.

8.5 Public facing information

When submitting your proposal, you will be required to include a title and a short abstract. The title and abstract you provide will be used by DASA, NDA, and potentially other government departments, to describe your project and its intended outcomes and benefits. They may be included at DASA events in relation to this competition and in documentation such as brochures. The proposal title will be published in the DASA transparency data on GOV.UK, along with your company name, the amount of funding, and the start and end dates of your contract. As this information can be shared, it should not contain information that may compromise Intellectual Property.

8.6 How your proposal will be assessed

At Stage 1, 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 that demonstrate compliance against the competition scope and DASA mandatory criteria will be taken forward to full assessment.

Mandatory Criteria
The proposal outlines how it meets the scope of the competition.	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 in Phase 2.	Pass / Fail
The proposal contains a credible test plan where appropriate.	Pass / Fail
The proposal identifies there is no need for MODREC approval.	Pass / Fail
The proposal identifies any GFA required for Phase 2	Pass / Fail
Maximum value of proposal is £400k (ex VAT).	Pass / Fail
The proposal demonstrates how all research and development activities/services (including delivery of the final report) will be completed within 10 months from award of contract (or less).	Pass / Fail
The innovator provides unqualified acceptance of the terms and conditions of the contract.	Pass / Fail
The bidder has done all of the following: submitted a Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ) number; attached the email from DCPP; attached the submitted SAQ form– See section 8.4 above.	Pass / Fail

Proposals that pass Stage 1 will then be assessed against the standard DASA assessment criteria (Desirability, Feasibility and Viability) by subject matter experts from the MOD (including Dstl), other government departments and the front-line military commands. You will not have the opportunity to view or comment on assessors’ recommendations.

DASA reserves the right to disclose on a confidential basis any information it receives from innovators during the procurement process (including information identified by the innovator 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 innovator’s proposal. In providing such information the innovator 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.

Innovators are not permitted to attend the Decision Conference.

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

8.7 Things you should know about DASA contracts: DASA terms and conditions

Please read the DASA terms and conditions which contain important information for innovators. For this competition we will be using a modified Innovation Standard Contract (ISC) Terms and Schedules, in light of the joint funding provided by NDA, and the rights that shall be secured on behalf of NDA using the NDA/DASA IP condition. We will require unqualified acceptance of the terms and conditions; if applicable, please ensure your commercial department has provided their acceptance.

Funded projects will be allocated a Project Manager (to run the project) and a Technical Partner (as a technical point of contact). In addition, the DASA team will work with you to support delivery and exploitation including, when appropriate, introductions to end users and business support to help develop their business.

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

For this competition, £1.3m is currently available to fund proposals. There may be occasions when additional funding may become available to allow us to revisit proposals deemed suitable for funding. Therefore, DASA reserves the right to keep such proposals in reserve. In the event that additional funding becomes available, DASA may ask whether you would still be prepared to undertake the work outlined in your proposal under the same terms.

9. Phase 2 key dates

Open Q and A Dial-in	Thursday 27 January 2022
Pre bookable 1-1 telecom sessions	Tuesday 1 February 2022 and Wednesday 9 February 2022
Competition closes	Wednesday 6 April 2022 at midday BST
Feedback release	Aim: by Wednesday 1 June 2022
Contracting	Aim to start 1 July 2022 and end 10 months later in April 2023

10. Help: Contact the DASA Help Centre

Competition queries including on process, application, commercial, technical and Intellectual Property aspects should be sent to the DASA Help Centre at accelerator@dstl.gov.uk, quoting the competition title. If you wish to receive future updates on this competition, please email the DASA Help Centre.

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 innovators.

11. Clarification Questions and Answers

11.1 General questions

Q: Is it possible to share our point of contact details for potential collaboration discussions?

A: To support collaboration, we have a short survey to collect the details of those who wish to explore collaboration possibilities. Further details can be found in Section 3 of the competition document.

Q: Can personal development be counted as a project cost?

A: No, only costs directly related to the project can be included.

Q: Are there any constraints on the cost of the technology or where the components are sourced from?

A: Value for money is a factor. There are no restrictions on capital costs. If you choose to buy a robot versus borrow or collaborate, that will get weighed up during the assessment process. If you need guidance, please get in touch with your DASA Innovation Partner.

