Full Proposal Due: 01 November 2019 Eastern Daylight Time 11:59pm

The topics of interest for this BAA are as follows:

• CA-01: Polymers, composites, smart materials, and intelligent coating systems (including adhesives) for improved performance require focus on multi-scale analysis approaches that may evolve into low-fidelity, high-reliability design tools.
• CA-02: Techniques to aid in the prediction, quantification, and validation of ship motions and loads in conventional and/or extreme behaviors.
• CO-01: System, subsystem, and component identification utilizing Natural Language Processing (NLP). Proposal should address techniques to derive semantic relations in disparate datasets including meronymy, holonymy, and hyponymy.
• CO-02: Innovative concepts for automated data ingestion and combination for disparate datasets. 
• CR-01: Development of foundational theories, methods, and techniques for advanced modeling and simulation of complex hypervelocity flight systems-of-systems at the component scale.
• CR-02: Techniques and methodologies to automate the design and security assessment of field-programmable gate array (FPGA) bitstreams.
• DD-01: Explore emerging software developments related to software scrambling in the areas of security, accuracy, or verification.
• DD-02: Analysis and development of quantum and quantum-inspired algorithms for applications in machine learning and artificial intelligence which may include elements related to data classification, clustering, network security, optimization, and community detection.
• DD-03: Investigation into the characterization and breakdown physics of streamer discharge to allow for a thorough understanding of the mechanisms of streamer discharge as well as the development of associated predictive models.
• DD-04: Research into hypersonic vehicle thermo-protection systems (TPS); may include active and passive ablation solutions, hybrids and structural insulators, and related aerothermal, computational fluid dynamics and fluid/structure interaction methods.
• IH-01: Novel energetic materials, formulations and applications to include predictive methods, energy storage, enhanced safety and reduced sensitivities in applications, processing characteristics and energy release for enhanced performance or lethality.
• IH-02: Advanced manufacturing methods and processes for energetic and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) applications to include but not limited to additive manufacturing of co-layered materials and sensitive materials and resonance mixing. Improve chemical processing and chemical formulation scale-up methods, tools, and processes for energetic materials.
• IH-03: Improved EOD analytical tools and methods for remote detection/characterization of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and home-made explosives (HME) to render them safe.
• PC-01: Expand Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) navigation capabilities to GPS-denied environments through the development of innovative magnetic sensor configurations to include design, development, and experimentation of novel magnetic sensing systems coupled with algorithm development and integration onto viable UUV platforms for demonstration testing.
• PC-02: Innovative methods for through-the-sensor environmental characterization.
• PC-03: Advanced machine learning architectures that produce human-interpretable results and yield explainable decisions.
• PD-01: The trend for future Navy shipboard power systems is a continued increase in simultaneous, transient power demands from increasing numbers of mission loads (propulsion, sensors, and weapons).
• PH-01: Advanced computer vision methods and algorithms to verify the completion and accuracy of complex maintenance tasks.
• PH-02: Low latency, accurate, and precise spatial registration, localization, and tracking of multiple AR devices in GPS-denied environments during fabrication/maintenance where access to tracking sensors is limited.
• PH-03: Research and development of radio frequency transparent “super hydrophobic” coatings to prevent ice formation on combat and communication systems in arctic and subarctic atmospheres.
• KPT-01: Automation, telerobotics and/or robotics innovation for naval maintenance applications: Applications for aboard ships, both underway and in dry dock, to reduce reliance on or hazards to personnel.
• KPT-02: Research affordable techniques in the areas of close-proximity wireless underwater communication that can enable coordination of a group of small Unmanned Underwater Vehicles.
• KPT-03: Predictive analysis of user behavior and user data needs for an application in a data rich environment: Research models and methods of identifying a user’s level of expertise, and identifying user’s data needs using data analytics methods such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and neural networks.
• KPT-04: Expand Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV) capabilities through artificial intelligence (AI) to static undersea sensors and/or dynamic groups (unmanned vehicles) to improve autonomous perception.
• KPT-05: Software and Mechanical part obsolescence management and risk impact on systems: Innovative framework for a system-level model of the impact of software and mechanical part obsolescence.
• KPT-06: Effects of Prolonged Marine Environment for Additively Manufactured (AM) Polymers: Research quantifiable data to build confidence in the use of additively manufactured polymer processes for marine systems.
• NPT-01: Innovative concepts for big data collection, classification, automatic integration, and querying from potentially sensitive sources with applicability to naval readiness and naval situational awareness.
• NPT-02: The plasticity of the human brain is seen in blind subjects who learn how to navigate using active sonar.
• SSC-01: Extensible and scalable framework for novel management of the electromagnetic spectrum coordinated among multiple stakeholders.
• SSC-02: Innovative concepts for scalable, automated, generalized approaches that inform recommendations for DoD C4ISR applications to include planning across heterogeneous assets in electromagnetic (EM) constrained environments.
• SSC-03: New concepts for transmission methods and datalinks enabling greater bandwidth and increased security, range, and power efficiency by exploiting the unused radio spectrum and RF sensing for multiband, dynamic spectrum agility.
• SSC-04: Novel techniques for physical cybersecurity of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems (i.e. Industrial facilities cyber control systems and network attacks).
• NS1: Power distribution systems and engineering for efficiency and high power needs.
• NS2: Statistical analysis of seaway hindcast data for new operating areas and existing areas that are changing due to climate change.
• NS3: Naval ship maneuvering in waves to include research in performance prediction with the added resistance due to waves and ship motions.
• NS4: Balanced hull form design for the navy after next operating environment: to include seakeeping, resistance, maneuvering, ice going and warfighting missions.
• NS5: Designing for ship operability in a post damage condition to include impacts on maneuvering/seakeeping, powering, personnel effectiveness (arrangements, distributed systems), and hydrostatic effects.

Additional information can be found on grants.gov, including the BAA.