Uncle Sam Seeks Collaborators For Smart-Vehicle R&D

ByDeborah Austin The U.S. Army needs a few good companies -- and more -- to tackle a burgeoning demand for "intelligent vehicles." With changes in the nature of war and terrorism, the Army needs smaller, more mobile, lethal and survivable combat vehicles -- and with onboard electronic systems to help crews react to situations instantly and accurately. The National Automotive Center (NAC), Warren, Mich. -- the U.S. Dept. of Defense/Army focal point for collaborative ground vehicle research-and-development -- recently announced that hundreds of opportunities have opened for small businesses to work on developing such vehicles through NAC's portion of this year's Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program. SBIR promotes small-business participation in federal research and development. Information and proposals on NAC-specific portions of the SBIR program are viewable at www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu/sbir/solicitations/sbir022/army022.htm, listings numbered A02-218 through A02-252, under the TARDEC heading in the index. Proposal descriptions follow the index. For more information, contact Alex Sandel at 810/574-7545 or [email protected]. Applications for the program may be submitted between July 1, 2002, and Aug. 14, 2002.