SOCOM adds new ‘collaborative autonomy’ capabilities to tech wish list

U.S. Special Operations Command updated its technical areas of interest in a broad agency announcement to include additional autonomous capabilities that could aid commandos with their missions.

The changes to the BAA came in an amendment posted Thursday on Sam.gov.

A new subsection, dubbed “collaborative autonomy,” is part of the document’s list of disruptive technologies that officials are eyeing.

“SOF is interested in improving Battlespace Awareness by leveraging systems where multiple Autonomous or Remote‐controlled Systems (ARCS) share data in real time, allowing them to work together without constant human intervention,” officials wrote. “Battlespace data collected by individual ARCS elements and collaboratively shared through data transport services should inform ARCS automated tasking, positioning, and execution activities to meet overall SOF mission intent. Data collection systems integrated with ARCS, without degradation of ARCS range and endurance, and able to seamlessly operate with crewed systems to reduce operator burden, reliance on full‐time high‐speed communications link, and decision loop cycle time are especially of interest to SOF.”

They noted that data collection assets should include modular and open systems approach (MOSA) software as well as modular hardware designs allowing payloads to be quickly installed and removed, giving commandos more flexibility to tailor them for various missions.

Officials are eyeing a slew of cutting-edge, autonomy‐enabled intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tools to help collect audio, visual (day and night) and radio frequency data “across all domains, from seabed to low‐earth orbit,” according to the BAA.

SOCOM is looking to equip small autonomous and remotely operated platforms — including drones, ground robots and uncrewed surface and underwater vessels — with ISR and edge computing capabilities that can operate in environments where access to traditional networks and IT capabilities is limited.

Tech that allows for the fusion of sensor data collected by small robotic platforms using multiple intel disciplines and recognition of patterns and anomalies are “especially interesting,” officials wrote.

“Furthermore, SOF desires data collection systems enabling augmented reality (AR) capabilities to provide warfighters with visual cues to identify and discern targets, foes, and friendly forces,” they added.

Another subsection in the amended BAA focuses on autonomy‐enabled data processing and exploitation, noting an interest in systems that can provide commandos “response recommendations” and predictive analytics based on real-time data updates.

“Candidate processing and exploitation systems should provide battlespace geographic orientation and use easily understood language and audio/visual symbology. These processing and exploitation systems should use standard software interfaces allowing the cybersecurity testing necessary for integration onto SOF Information networks and must be able to connect to secure data transport services. Data storage and management techniques enhancing the predictive reliability, speed, and maintenance of processing and exploiting systems are also interesting to SOF,” officials wrote.