REQUEST FOR STATEMENTS OF INTEREST (SOI)
NUMBER W9132T-18-SOI-0004
PROJECT TO BE INITIATED in FY 2018
Project Title: Advanced Collaboration Techniques in Complex Urban Modeling
Responses to this Request for Statements of Interest will be used to identify potential investigators for a project to be funded by the Engineer Research and Development Center – Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL), which seeks to conduct research and provide support for holistic infrastructure system dynamic modeling. Approximately $54,000 is expected to be available to support the project for a period of twelve (12) months after award for the required objectives (Tasks 1-5). The optional tasks (Tasks 6-8) will have up to an additional $170,000 (Task 6: $40,000, Task 7: $60,000, Task 8: $70,000) available to support the project. The total potential award amount for this CESU is $224,000.
Background:
Understanding dense urban environments (DUE) requires integrated, accurate, neighborhood scale conceptual and computational models detailing operationally relevant information about the environmental, infrastructural, and social systems. However, DUE complexity requires the ability to capture and integrate the interrelationships between subpopulations, infrastructural systems, and directors (those that could change the system). There are a number of existing domain specific models that represent components of these systems, but the complexity of cities, when treated as self-organizing systems, cannot be adequately addressed using individual models.
ERDC-CERL is developing a computational framework that will support the capability to model complex operational environments by linking models and model components from different domains to represent urban complexity. This framework is referred to as FICUS (Framework Integrating Complex Uncertain Systems) and includes the following component types:
· Space-Time Uncertainty Quantified Information (STUQI) – Space-time data suitable for Uncertainty Quantification[1] (UQ) to be passed between all FICUS Components. UQ is the science of quantitative characterization and reduction of uncertainties in both computational and real world applications.
· Relationship Component – Describes causal relationships including aleatoric and epistemic uncertainty.
· Flow Component System – Set of STUQI and relationship components necessary to describe a flow.
· Director Component – Directs and modifies other components’ inputs and outputs during temporal analysis.
· Visualization Component – Displays STUQI in Google Earth, or similar communication environments.
As part of this effort, a case study will be employed to characterize issues of population movement in urban systems, and help address questions like: How do environmental, infrastructural, and social system characteristics influence human movement both as individuals and as a whole? Ethnic integration and security concerns are examples of social system influences. Municipal services, and employment prospects are examples of infrastructural influences.
Brief Description of Anticipated Work:
The government seeks research and technical support for the development of methodology to componentize and integrate both existing and newly developed models of DUE elements. Work performed under this agreement will require experience and expertise in state-of-the-art methods to integrate computational models with disparate data types, source programming languages, and capable of operating in High Performance Computing (HPC) environments. Further, any work performed as part of this effort should be developed as components of the Object Modeling System (OMS). OMS elements support the ability to rapidly connect computational components of various models across platforms. The required objectives are:
1. Create a multi-user environment for the FICUS User Interface (FICUS-UI).
a. FICUS Server allows user/passwords for sections of the data model based on users/groups/allKnownUsers/public permission structure
b. Data elements only visible to users allowed to see them
c. A “public” user, who doesn’t need a password to see “public” data, but cannot create new data nor see data specific to users, groups, or allKnownUsers permissions
d. Implement `fog of war’ capabilities where some users are “red team”, others “blue team”, and a simulation master controller: one realization is simulated reality, group of realizations is red team, another group of realizations is blue team, etc.
2. Enhance FICUS Computational Framework to automatically build data models from application models: The FICUS-UI provides a data model navigation tool which should allow navigation through FICUS computation models allowing intuitive analysis of the computation model. For example, input data to an application should be shown as the visible subfolders of the application’s output maps or data in the FICUS-UI Data Model.
3. FICUS-UI data and model reach-back capability. All data objects and model objects should have a link that opens a message window. The message block should allow a user with a verified email address to send a message to the POC of the data or model object. The message is to be sent to an email address located in the appropriate JSON file (email addresses of data/model POCs will remain hidden from clients viewing data or models).
4. Document visualization experiment research in journal article format. Summarize the innovative research from task 1 above in a journal article suitable for submission to peer-reviewed journals. Identify target journals and co-author the article with ERDC-CERL researchers. Collaborate on the innovative research from task 1 above in a journal article suitable for submission to peer-reviewed journals.
5. Participate in bi-weekly team meetings with ERDC-CERL researchers. Meetings may be attended virtually through web meetings and teleconference.
Optional objectives:
6. Add simple geographic editing tools to FICUS: Allow for creation of new raster grids and shapefiles, of either points, lines, or polygons, and the editing of shapefiles from within the FICUS-UI. New raster grid capability will allow FICUS-UI user to specify the extent of the new grid, the resolution of the new grid (or allow user to select existing geoTIFF to copy grid extents), and have the user paint data values into the grid.
7. Add Army specific multi-scale base maps to FICUS User Interface. User will specific lists of geoTIFF images to be used as base layers at different scales. Base map creation tool will create a docker container that can be plugged into FICUS-UI so that the base layer will work when the FICUS-UI is on a computer that is offline using local datasets.
8. Add Wikimapia and NGA place names components to FICUS-UI. Use the Wikimapia API to allow Wikimapia to appear in FICUS-UI. Allow export of Wikimapia shapes and data to shapefiles or KMLs that can be edited in FICUS-UI. Assume NGA place names will be KML or shapefiles and allow for visualizing their locations.
Substantial Government involvement is anticipated for this project. The Government’s participation efforts include:
1. Develop component modeling tools which represent flows, space-time information, and relationships in DUE.
2. Data gathering and pre-processing. ERDC-CERL will procure and pre-process data needed for component model execution and testing of model interaction.
3. Development of case-study and parameters requires to test capabilities.
4. Approval of project activities. Project activities will be managed through regular (bi-weekly) virtual meetings conducted by teleconference and web meeting.
Materials Requested for Statement of Interest/Qualifications:
Please provide the following via e-mail attachment (Maximum length: 2 pages, single-spaced 12 pt. font).
1. Name, Organization and Contact Information
2. Brief Statement of Qualifications (including):
a. Biographical Sketch,
b. Relevant past projects and clients with brief descriptions of these projects,
c. Staff, faculty or students available to work on this project and their areas of expertise,
d. Any brief description of capabilities to successfully complete the project you may wish to add (e.g. equipment, laboratory facilities, greenhouse facilities, field facilities, etc.).
Note: A proposed budget is NOT requested at this time.
Review of Statements Received: Based on a review of the Statements of Interest received, an investigator or investigators will be invited to prepare a full study proposal. Statements will be evaluated based on the investigator’s specific experience and capabilities in areas related to the study requirements.
Please send responses or direct questions to:
Angela D. Holcomb
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)
Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL)
P O Box 9005
Champaign, IL 61826-9005
Angela.D.Holcomb@usace.army.mil
Timeline for Review of Statements of Interest: Review of Statements of Interest will begin ten working days after posting of SOI.
Posted 7-25-18
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_quantification