Awarded to Systems Engineering and Assessment Ltd (SEA)

Start date: Tuesday 5 January 2021
Value: £225,752.09
Company size: large
UK MOD, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl)

Multi Environment Display

7 Incomplete applications

3 SME, 4 large

12 Completed applications

8 SME, 4 large

Important dates

Published
Friday 13 November 2020
Deadline for asking questions
Friday 20 November 2020 at 11:59pm GMT
Closing date for applications
Friday 27 November 2020 at 11:59pm GMT

Overview

Summary of the work
Build an Alpha phase prototype display based on the design generated in a previously held design sprint. The software is to display the tactical picture, wide area picture, bearing plots and a combination of relevant open source oceanographic information, UK Hydrographic Office data and interpreting oceanographic prediction tool outputs
Latest start date
Monday 4 January 2021
Expected contract length
3 months
Location
No specific location, for example they can work remotely
Organisation the work is for
UK MOD, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl)
Budget range
The budget ceiling for this is £250k

About the work

Why the work is being done
Currently the command team of a surface ship have the tactical picture, the wide area picture and environmental information on different air gapped systems. Dstl wish to build a display that brings environmental information and predictions together with the tactical and wide area pictures and bearing plots in to a single display to enhance the situational awareness of the command team. The development and integration work will need to be completed by 31st March 2021. The final display is to be integrated into the Dstl Command Lab infrastructure via DDS interface.

The work must be delivered by the end of 31st March 2021
Problem to be solved
How to display real time information with latent data in a coherent display, as well as to identify and extract the relevant information from the Oceanographic prediction tool and live data and display this information in a way that is accessible/understandable to the end user and introduce augmented reality, where appropriate, to enhance the users understanding of the 3 dimensional environment that they are operating in.
Who the users are and what they need to do
As a Warfare Commander I need to bring all relevant information about the current environment and platform positions together to provide greater situational awareness of the battlespace.
Early market engagement
Any work that’s already been done
A design sprint has already been conducted and a design for the display developed. The design sprint was run and attended by MOD personnel.

Example screen shots from this are available from ejcummins@dstl.gov.uk on request.
Existing team
Dstl will provide a Product Owner to support the development of the display through development sprints. As well as warfare experts (serving military personnel) to support any initial discovery phase conducted and to help refine any stories within the backlog if required.
Current phase
Alpha

Work setup

Address where the work will take place
The selected supplier will to work at their home site to undertake the planning, development and writing up of the work. However, final testing and integration of the display will be at Dstl Portsdown West, Fareham, Hampshire.
Working arrangements
The selected supplier will to work at their home site to undertake the planning, development and writing up of the work; however, they will need to work closely with the Dstl Product Owner via remote working applications (e.g. Microsoft Teams).

The delivery of the application and integration into the Command Lab will occur at Dstl Portsdown West site (Fareham, Hampshire).
Security clearance
The selected supplier team will need to hold SC clearance at a minimum for this work or be able to obtain this before commencement of the work

Additional information

Additional terms and conditions
DEFCON 76 Edn 12/06 Contractor’s Personnel at Government Establishments
DEFCON 660 Edn 12/15 Official-Sensitive Security Requirements

Shall apply

Skills and experience

Buyers will use the essential and nice-to-have skills and experience to help them evaluate suppliers’ technical competence.

Essential skills and experience
  • Demonstrate experience in developing military applications using Agile processes
  • Demonstrate experience in installing applications on existing infrastructures
  • Demonstrate previous experience of developing Augmented Reality displays
  • Have basic knowledge and understanding of maritime ASW operations
  • Describe their methodology to develop the display
  • Identify the skills and experience of the proposed team
  • Be able to deliver the requirement by 31st March 2021
Nice-to-have skills and experience

How suppliers will be evaluated

All suppliers will be asked to provide a written proposal.

How many suppliers to evaluate
5
Proposal criteria
  • Propose a technical solution by describing a clear and credible approach to achieving the objectives for each task in the requirement
  • Provide evidence of a track record of formulating innovative solutions and creative designs to stretch operational boundaries.
  • How well risks and dependencies have been identified and appropriate mitigation identified.
  • Evidence that the proposed staff have the requisite expertise and work experience to undertake their identified tasks
  • Provision of an achievable plan, so MOD have confidence of achieving the required outcomes by the timescales required
Cultural fit criteria
  • Provide examples of when you have collaboratively worked with other organisation, supplier and customers
  • Provide example that you are capable of providing clear explanations of the work to non-specialist staff.
  • Provide examples of being open to challenging our approaches and suggesting alternatives that could provide benefit
Payment approach
Fixed price
Additional assessment methods
  • Case study
  • Work history
Evaluation weighting

Technical competence

60%

Cultural fit

5%

Price

35%

Questions asked by suppliers

1. Are able to provide the screenshots from the design sprint?
We are unable to upload the output of the design sprint to Digital Marketplace.

However, if you are interested in receiving a copy of some example screen shots from the design sprint output then please contact ejcummins@dstl.gov.uk to request a copy
2. Is the proposal to include pricing information, before the 27th of November. Or will this be addressed at a later ITT stage
The pricing information will be required on proposal submission at ITT stage after closing of the EOI.
3. Is this a software development project or a hardware development project? If this is a software only project, have you preference for a particular AR platform?
This is a software development project. There is no preference for the AR platform as long as it is commercially available.

The supplier will need to supply the required hardware for the demonstration of the AR functionally at delivery of the prototype.
4. Are you looking for Augmented Reality (AR) capability as part of the proposal, or is it to integrate with current DSTL AR capability?
AR capability should be part of this proposal
5. How important is AR to the bid? Is it an essential component for the Multi Environment Display, or something that could be integrated 6 months down the line
It is an essential component
6. How is the AR capability actually being used?
To improve the operator’s situational awareness of the battlespace and oceanographic environment