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U.S. DOT FY 2024.2 Phase I Pre-Solicitation Q&A



3/1/24  Update: The Pre-solicitation is now closed. Topic questions are no longer being accepted. * * *

This U.S. DOT Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Pre-solicitation Q&A Forum provides small businesses an opportunity to submit clarifying questions on the topic published in the U.S. DOT Fiscal Year (FY) 2024.2 Phase I Pre-Solicitation. Questions will be answered by the Technical Experts/Topic Authors during this period. Questions shall be limited to improving the understanding of a particular topic's requirements and should not share proposal ideas nor proprietary information.

The U.S. DOT’s FY 2024.2 Pre-Solicitation period is February 1, 2024, through March 1, 2024, at 5:00 pm Eastern Time (ET). Only questions posted within this period will be responded to.

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Register: Anyone can view questions, but registration is required if you wish to post a question and receive a notification when it is responded to.
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Search: Browse the the existing questions by key word to see if your question has already been addressed. If you see a question, you are also interested in, you can add a vote to the question, or leave a comment.

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  1. Use the “Enter your idea” box located at the middle of the page to enter your questions.
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Please note, all comments will be public information. Potential offerors shall not include in the question(s) or comment(s) any information that they do not wish to be made public. Telephone inquiries or meeting requests will not be addressed and may be removed. The U.S. DOT shall not respond to requests for advice or guidance on any offeror’s solution to any SBIR topic and shall not consider any submitted materials other than questions.

Thanks for joining our FY24.2 SBIR Pre-solicitation Q&A Forum.

If you experience technical difficulties, please contact us at DOTSBIR@dot.gov.

55 results found

  1. Working with Existing DOT Tools: How can our developed tools integrate with the DOT’s existing systems?

    Example: Ensure your tools can export data compatible with our GIS mapping software.

    2 votes

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  2. Standard Data Formats: In what format should we submit our traffic data analysis to ensure compatibility with DOT systems?

    Example: Submit data in JSON or XML formats for seamless integration with our analysis tools.

    2 votes

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  3. 2 votes

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  4. Project Team Composiiton

    Is it appropriate for the composition of project teams to change from Phase 1 to Phase 2?

    2 votes

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  5. Can you describe the traffic data to be provided?

    Access to Traffic Data: How can we access the necessary traffic data? Is there a specific database or website?
    Example: Access is provided via an online portal with APIs for real-time and historical traffic data.

    2 votes

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  6. Minimum/ideal number of data elements to include in solution?

    Is there a minimum number of data elements to be included to be considered for this opportunity? Is one proposal that looks to generate or enhance 5 elements to solve a particular problem less valuable to U.S. DOT than another that looks to enhance or generate 10 elements? Or is the use case of the data the main factor for evaluating?

    2 votes

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  7. Data for Phase I - are we expected to use best available data for the selected geography?

    It appears that the budget for Phase I will likely cover utilizing best available data elements for a selected geography and may not allow procuring or testing new data sources. Please clarify if novel data sources are meant to be applied in Phase II or later.

    2 votes

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  8. Why no data detail for freight needs (e.g. unobstructed vertical clearance) other than freight volume counts in Table 2?

    While the Complete Streets AI Initiative Pre-Solicitation mentions freight five times, why no mention of freight data / goods movement / waste-recycling needs in the Table 2 list of data elements other than freight vehicle volume and type data? Roadway characteristics important for freight such as unobstructed vertical clearances, turning radii for freight vehicles, etc. are missing. Can these omissions be corrected in the resulting solicitation to remove bias against freight needs?

    2 votes

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  9. Prompt and Output

    Examples 1 and 2 in APPENDIX A show “prompt” and “output” in the form of text and descriptions of imagery. Further, the expected Phase II outcomes list includes “perform[ing] analysis in response to queries from users.”

    Does the decision software tool need a natural language query interface?

    2 votes

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  10. Novel Data Coverage

    APPENDIX A states “The outcome of Phase I shall be a proof-of-concept report, as well as the digital data layers that have been generated for the chosen geographic region… [and shall include an] assessment of data coverage limitations and gaps”

    Can you elaborate on how important the percentage of coverage is for the novel generated, enhanced, and integrated data elements within the geographic region during Phase 1? All other things being equal, do you have a sense if you’d rather see offeror select a small densely populated area or a sprawling geographic area for Phase 1?

    2 votes

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  11. Contiguous Geographic Areas

    As long as it meets the stated summary requirements, can Phase 1’s contiguous geographic area be arbitrarily defined by the offeror?

    2 votes

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  12. Standalone Application or Webtool?

    Should the final tool be a standalone application for desktop or tablet or some type of webapp?

    1 vote

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  13. Should proposed solution expand on existing AI capabilities?

    Is this solicitation looking for AI advances in areas where capabilities already exist, such as using Nearmap for satellite image recognition, or looking for advances where there are technology gaps that stand in the way of achieving the Complete Streets vision?

    1 vote

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  14. Focus on new ideas or existing technology?

    We understand the purpose of this initiative is to propel early-stage concepts out of R&D and into a nationwide product for public and private use. We are an existing company with an existing software that is already in use across the country. Does this preclude us from responding to this initiative?

    1 vote

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  15. Granularity of Analysis

    How granular could the decision support tool analysis, solution recommendation and operational impacts be? How does the USDOT anticipate this granularity scaling over the phases of the program? The level of detail that is reasonable to collect for a 200k pilot project in a small area may not be reasonable when scaled to 50% of the US.

    1 vote

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  16. System Considerations and Integrations

    Considering the initiative's goal to develop decision-support software tools that assist in the design, deployment, and operation of Complete Streets, how should applicants address the integration of their proposed solutions with existing planning and mapping platforms widely used by state, local, and tribal transportation agencies? Are there specific tools or platforms that the DOT recommends or requires compatibility with, to facilitate the broad adoption and effective use of the developed tools among practitioners?

    1 vote

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  17. Travel Behavior/Safety

    What methodologies can be employed to assess traveler behavior and safety within the context of implementing Complete Streets treatments? Do you consider investigating the influence of monetary and non-monetary incentives and access to transportation modes on commuters' mode behavior?

    1 vote

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  18. Privacy Standards

    What privacy standards does USDOT prioritize? Should the vendor leverage methods like synthetic or modeled data to safeguard PII?

    1 vote

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  19. Does DoT have a processes, heuristics, criteria or a rubric for working the problem statement?

    Any methods/metrics for establishing either the need for improvement or analyzing the quantitative value of infrastructure to be evaluated and/or remediated?

    1 vote

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →
  20. 1 vote

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    1 comment  ·  Admin →

U.S. DOT FY 2024.2 Phase I Pre-Solicitation Q&A

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