U.K. MOD - Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) – Competition- Map the Gap: autonomous gap crossing survey

This competition aims to produce a system capable of taking measurements to inform the potential crossing of a wet gap obstacle. The key criteria have been split across four Challenges which are outlined below. Any proposal submitted must address a minimum of either Challenge 1 or Challenge 2.

Challenge 1

Measure the ground bearing capacity of the far bank of a wet gap obstacle, by taking an average of five readings with a tolerance of ±50kPa.

Challenge 2

Produce a bank height profile of the far bank contact zone, encompassing up to 2m below the minimum waterline and 8m inland of the bank edge. The profile should be produced with a minimum horizontal resolution of 10cm and vertical tolerance of ±1cm.

Challenge 3

Measure the gap width (between banks, with a tolerance of ±5cm) and the vertical difference in bank heights with a tolerance of ±2cm. Systems will need to cope with banks that could be up to 300m apart. (Future systems may be required to measure further.)

Challenge 4

Measure the local flow rate of a river and produce a full riverbed profile. For the purposes of this challenge, we are interested in water depths of up to 3m, and river widths up to 300m. (A future capability may meet greater requirements.

Funding: £1.2M available in Phase 1 with an additional £2.5m anticipated for further development in Phase 2.

DASA expects to fund three to four bids during Phase 1.

Maximum duration of 10 months for Phase 1.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/competition-map-the-gap-autonomous-gap-crossing-survey