FAA Surface Awareness Initiative Request for Information (RFI)

September 21, 2023 update: In follow up to the Surface Safety Industry Day on June 6, 2023 and the Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI) Request for Information (RFI) AAQ-210-SAI, and in accordance with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Acquisition Management System (AMS) 3.2.1.3.11 Public Announcements, the purpose of this announcement is to inform industry of the FAA’s intention to establish a Qualified Products List (QPL) for solutions it determines has the means to provide a greater surface situational awareness based on an established set of criteria in a Screening Information Request (SIR). The FAA anticipates a rapid acceleration to this program, with a SIR released to establish the QPL as early as November 2023, to be followed by the publication of the approved QPL, and fielding of an operational capability(s) selected from the QPL for Air Traffic Control use. //end update 1 INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE A safe and efficient National Airspace System (NAS) begins and ends on the airport surface. Air Traffic Controllers rely on situational awareness to help them understand aircraft positions in order to make decisions and predict future states to detect and avoid possible conflicts. Improving situational awareness for Air Traffic Controllers is important for the future of surface safety. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) welcomes innovation to deliver vital air traffic services for safe and efficient use in the NAS. The FAA is specifically interested in learning more about cost-effective technological solutions that may be viable for deployment at airports without existing surface surveillance capabilities. The FAA is seeking to gain a better understanding of commercially available and/or production-ready solutions and capabilities that could enable controllers to detect events that occur differently than expected operations. This Request for Information (RFI) is searching for technology that displays airport surface activity to controllers in towers and/or helps increase overall situational awareness for controllers in towers. 2 BACKGROUND Many factors play a role in affecting visibility and situational awareness for controllers, including the growth rate of operations, the volume of air carrier operations, visual obstructions, weather, sightline distance, light pollution, complex airport geometry, and other factors like fleet mix and familiarity. All these elements noted above impact the ability to monitor the surface, which include runways, taxiways, and any area on the airfield where operations require Air Traffic Control permission. When vehicles are in these movement areas without authorization, they have committed a Runway Incursion (RI). Runway Incursions are classified into various types, based on attributed actions, identified below: Operational Incidents (OI) are attributed to Air Traffic Control action or inaction. Pilot Deviations (PD) are attributed to pilots operating an aircraft under its own power. Vehicle or Pedestrian Deviations (V/PD) are attributed to a vehicle driver or non-pilot operating an aircraft that is not under its own power, such as, a vehicle driver towing an aircraft, or a pedestrian. Others (OTH) are events not clearly attributed as determined above. This can include events caused by equipment failure or other factors. Surface surveillance systems increase runway safety by providing to Air Traffic Control display of position, movement, and relative location of aircraft and ground vehicles. Additionally, they provide aural and visual safety alerts of potential runway collision situations. These services are crucial at night and during periods of low visibility. Currently, the FAA has two Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE) surveillance systems in the NAS that present situational awareness for Air Traffic Control. Out of 520 Air Traffic Control Towers, 35 airports use Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X (ASDE-X) in their towers, 9 airports use Airport Surface Surveillance Capability (ASSC) in their towers, and over 450 airport towers are without surface surveillance systems. There are no planned or anticipated ASDE systems deployment at additional airports. 3 NATURE OF INFORMATION REQUEST This RFI is being conducted in accordance with FAA Acquisition Management System Policy Section 3.2.1.2.1, Market Analysis. The purpose of this request is to solicit information about capabilities from sources that can assist the FAA in: Learning more about cost-effective technological solutions that may be viable for deployment at airports without existing surface surveillance capabilities. Gaining a better understanding of commercially and/or readily available solutions and capabilities that could enable controllers to detect events that occur differently than expected operations, including technology that: Displays airport surface activity to controllers in towers Helps increase overall awareness for controllers in towers Gathering cost information The FAA may use information from this request to assist in refining its acquisition alternatives and program requirements in support of investment decisions. The FAA has not determined the acquisition strategy for this activity at this time. However, if the FAA proceeds with an acquisition, the information provided from this request may be considered in developing its acquisition strategy. The FAA requests statement of interest and capability statements from all qualified industry partners capable of providing the requirement outlined in this document, within the stated timeframe. 4 DISCLAIMER This is not a Screening Information Request or Request for Proposal of any kind. The FAA is not seeking or accepting unsolicited proposals related to this activity. The FAA will not pay for any information received nor costs incurred in preparing a response to this request. Any costs associated with a submittal are solely at the interested vendor’s expense. FAA is seeking sources of information for specific supplies and or services described herein. The FAA reserves the right to have communication with any, some, or none of the respondents. Any submissions will remain with the FAA for its use and will not be returned to the respondents. 