David J. Barton
The Navy wants to make software developed for underwater sea drones available to industry as an open source platform, according to Fierce Government IT.
In a July 11 FedBizOpps notice, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport requests the development of new code on the existing software by a contractor in return for use of the software.
The notice also includes the Navy’s expectation that a large displacement unmanned undersea vehicle acquisition program is on its way.
According to the Office of Naval Research, the Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle program was started in order to build unmanned undersea vehicles with the capability for long-term and autonomous deployment.
The Navy also said that they might solicit proposals for specialized unmanned maritime vehicle autonomy development next year.
Draper Laboratory from Cambridge, Massachusetts developed the Maritime Open Architecture Autonomy under a sole source contract awarded in 2010, according to David Perera’s article.
The initial terms did not require placement in public domain and also included a nondisclosure requirement, Perera reported.