Q: Who forms the judging panel?

A: Proposals are assessed against the DASA assessment criteria (Desirability, Feasibility and Viability) by subject matter experts and then independently moderated. Proposals are then discussed internally at a Decision Conference attended by Dstl and NDA representatives. Based on the assessments, budget and wider strategic considerations, a decision will be made on the proposals that are recommended for funding. DASA assessment criteria.

Q: Who owns hardware/software procured under the funding?

A: Technically, any non-consumable hardware or software licensed purchased with MOD funds would become MOD property as soon as it is purchased and loaned to the contractor for the purposes of conducting the contract. The contract focuses on the purchase of any high value items (greater than £10K), which will need to be registered as Government Furnished Equipment.

Q: Will equipment purchased for Phase 2 over £10k be taken back?

A: The MOD would not necessarily take back equipment purchased for Phase 2, unless there is a compelling need to do so (e.g. the equipment is needed to support another project). However, the equipment will be registered as a Government Asset and described as such in any future proposal where it is being used.

Q: Who owns and who can access/use under licence the Intellectual Property (IP) generated in Phase 2?

A: The IP condition for this competition is similar to DEFCON 705, the supplier owns it. MOD/NDA have user rights. They can share, in confidence, with other government departments, with third parties for the purpose of UK Defence or Nuclear agreements (as are defined in the IP condition) and can share with international collaborators. All details are in the competition terms and conditions.

Q: Foreground Intellectual Property (IP) – we have been collaborating with partners. Will what we develop during Phase 2 belong to MOD/NDA?

A: Foreground IP is owned by the Supplier under the DASA/NDA IP Condition. MOD and NDA have a licence/user rights to the Foreground IP.

Q: There is £1.3M available, 3 use cases and a max funding limit of £400k per proposal. Is there a desire to fund a lot of smaller projects rather than 3 large?

A: Decisions will be led by the strength of the proposals. Some suppliers may not need to bid in for the full £400k if their technology is more mature. Experts will assess the costs and value for money during the assessment process.

Q: What exactly can the DASA Innovation partners say/ do?

A: Your DASA Innovation Partner can give guidance on scope and requirements and find out answers to your questions. They cannot review and comment on drafts. The service is open to everyone.

Q: Can we collaborate with other companies/entities?

A: Yes, we accept proposals from multiple collaborators. There must be a lead supplier who submits the proposal and the other suppliers will need to be included as subcontractors. We contract with one legal entity, the lead supplier.

Please describe the work packages the subcontractors will do, and what value they will add to the proposal. It would also be helpful to highlight any risks associated with contracting out the work.

Q: Which events do we need to attend in person?

A: There are 2 in-person events to cost for; the Test and Evaluation days and the demonstration days. Dstl and the NDA will decide whether they attend supplier’s sites in person or run meetings virtually during the project.

Q: Can we submit 3 proposals, one for each Use Case?

A: If you believe you can address more than one use case in the same project time frame, you may submit more than one proposal. However, from a cost perspective, these must be standalone. If more than one of your proposals were successful, we would expect there to be a discussion on costs if there is duplication within the work packages, given economies of scale.

Q: Do you have advice on any change in security risk to our businesses if our proposal is funded?

A: Any risk has been assessed as very low. You would be involved in an interesting technology challenge which happens to have an interest in Defence and Security, but it also has a wide range of other applications, e.g. medical, nuclear decommissioning…

Q: Will the NHS be involved in the assessments for Use Case 3?

A: No

Q: Will the NHS be invited to attend the final demonstrations?

A: We do not envisage the NHS being involved.

11.2 Scope Questions:

Q: How is ‘novel’ defined for this competition?

A: Funded projects are expected to achieve at least TRL 4 to TRL 6 by the end of the contract. Pulling together telepresence, robotic and haptic technologies on to a single platform. Novel here is how you stitch them together to make it work.

Systems currently at or above TRL 6 in a civilian environment may be eligible for funding where the technology requires development to operate in a Defence and Security environment (potentially lowering the TRL).

Q: Do we need to demonstrate the security effectiveness of the system?

A: We are not looking at the security effectiveness of the system/solution at this stage.

Q: Is there an expectation or need for platform size considerations/ transportability (backpack/vehicle/helicopter)?

