Latest Update (as of 26 February 2010)
The Competition Letter of Intent (LOI), the Rules and Metrics document, and an updated Q&A document have been released.
Please submit completed Letters of Intent by email to bruce.donlin.ctr@osd.mil or fax them to ATTENTION: Bruce Donlin (703)695-3063.
The following links are to copies of these documents:
- R2C2 Competition Rules and Metrics
- R2C2 Competition Questions and Answers
Please note that the current competition schedule appears in the table below (and also in the Rules and Metrics document).
Activity
Location
Date
Kick Off Event
Crystal City
22 October 2009
Industry Day
Tyndall AFB
10 Dec 2009
Signed Letters of Intent
Online
3 May 2010
Category Registration
Online
3 May 2010
Optional Competitor Testing
Camp Guernsey
1 Aug to 1 Nov 2010 and 1 May to 1 July 2011
Competitor In-Process Reviews
Competitor site
1 November to 19 November 2010
Prize Competition Packets Issued
Online
90 days prior to Prize Competition
Prize Competition Packets Due
Online
45 days prior to Prize Competition
Prize Competition
Camp Guernsey
4 August through 30 September 2011
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Latest Update (as of 8 February 2010)
The release of the Letter of Intent (LOI) and the Competition rules documents has been delayed. However, the new deadline for LOI submission has been changed to 9 April 2010. The competition organizers still intend for the rules and LOI documents to be released for competitor review at least 30 days prior to the new LOI due date.
Please check back to this space for updates.
Important Update - Letter of Intent
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are providing you an update on the status of the Robotics Range Clearance Competition (R2C2) preparations and competitor entry information. Despite our best intentions, we have not yet received approval to release the Letter of Intent (LOI) to compete from the government legal team. It is our understanding that this is not related to any issues with the content of the LOI, just the workload of the personnel responsible for approving its release.
We anticipate that the LOI will be released within the next ten (10) business days and will be distributed immediately to all interested parties and through the federal announcement process. The new deadline to receive the LOI responses is by close of business on 19 February, 2010.
Also to responsibly complete the competition preparations, we have decided to proceed with preparing ten (10) sites for the competition at Camp Guernsey, WY. This means that the first ten (10) teams to submit their letters of intent will be entered into the competition. Any responses after the first ten will be granted entry if we can secure approval from the installation and regulatory authorities to prepare additional sites.
As was explained during the R2C2 Industry Day, the major timeline bottleneck is the environmental review and approval process for the preparation of the competition sites. This was the driving factor behind the original early January LOI submission date. By selecting to go forward with ten (10) sites we have alleviated some of the time pressure from the competitors regarding the LOI. We believe that ten sites should be sufficient to accommodate all interested teams based on our feedback from the Kick-off meeting and Industry Day activities.
We also understand that publishing the rulebook for the competition is a major factor in your decision to enter the competition. The
presentations from the industry day contain the framework for the rules that we are in the process of finalizing. The rules will be provided at least thirty (30) calendar days prior to the LOI submission deadline.
Please post any questions regarding this announcement through the RoboticRangeClearance.com website using the Question/Comment Form.
Thank you again for your interest and participation in the Robotic Range Clearance Competition events.
Respectfully,
Brian Skibba & Plyler McManus
Robotics Range Clearance Competition Directors
Important Note - Clarification of Competition Scope
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Please read and consider the clarified explanation regarding the scope of the US Army Corp of Engineers anticipated IDIQ contract for UXO services. We believe this information may support your decision to participate in the Robotics Range Clearance Competition (R2C2).
It was brought to the Government's attention during the R2C2 industry day that there may be a misunderstanding concerning the requirements of the future IDIQ contract and how the R2C2 supports it.
The Government anticipates that the goal of the contract will be to procure UNMANNED range clearance services. The range clearance equipment must be unmanned because there is no way to armor the equipment to protect the operator from the larger UXO items.
The US Army Corp of Engineers' goal is to procure the services of a firm who has the capability to execute the entire range clearance mission using an unmanned solution. The result of the competition may prove that only a portion of the range clearance task lends itself to unmanned execution. In this case, the Government will consider procuring the services of unmanned systems proven to be effective for those aspects of the range clearance tasks.
It is expected that the contractor will optimize these unmanned range clearance systems by incorporating automation/autonomy where it is cost effective and capable of executing the tasks in a more effective manner than teleoperation.
The IDIQ contract will likely include a developmental component to allow for the further refinement of the equipment and development of unmanned technologies to perform additional range clearance and maintenance tasks.
Please post any questions regarding this clarification to the Question/Comment Form.
You will receive a reply to your posted question through this website and it will provide you the most expedient and fair method of answering your questions.
Thank you again for your interest and participation in the Robotic Range Clearance Competition events.
Respectfully,
Brian Skibba & Plyler McManus
Robotics Range Clearance Competition Directors
Briefing Materials
The following links are to copies of the briefing materials presented at the Kickoff Meeting and at Industry Day.
Kickoff Meeting (held in Washington, DC) - (Zip file of all Kickoff Meeting material)
- List of Registrants (not necessarily those who attended)
- Competition Overview
- IDIQ Overview
- Range Clearance Process Overview
- AFRL Robotics Clearance Overview
- Camp Guernsey Brief
Industry Day (held at Tyndall, AFB) - (Zip file of all Industry Day material)