DOD soliciting applications for trade show focused on ‘unknown’ capabilities, commercial tech
The Pentagon’s Office of Innovation and Modernization is sponsoring an invitation-only Technology Innovation Discovery Event this summer, and it’s accepting applications from companies and other organizations that would like to participate.
The TIDE 2023 gathering, slated for Aug. 30 at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Virginia, will be set up like a trade show and attendees may have opportunities to display and showcase their prototypes, according to a Department of Defense request for information posted on Sam.gov.
“The DoD and U.S. interagency partners use TIDE to gain situational awareness and understanding of the state-of-play of innovative technologies in a specified focus area to inform decision-making that enhances strategic and operational capabilities. TIDE 2023 seeks to discover emerging capabilities that may produce surprising impacts during future conflicts,” per the RFI.
More specifically, the Pentagon is on the hunt for “unknown” capabilities as well as “unanticipated” applications for commercial tech.
“Technology advances at a difficult pace for anyone to track, introducing novel solutions capable of previously un-heard of applications. TIDE 2023 is seeking innovative prototypes that may improve current military capabilities or unlock new approaches that are not feasible with existing technologies,” the RFI states.
Additionally, the DOD is interested in “leveraging proven existing commercially available technologies and applying them asymmetrically to achieve previously unforeseen impacts. This technology may include repurposing algorithms or sensors, modifying autonomous vehicles for new payloads, or using novel materials and chemistries for new applications.”
The department also seeks innovations — such as novel materials and manufacturing processes, or improvements in artificial intelligence and autonomy — that would enable the deployment of capabilities “at a scale or speed that challenges the adversary’s ability to react,” according to the special notice.
Moreover, the Pentagon is looking for solutions to counter adversaries’ technologies, such as tools that would disrupt their sensors, communications, or other capabilities across warfighting domains including air, land, sea, space, cyberspace, or the electromagnetic spectrum.
Technology developers in industry, academia and government that hope to be invited to participate in TIDE 2023, can respond to the RFI and submit applications describing their innovations. Responses are due by June 16.
Participation in the event could lead to “follow-on collaboration, support for further development, and/or fielding of matured capabilities,” per the RFI.
The Office of Innovation and Modernization, which is sponsoring TIDE 2023, is a component of the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