A: No, there are no platform size considerations at this point.

Q: Who are the end users for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority?

A: The whole NDA Group across all 17 nuclear sites involved in the mission to clean up the UK’s earliest nuclear sites safely, securely and cost effectively.

Q: What is the reason for not looking into autonomous solutions for these Use Cases?

A: At this stage, we are interested in the human in the loop as a fully immersive experience. Autonomy is not in-scope at this stage.

Q: Is untethered accepted?

A: Both tethered and untethered systems are accepted at this point. However, the suppliers should consider the real-world requirements of each use case and provide a roadmap for an untethered option where appropriate.

Q: Are there any specific requirements for things like temperature ranges, reliability, weather-proofing, etc?

A: No, we are not at the stage of setting these specifications. However, it would be useful if you can articulate the specification or the proposed future specification of your system in your proposal.

Q: To what extent is safety assurance needed? For example, assurance of ‘never’ behaviours like moving too quickly, which might further damage the patient/bomb/waste?

A: We are interested in replicating human movement. In a hazardous situation, a human would be cautious, so we would expect the equipment to be cautious as well. We are looking to replicate human movement without putting humans at risk. We are not considering safety assurances at this point, beyond the safe execution of the test & evaluation and demonstration activities.

Q: Use Case 3 was not included in Phase 1. Is it a lower TRL?

A: No, the TRL should be fairly consistent across the 3 Use Cases.

11.3 Test and Evaluation Event Questions:

Q: Is it OK in the proposal and at the Test and Evaluation event that only a subset of the tasks are addressed?

A: We expect proposals to articulate how they would attempt all tasks. Our assessment will be based on our confidence that this will be achieved.

You should list technical risks in your proposal and articulate what you would do to mitigate those risks. If funded, you will work with a Dstl technical partner. They are your opportunity to discuss any technical challenges you may be facing. This competition is working towards 2 objectives: to test and evaluate the technology and to demonstrate the technology to stakeholder.

Q: Is there a specific range/distance from operator to robotics (metres/miles)?

A: There is no minimum or maximum distance. The operator must undertake the tasks via the immersive environment, without direct sight of the task to be undertaken.

Q: What happens if the Test and Evaluation tasks, issued after contract award, require something that our solution had not envisaged?

A: There will be no significant changes to the tasks in the competition document.

Q: Have you defined metrics for the Test and Evaluation event been defined?

A: The additional information to be published in July is likely to include the finalised metrics.

Q: Will the Use Case 1 Test and Evaluation tasks have to be performed in a glovebox mock-up or in open space?

A: The Use Case refers to a glovebox, but what we want is a capability-strong proposal. If you choose to restrict your technology through the use of ports, that is fine, but it is not a requirement for this competition.

Q: What is the approximate weight limit required for Use Case 1?

A: The Telexistence system is expected to be able to lift up to 5kg.

Q: Can we assume free use of 4G/ 5G at the events?

A: We want to understand the art of the possible from the technology perspective. Assume you have access to networks, but make it clear in your proposal what you will require to operate your system.

Q: Has Use Case 3 already been approved by MODREC for robotics in healthcare?

A: We do not anticipate ethical review being required, however if you have concerns that your proposal may contravene the policy, please check it carefully on the MODREC website. The Test and Evaluation tasks for Use Case 3 will be performed on a mannequin, not a real human.

Q: For Use Case 3, after taking a swab from patient’s mouth, where do we place the swab?

A: The swab and venous blood sample should be placed in the open medical container identified on the workspace.

Q: Do suppliers need to buy the equipment to practice the Test and Evaluation tasks?

A: Dstl and the NDA will not be supplying any equipment to practice with. Please cost this in to your proposal if you need to.

Q: Will Dstl provide the equipment to complete the tasks at the Test and Evaluation event?

A: Yes, Dstl will bring all the equipment needed to complete the tasks at the event. Any text that is required to be read by the Telexistence operator will be of a reasonable size.

Q: Will the Test and Evaluation event be held indoors or outdoors?

A: Indoors, however, the suppliers should consider the real-world requirements of each use case. You should list technical risks in your proposal and articulate what you would do to mitigate those risks. Photographs and a clear description of the terrain over which systems will be tested will be published in July.