Category: 2010

Barone Consulting Awarded DARPA ULTRA-Vis Phase 2 SETA Support Task Order

DARPA and Barone Consulting work to develop state-of-the-art information superiority and tactical augmented reality systems to elite soldiers in the field.

Washington, DC (September 21, 2010) – The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), through the Information Innovation Office (I2O), has awarded Washington, DC based Barone Consulting a $518 thousand task order contract for the Urban Leader Tactical Response, Awareness and Visualization (ULTRA-Vis) Phase 2 Program, systems engineering and technical assistance (SETA) support effort.
“ULTRA-Vis is the first true Augmented Reality system for ground soldiers. By developing state-of-the-art holographic see-through displays and computer vision aided infrastructure free head tracking, the information superiority available to fighter pilots with heads-up-displays will now be available to our elite ground forces,” said Kevin Barone, President and CEO of Barone Consulting. “With ULTRA-Vis we are pushing the envelope on a series of technologies which will have far reaching impacts in both military as well as civilian products.”The ULTRA-Vis program has developed a prototype tactical augmented reality system for use by soldiers in the field. The system overlays full-color graphical iconography onto the local scene observed by the soldier. To enable this capability, the program developed and integrated a light-weight, low-power holographic see-through display with a vision-enabled position and orientation tracking system. Using the ULTRA-Vis system, a soldier can visualize the location of other forces, vehicles, hazards, and aircraft in the local environment even when these are not visible to the soldier. Additionally, the system can be used to communicate tactically significant (local) information directly to the soldier including imagery, navigation routes, and alerts.

Barone Consulting will provide subject matter experts responsible for overseeing the technical development of both prototype holographic displays and state of the art computer vision algorithms to enhance GPS and inertial sensor positional information. Barone Consulting will coordinate the Phase 2 final testing and evaluation activity and have responsibility for determining the performance and computer algorithms to be advanced to Phase 3. The ULTRA-Vis Phase 2 performers have been selected as SRI International – Sarnoff Labs (Princeton, NJ), Applied Research Associates (Raleigh NC), and BAE Systems (Rochester UK).

SETA support for the ULTRA-Vis program was awarded under a task order to Booz Allen Hamilton’s DARPA/I2O contract vehicle. Work will be completed onsite at DARPA’s headquarters in Arlington, VA, over a period of 18-24 months.

Founded in 2009, Barone Consulting provides system engineering and technical assistance services to the Department of Defense and the intelligence community. They provide a cadre of elite subject matter experts to the government in support of game-changing, cutting edge technologies that help performers bridge the “valley of death” between R&D and fielded tactically relevant products. To find out more, please visit www.baronedc.com.

Barone Consulting Awarded DARPA ISIS Phase 3 SETA Support Task Order

Recognizing Barone Consulting’s experience with mission software related to communications systems and flight operations, DARPA’s STO taps their expertise for ISIS Phase 3 SETA support.

Washington, DC (August 29, 2009) The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Strategic Technology Office (STO) has awarded Washington, DC based Barone Consulting a task order worth $691 thousand for the Integrated Sensor Is Structure (ISIS) Phase 3 Program, systems engineering and technical assistance (SETA) support effort.
‘Barone Consulting is extremely proud to be supporting this visionary system, which will provide unprecedented ISR capabilities to our armed forces’ said Kevin Barone, president and CEO of Barone Consulting. With the DARPA ISIS program, our Air Force flight testing experience and software development experience filled a critical gap in the government’s ability to manage this high risk, high reward program.

The joint DARPA/U.S. Air Force Integrated Sensor is Structure (ISIS) program is focused on developing a sensor of unprecedented proportions that will be fully integrated into a stratospheric airship. ISIS is designed to provide persistent wide-area surveillance, tracking, and engagement for hundreds of time-critical air and ground targets in deployed overseas urban and rural environments, without requiring in-theater support facilities or personnel. ISIS seeks radical sensor improvements by melding the next generation technologies for enormous lightweight antenna apertures and high-energy density components into a highly integrated, lightweight, multi-purpose airship structure, completely erasing the distinction between payload and platform.

Barone Consulting will provide subject matter expertise, oversight of the airships’ flight safety systems, and interfacing with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Unmanned Aircraft Program Office (UAPO) to coordinate airworthiness determinations in support of an FAA COA. As a joint partner in the ISIS program, Barone Consulting will coordinate with the Air Force Flight Test Organizations at Edwards Air Force Base (California) and Wright Patterson Air Force Base (Ohio). In addition to flight safety and airworthiness, Barone Consulting will bring their experience in mission software development to oversee the ISIS ground station, mission planning software, and flight operations and communications software.

SETA support for the ISIS program, which was awarded under a task order to System Planning Corporations DARPA/STO contract vehicle, will be completed onsite at DARPA’s Arlington, VA, office over the next 36 months. Lockheed Martin in Palmdale, CA, has been selected as the prime integrator along with Raytheon Systems in El Segundo, CA, as the radar developer. The total contract award is valued at $399.9 million.

Founded in 2009, Barone Consulting provides system engineering and technical assistance services to the Department of Defense and the intelligence community. They provide a cadre of elite subject matter experts to the government in support of game-changing, cutting edge technologies that help performers bridge the “valley of death” between R&D and fielded tactically relevant products. To find out more, please visit www.baronedc.com