U.S. DOT FY 2026 Phase I Pre-Solicitation Q&A
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229 results found
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For Topic 26-OS1, does “commercial transport modernization” require direct deployment in motor-carrier operations, or can upstream aviation
For Topic 26-OS1, does “commercial transport modernization” require direct deployment in motor-carrier operations, or can upstream aviation training and readiness systems qualify if they support downstream safety outcomes through predictive safety analytics?
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Clarification on Transportation Readiness and Predictive Safety Analytics
Clarification on Transportation Readiness and Predictive Safety Analytics:
For Topic 26 OS1, would systems designed to capture and analyze transportation readiness behaviors, operational progression patterns, and behavioral safety indicators for the purpose of improving proactive transportation safety interventions and predictive safety analytics be considered within scope?
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Public Benefit and Safety Impact
For Topic 26-OS1, should Phase I applicants define how the proposed predictive safety analytics framework may support measurable public safety benefits, even if actual incident reduction is expected to be validated in Phase II or later phases?
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Use of Voluntary Carrier Data
For Topic 26-OS1, should applicants clearly define how voluntary carrier data will be collected, protected, minimized, anonymized, and separated from any enforcement, compliance, underwriting, or employment-related decision-making?
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Phase II Transition and Pilot Readiness
For Topic 26-OS1, what level of Phase II transition planning is expected in Phase I? Should applicants identify potential pilot partners, data-sharing pathways, validation environments, commercialization users, and deployment risks as part of the Phase I final report?
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Phase I Proof-of-Concept Deliverable Expectations
For Topic 26-OS1, should Phase I result primarily in a validated system architecture and proof-of-concept design, or is DOT expecting an early working prototype with sample dashboard screens, test data, and preliminary safety-indicator outputs?
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Explainable AI Expectations
For Topic 26-OS1, what level of explainability is expected in Phase I? Would reason codes, contributing-factor summaries, and transparent indicator logic be sufficient, or should applicants include a more formal explainable AI methodology?
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Safety analytics validation methodology
For Topic 26-OS1, how should Phase I applicants validate the safety analytics concept: technical feasibility of data harmonization, predictive model logic, explainability, privacy controls, stakeholder usability, or measurable safety-risk reduction potential?
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Cybersecurity and data protection
For Topic 26-OS1, are there specific cybersecurity or data protection expectations for Phase I Trusted Intermediary architectures using proprietary carrier, telematics, maintenance, or transportation operations data, such as NIST SP 800-171, FISMA, FedRAMP, CMMC, encryption, access control, or audit-log expectations?
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Non-enforcement / non-underwriting boundary
For Topic 26-OS1, should applicants explicitly state that the proposed safety analytics tool is intended for voluntary safety improvement and decision support only, and is not intended to make enforcement, employment, insurance underwriting, or automated compliance determinations?
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Public safety records integration
For Topic 26-OS1, does Phase I require actual integration of public safety records, or is it acceptable to define the architecture, data-mapping approach, and future integration pathway for combining voluntary industry data with public safety datasets in Phase II?
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Proactive safety indicators
For Topic 26-OS1, should Phase I applicants identify and test specific candidate proactive safety indicators, such as telematics patterns, vehicle health, maintenance trends, weather exposure, infrastructure conditions, and operational risk factors, or is Phase I intended primarily to define the framework for selecting and validating those indicators?
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1. Use of anonymized, aggregated, or simulated commercial data
For Topic 26-OS1, may Phase I proof-of-concept work use anonymized, aggregated, or simulated commercial transportation datasets to demonstrate the Trusted Intermediary architecture and safety analytics approach when live carrier data-sharing agreements are still under development?
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For this topic, does transportation safety include assuring the essential navigational signals that GNSS depends on?
One of the growing threats to aviation, maritime, and ground transportation is the increasingly vulnerable state of the navigational signals these systems depend on. GNSS threats are on the rise, with low-cost spoofers and jammers (available for as little as $50) now capable of compromising the navigational capabilities of large shipping vessels and commercial aircraft. This challenge is difficult to address, as the assets that defend against such spoofing and jamming can cost thousands of dollars at minimum, placing them out of reach for most operators across the U.S. transportation network.
It would seem that a solution that could solve…
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Verified mobility-event data
Would verified mobility-event data generated by a controlled commercial passenger transportation fleet be considered an eligible voluntary industry data source for Phase I research, if the data is privacy-preserving and used to develop proactive safety indicators rather than to fund transportation operations?
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Oxalate/formate-based mineral recovery chemistry within scope for 26-PH1?
For topic 26-PH1, would a chemical process focused on improving recovery of rare earth / critical minerals from end-of-life lithium-ion battery materials be considered responsive if it uses low-carbon oxalate/formate-based precipitation chemistry?
Specifically, we are considering a Phase I concept to demonstrate selective precipitation/recovery of representative critical minerals from battery-recycling streams, benchmarked against conventional oxalic acid/oxalate routes, with attention to safer handling and improved recovery economics.
Or is this topic primarily focused on residual-energy removal / battery de-energizing technologies rather than downstream mineral recovery chemistry?
2 votes -
2 votes