The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is the Department of the Army's corporate laboratory and sole fundamental research laboratory. It is dedicated to scientific discovery, technological innovation, and the transition of knowledge products. The ARL mission is to Discover, innovate, and transition Science and Technology (S&T) to ensure dominant strategic land power. To accomplish its mission, ARL executes fundamental research to address enduring S&T challenges identified by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology and by priorities articulated by the Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA).
Proposals are sought for cutting-edge innovative research that could produce discoveries with a significant impact to enable new and improved Army technologies and related operational capabilities and related technologies. In FY 2017, the ARL BAA identified the following topics of interest:
- Computational Sciences - The CS Campaign focuses on advancing the fundamentals of predictive simulation sciences, data intensive sciences, computing sciences, and emerging computing architectures to transform the future of complex Army applications. Gains made through these underpinning multidisciplinary research efforts and exploiting emerging advanced computing systems will lead to scientific breakthroughs that are expected to have significant impact on Army materiel systems. Related topics include, but are not limited to:
- Tactical High Performance Computing (HPC)
- Real-Time, Scalable Data Analytics for the Army
- Computational Modeling of Complex Systems
- Computing Sciences for Advanced and Unconventional Computing Architectures
- Supercomputing Technologies
- Distributed Simulation, Integration, and Interoperability
- Materials Research - The MR Campaign focuses on fundamental research to provide superior materials and devices needed to achieve lasting strategic land power dominance. MR cross-cuts ARL's four focused S&T campaigns by providing materials with superior properties to address emerging requirements and capabilities for all Army platforms. Related topics include, but are not limited to:
- Materials for Soldier and Platform Power Systems
- Energy Efficient Electronics and Photonics
- Agile Expedient Manufacturing
- Quantum Sciences
- Energy Coupled to Matter (ECM) for Responsive Materials
- Lightweight Materials
- Designing Materials
- Materials Synthesis and Processing
- Materials Characterization and Discovery
- Photonics
- Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT)
- Energy and Power
- Biologically Derived Sensor, Power, Device and Materials Research (MR)
- RF to THz Devices and Integrated Circuit Technology
- Sciences for Maneuver - The ScMVR Campaign focuses on gaining a greater fundamental understanding of advanced mobility technologies that enable innovative vehicles configurations and subsystems architectures – critical to the future Army's movement, sustainment, and maneuverability. Knowledge gained through these research efforts will lead to technologies for the design, fabrication, integration, control, and platforms support that will significantly improve Army power projection superiority. Related topics include, but are not limited to:
- Force Projection and Augmentation through Intelligent Vehicles
- Advanced, Electrical Power Technologies and Components
- Discover & Advance Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) Innovations, Novel Concepts, and Ideas
- Advanced Switching and Control for Power Electronics
- High-Power-Density and Energy-Efficient Engine & Drivetrain Technologies
- Virtual Risk-Informed Agile Maneuver Sustainment (VRAMS)
- Mechanics and Dynamics of Complex Systems
- Maneuver System Trade Space Methodology and Tools
- Information Sciences - The IS Campaign focuses on gaining a greater understanding of emerging technology opportunities that support intelligent information systems that perform acquisition, analysis, reasoning, decision-making, collaborative communication, and assurance of information and knowledge. Understanding gained through these research efforts will lead to technological developments that make it possible to manage and utilize information flows in the battlespace. Related topics include, but are not limited to:
- Cyber Fire and Maneuver in Tactical Battle
- Taming the Flash-Floods of Networked Battlefield Information
- Acting Intelligently in a Dynamic Battlefield of Information, Agents, and Humans
- Sensing and Information Fusion for Advanced Indications & Warnings
- Networking and Communications in Contested and Austere Environments
- Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Multi-Lingual Computing
- Text and Video Analytics
- Atmospheric Boundary Layer Exploitation
- Sensors, Sensor Phenomenology, and Algorithms
- Electric and Magentic-Field Sensor Technology
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
- Technologies for Spectrum Analysis and Control
- Sciences for Lethality and Protection - The ScL/P Campaign focuses on gaining a greater understanding and discovery of mechanisms and on generating concepts and emerging technologies that support lethality and protection systems, and the mechanisms of injury affecting the warfighter. Knowledge and concepts gained through these research efforts will lead to technologies that enable a broad array of discriminate lethality systems as well as resilient protection systems and reduced incidents and severity of combat casualties. Related topics include, but are not limited to:
- Scalable Lethal Adaptable Weapons Concepts
- Desired Lethal Effects at Standoff Ranges in Constrained Environments
- Soldier Lethality and Protection
- Adaptive and Cooperative Protection
- Disruptive Energetic Materials
- Vehicle Protection from Kinetic Threats
- Terminal Ballistics and Blast Effects
- Human Sciences - The HS Campaign focuses on identifying, creating, and transitioning scientific discoveries and technological innovations underlying Human Behavior; Human Capabilities Enhancement; and Human-System Integration that are critical to the U.S. Army's future technological superiority. This campaign concentrates on high-risk and high-payoff transformational basic research; critically-focused, promising applied research; and selective advanced technology development that are expected to have revolutionary impacts on the Army's warfighting capabilities. In addition to significantly improving the Army's existing warfighting capabilities, it creates disruptive and game changing Soldier-centric technologies for the Army, while also preventing technological surprises from potential adversaries. Related topics include, but are not limited to:
- Robust Human and Machine Hybridization
- Multi-Faceted Assessment of Soldier Variability
- Training Effectiveness Research
- Real World Behavior
- Augmentation
- Training
- Humans in Multi-Agent Systems
- Assessment and Analysis - ARL's Analysis and Assessment Campaign is focused on guiding the development and integration of technologies, substantially broadening the range of issues that can be addressed with analytical rigor, and improving the throughput and responsiveness of the analytical processes. This campaign builds on fundamental pillars of mathematics, statistics, physics, materials science, engineering, and chemistry to conduct SLV analyses in areas including Ballistic SLV, EW SLV, Cyber SLV, Personnel Survivability, Human-Systems Interface, and Complex Adaptive Systems. Efforts in these six analyses areas are the CCEs that provide the enduring technical thrusts to enable the analysis and assessment to be performed. Related topics include, but are not limited to:
- Methodology for A&A of Complex Systems and Technologies Across Multiple Domains
- Visual, Interactive, Situational Analysis and Assessment
- Analysis and Assessment Methodology for Congested and Contested Operational Environments
- Ballistics Survivability, Lethality and Vulnerability (SLV)
- Cyber Survivability, Lethality and Vulnerability (SLV)
- Electromagnetic Environment (EME) and Warfare
- Personnel Survivability
- Human Systems Integration (HSI) Modeling and Analysis
- Complex Adaptive Systems Analysis
For each of these funding areas, ARL focuses on executing in-house research programs, with a significant emphasis on collaborative research with other organizations in an Open Campus setting.
None is available.
Applicants must first submit a whitepaper to the appropriate TPOC. Whitepapers should present the effort in sufficient detail to allow evaluation of the concept's scientific merit and its potential contributions of the effort to the Army mission. Based on assessment of the whitepapers, feedback will be provided to the proposers to encourage or discourage them from submitting a full proposal.