REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala., 25 Nov. 2010. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command (AMCOM) at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is surveying industry to find companies able to design and build a tiny inertial measurement unit that would fit the small size, weight, and power consumption requirements of missiles, guided munitions, handheld weapons, and unmanned vehicles.
The AMCOM Contracting Center issued a request for information Tuesday (RFI W31P4Q11R0034) for the Micro Inertial Navigator (MINAV) project, which seeks to develop microelectronics technology for a non-Global Positioning System (GPS), non-celestial micro inertial navigation system. AMCOM is conducting this industry survey on behalf of the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM), Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC).
The Army is asking industry for risk, price, performance, research, products and other information related to planning the development of the MINAV system. The Army will treat industry responses as information only, and not as formal proposals.
Although today's state of the art in navigation and azimuth sensing technology provides high accuracy, typically it is large, heavy, and power hungry, Army researchers explain. Many weapon systems today, however, are man-portable, remotely operated, or unmanned, and require an inertial/GPS blended solution or stand-alone inertial backup in the event of GPS denial. Small navigation-grade inertial sensor technology remains unavailable.
Army researchers are asking industry to determine the ability of current and near-term technology to support a MINAV system; identify potential sensor designs with the potential to support handheld and unmanned weapon systems; determine the approximate cost of developing a MINAV; and establish a reasonable schedule for developing this technology.
Companies interested should present a briefing or white paper addressing each of these areas. The MINAV would contain six inertial sensors, three accelerometers, and three gyroscopes in one package, excluding electronics and power supply, within a limited volume. The MINAV sensor system should measure four to 12 cubic inches; weigh eight to 20 ounces; consume one to five Watts of power; align in one to five minutes; and be accurate from five to 25 meters.
Companies interested should e-mail briefings and white papers to the Army's Greg Graham at [email protected] no later than 23 Dec. 2010. No foreign participation is authorized. For questions or concerns contact Michael Garner by phone at 256-876-8278, or by e-mail at [email protected].
More information is online at https://www.fbo.gov/notices/cb1fa1d0a46f6fcbee5918b58cb69bce.
