SAM #HR001126S0016

DARPA PINPOINT Program: Advanced Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) R&D Solicitation

DARPA's Defense Sciences Office is seeking innovative research and development for the PINPOINT program, focused on next-generation inertial measurement units (IMUs) for tactical and unmanned missions. - Government Buyer: - Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Defense Sciences Office (DSO) - Program Focus: - Research and development of advanced IMUs with revolutionary sensor architectures - Emphasis on physics-based, nonlinear control systems to surpass current MEMS IMU performance - Applications include precision strike munitions and unmanned aerial vehicles - Products/Services Requested: - Phase I: 24-month R&D effort to deliver prototype IMUs meeting specified performance metrics - Optional: Industry Immersion Program funding for university-industry collaboration (embedding graduate/postdoctoral researchers in corporate settings) - Unique/Notable Requirements: - Co-design of physical sensor packages with advanced, real-time adaptive control systems - Excludes incremental improvements to existing IMU technologies; seeks revolutionary advances - Regular principal investigator meetings and government site visits required - Potential for a follow-on Phase II focused on packaging, ruggedization, and field testing - No specific OEMs, vendors, or part numbers are identified in the solicitation.

Description

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative proposals in the following technical area: physics and nonlinear control of inertial measurement units (IMUs) appropriate for tactical and unmanned missions. The Precision Inertial Navigation & Positioning On an Integrated Tesseract (PINPOINT) program will challenge the research community to overcome the decade-long performance plateau of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) IMUs by exploring revolutionary sensor architectures that operate in highly nonlinear regimes. DARPA is soliciting proposals for the research and development of novel inertial sensors based on physics such as, but not limited to, electromagnetically levitated proof masses, non-linear resonators, and high-velocity tethered microsystems. A central theme of this program is the tight co-design of the physical sensor package with advanced, real-time adaptive control systems necessary to stabilize and harness these complex dynamics. Performers should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice.

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