5 NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE No NAICS code has been identified for this RFI. 6 SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS FOR RFI Vendors are requested to submit the following: Chapter 1: Company Information. Respondents are requested to submit following: Company name and address, URL of company website (if applicable), Point of contact including telephone number and email address, and A completed Business Declaration Form (Attachment 1). Please use SAM Unique Entity Identifier (SAM UEI) Number instead of DUNS Number. Chapter 2. RFI Questions. Industry is invited to provide written responses and information that will enable the FAA to ascertain industry capabilities on enhancing situational awareness on surface situations for air traffic control personnel. Please provide your responses to the following items: 1. What existing capabilities do you currently possess that can be leveraged to address surface situatiuonal awareness needs? Specifically: Cost-effective technological solutions that may be viable for deployment at airports without existing surface surveillance capabilities. Commercially and/or readily available solutions and capabilities that could enable controllers to detect events that occur differently than expected operations, including technology that: Displays airport surface activity to controllers in towers Helps increase overall awareness for controllers in towers 1a. Describe how the capabilities meet or exceed at least one (or more) of the above needs Is this capability ready to be deployed, or is it still in development? If not fully ready to be deployed, please describe the level of effort need to achieve production/deployment readiness 1b. Please include a description the architecture, integration points, and overall explanation of the data flow so the FAA can evaluate performance capabilities, including latency, security, availability/redundancy, etc. 1c. ( Alternatives ) Do you currently possess capabilities that do not fall within the parameters identified above, but the FAA should be aware of to assist with situational awareness that will mitigate runway incursions? If so, please provide a description of those capabilities and how they can assist with surface situational awareness. If your existing capability does not meet any of the needs today, identify the level of effort needed to meet the need(s) 2. ( Cost/Price ) Please provide a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost estimate for all solutions that meet the capabilities. ROM estimates should include, but not be limited to: unit costs, system development, testing, production, implementation, life cycle support, and other major cost drivers. Rolled up Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) formatting can satisfy this request for a ROM. If the solution/capability is commercially available, please provide a detailed list of the pricing options for all related service(s). 3. ( Scalability ) Describe how the capability is scalable and modular to allow growth for additional capability, including its ability to deploy to multiple locations. Please address how (or if) the capability is scalable to decrease functionality where the full capability is not required, thereby resulting in a lower cost solution. Describe how the capability is scalable and modular to allow growth for additional capability. Examples of additional capabilities and functionality might include (but is not limited to) Interfaces with other FAA surveillance and automation systems Ability to display airborne targets on the controller's display Surveillance of approach corridors Safety logic alerting 4. ( Security ) Does your capability comply with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Special Publication (SP) 800-53 Rev. 5, Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations? If not, please describe the anticipated level of effort (cost and schedule) for implementation. 5. ( Supportability ) What is the anticipated lifecycle for this capability? Describe the maintenance approach, and philosophy for supportability as it pertains to the total anticipated lifecycle for this capability. How can you demonstrate that this capability has long term supportability? 6. (Limitations/Impediments/Barriers to entry) Is there a resource adaptation (policy/ standards change/update) that the FAA would need if there are limitation/impediments/barriers to entry towards a more efficient/effective path to increased surface safety/situational awareness. 7 DELIVERY OF SUBMITTAL Interested parties must provide responses in writing. Oral responses to this RFI may or may not be considered. Responses to the Chapter 2 RFI questions should not exceed 25 pages in length. Page size must be 8-1/2 by 11 inches with one-inch margins. The text font must be in Times New Roman 12-point. Please limit company background information to one page. A completed Business Declaration Form (Attachment 1) must be submitted in .pdf format. A page limit does not apply to Attachment 1. Each capability/solution can be submitted individually/separately to enable adequate page allotment for explanation, but responses can also combine multiple solutions into a single submission. Please note that the FAA email server restricts file sizes to 10 megabytes per email. Larger files must be submitted in more than one email; submissions that require multiple emails should set forth the total number of emails in the Subject Line (e.g., Email 1 of 3) The ROMs will be used solely for informational and planning purposes only. If the ROMs are delivered using Rolled up WBS format in an excel spreadsheet, a page limit does not apply to ROMs. Interested parties are requested to submit their electronic RFI response to the Contracting Officer, Troy Teachey at [email protected] no later than July 21, 2023 4:00 PM EDT . The FAA may request clarification to responses directly related to this RFI through direct contact with respondents. The FAA anticipates initiating the scheduling of one-on-one meetings with select vendors in August and September 2023. The FAA may elect to conduct one-on-one meetings with some, all, or none of the respondents at its sole discretion. Respondents must identify and clearly mark any proprietary information contained in their submissions, and must be prepared to provide justification to the FAA of such designations if requested. This proprietary information will be for the sole use of the FAA and will be treated confidentially; however, nothing alters the FAA’s obligations under existing law, including any duties owed by the FAA under the Freedom of Information Act. The FAA may need the Respondent’s justification of the proprietary designation to support withholding the documents or information from public disclosure upon request. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) references cited in SAM.gov are not applicable to the FAA as the FAA has its own policies and guidance referenced in the Acquisition Management System (AMS). 8 ATTACHMENTS (1) Business Declaration Form ________________________________ Amendment 1 to this RFI replaces the initial Attachment 1 posted in that it was not downloadable. ________________________________ Amendment 2 to this RFI removes the sentence "Include a discussion of power-aperture scalability/flexibility."