JAIC Blanket Purchase Agreement

The Forward Edge-AI, Inc. JAIC Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) team is comprised of organizations that use their proven core competencies to meet mission requirements. We pioneered a fundamentally unique approach to ensuring the resiliency of AI and associated training data. As a result, we are building fair, resilient, and inclusive technology while accelerating the operationalization, and adoption of AI-enabled warfighting capabilities. The result is a seamless AI T&E support platform that can respond to urgent mission needs within 24-hours and overcome any challenge.

Forward Edge-AI’s T&E products and services derive from our Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) R/DT&E projects. DOD customers are increasingly leveraging the sole-source authorities of the SBIR program to partner with us. The sole-source award avoids the arduous process the government must go through to compete a requirement. A sole-source task order award can be made in a matter of weeks or even days. Additional advantages :

No limit on the size, scope, or duration of a sole-source
No limit on contract type (Delivery Order, Task Order, IDIQ, BOA, BPAs)
Size standards do not apply
Small businesses are not required to perform 51%

Conversational interface applications using voice to text
Speech-enabled products and services for Government applications and systems
Image analysis, testing deep learning based visual search and image classifier
Natural Language Processing (NLP)-enabled products and services
Humans augmented by machines (to include human-machine interfaces) and improved methods to measure warfighter cognitive and physical workloads (to include Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) test services)
Autonomous systems

Locking down AI T&E tools and software according to DoD and JCF security standards
Packaging and delivering AI T&E tools and software as hardened containers
Packaging AI T&E tools in accordance with DoD and JCF to ensure integration
Providing AI T&E tools with JCF APIs for exporting testing data and test results
Integrating AI T&E tools and services into the JCF platform
Registering AI T&E tools and services in the JCF provided AI service marketplace
Providing technical and system administration support
Conducting T&E activities within JCF platform

Darktrace is a global leader in autonomous AI cyber defense. Amid a constantly changing threat landscape, Darktrace AI enables organizations of all industry sectors to build up resilience against novel attacks, by autonomously learning their ‘digital DNA’.

CASE STUDY:

Constant innovation is at the heart of IVAR. Focusing on reducing energy consumption both as a company and for their customers, the team are pushing boundaries in the manufacturing field with the energy-saving, cutting-edge technology they produce. To improve operational efficiency, IVAR connected its IT andOT infrastructure. But, while the synergy of these cyberphysical systems fueled innovation and organizational output, the team’s critical operations and sensitive IP were now more vulnerable to attack. One particular concern was the increasing prevalence of cyber-attacks pivoting through IT environments to hijack ICS processes. Although OT/IT convergence presents new and significant technological risks, it also provides an opportunity for improving OT security and resilience with an enterprise-wide approach to cyber defense. To help the team adapt and defend their digital infrastructure and highly-valuable data – including information on their customers and suppliers – IVAR turned to Darktrace’s Cyber AI for autonomous threat detection and real-time visibility.
Where “the art of the possible” meets the road

CASE STUDY:

As the nation’s transportation infrastructure ages, government agencies like state Departments of Transportation (DOT) are pressed to maintain critical systems with finite maintenance budgets. To that end, this state DOT has assembled a library of approximately 20 million images: every stop light, directional sign, street and highway exit in its purview. The agency asked KPMG to bring AI savvy to the challenge of building analytic models that could recognize, classify and geo-locate each of them on the state map, then use historical data to generate scenario forecasts and prioritize upkeep or repair investments. Working together, KPMG and the DOT designed and tested AI-driven models that combined neural networking and image augmentation with geographic information systems and dashboard reporting. The new tools deliver an instant view of the state’s transportation infrastructure and support asset preservation budgeting, and can also be leveraged to help envision the future of mobility and enable self-driving cars. KPMG helped the state DOT develop AI-driven models that represent firsts for government agencies, and make the promise of AI real.
CASE STUDY:

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to preserve the integrity of communication channels for business enterprises, financial institutions, and consumers. Attackers operate like businesses by investing in campaigns and generate returns by using stolen credentials to gain network access, inject ransomware, or commit direct fraud. The innovation aims to prevent $4 B a year in financial scams through robust and enduring countermeasures. 90% of large enterprise customer breaches start from email or p2p/SMS messages that trick customers and employees into revealing sensitive information. An average phishing attack spans 21 hours between the first and last victim and the detection of each attack occurs an average 9 hours after the first victim. This gives attackers a window of opportunity during which most of the damage is done. This project seeks to identify and protect against such attacks through a real-time machine learning system.

This SBIR Phase II project develops a method for storing data in a blockchain in a high performing manner, to ensure quality training of ML/AI models, and production level inference. The innovation addresses the challenge of data drift and adversarial AI attacks where the provenance of the data is unknown. The Phase II project also leverages swarm intelligence as a new consensus mechanism specifically designed for more democratic online group-to-group collaboration in a distributed system. The project’s innovations will expand the understanding of telecommunications, the economics of smishing and vishing, and 5G security.
Automation Anywhere is a global leader in Robotic Process Automation (RPA), empowering customers to automate end-to-end business processes with AI driven software bots – digital workers that perform repetitive and manual tasks, resulting in dramatic productivity gains, optimized customer experience and more engaged employees.

CASE STUDY:

For the US Army, the business problem was Contracting officers would manage critical and diverse portfolios of contract requirements for various customers, stakeholders and requiring activities. When a contracting officer completes a contract responsibility determination process, this tedious task could take up to an hour and was required to be done multiple times throughout the entire acquisition process. The Army issued approximately 250,000 contracts a year.

The solution was developed and deployed using Automation Anywhere RPA to create the Determination of Responsibility Assistant (DORA) Bot in 2 months. This reduced the amount of time it took Army Contracting Officers to determine contractor responsibility from as much as 2 hours to 2 min saving each contracting officer 312 hours and the US Army as much as $29 million per year. This bot is now being adopted across the DoD as a standard.

Results 29M Annual Cost Savings 312+ Hours reduced per KO, per year 2,184,000 FTE Hours Saved
Microsoft and Volkswagen will collaborate on self-driving car software. VW plans to use Microsoft’s expertise to build a cloud-based platform for future autonomous technologies and driver assist systems.

CASE STUDY:

Volkswagen Group on Wednesday laid another brick in the wall of self-driving car software. The German automaker announced a new partnership with Microsoft to build a dedicated cloud-based platform specifically created for future autonomous car systems. The deal expands on an existing partnership in which VW used Microsoft’s automotive cloud to connect its cars back in 2018.

Whatever technologies come out of VW Group’s Car.Software subsidiary, focused on creating digital technologies for the large number of brands the group operates, Microsoft’s Azure platform will help them come to life. Eventually, the goal is create an automated driving platform based on the US firm’s technology. Working closer with Microsoft will, according to VW, unlock more efficiency and create a simpler software design process.
Microsoft and Volkswagen will collaborate on self-driving car software. VW plans to use Microsoft’s expertise to build a cloud-based platform for future autonomous technologies and driver assist systems.

CASE STUDY:

Small business size (12-15) people. Black-owned/ Woman-owned