Cooperative Research and Development Agreement: Super Intelligence (SI) Situational Awareness Tools for Analyzing Coast Guard (CG) Sensor Feeds for Search and Rescue (SAR)

Issuing agencies

Abstract

The Coast Guard announces its intent to enter a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with LOOKOUT to assess Super Intelligence for automated target detection and establish a reliable coverage-factor value supporting data-driven Lateral Range Curve (LRC) results for Search and Rescue (SAR) operations. Proposed tools must be high technology-readiness-level, commercially available, self- contained, portable, capable of edge computing, and compatible with video-feed-agnostic sensors. While considering LOOKOUT, the Coast Guard seeks public comment on the proposed CRADA and potential participation by other parties. Interested Federal entities with relevant capabilities may submit proposals for similar CRADAs for agency consideration and future collaboration.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 205 (Monday, October 26, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 205 (Monday, October 26, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67324-67325]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-21723]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket Number USCG-2026-0374]


Cooperative Research and Development Agreement: Super 
Intelligence (SI) Situational Awareness Tools for Analyzing Coast Guard 
(CG) Sensor Feeds for Search and Rescue (SAR)

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of intent; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces its intent to enter a Cooperative 
Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with LOOKOUT to assess Super 
Intelligence for automated target detection and establish a reliable 
coverage-factor value supporting data-driven Lateral Range Curve (LRC) 
results for Search and Rescue (SAR) operations. Proposed tools must be 
high technology-readiness-level, commercially available, self-
contained, portable, capable of edge computing, and compatible with 
video-feed-agnostic sensors. While considering LOOKOUT, the Coast Guard 
seeks public comment on the proposed CRADA and potential participation 
by other parties. Interested Federal entities with relevant 
capabilities may submit proposals for similar CRADAs for agency 
consideration and future collaboration.

DATES: Your comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on 
or before November 25, 2026.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2026-0374 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. See the ``Public 
Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section for further instructions on submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about this 
notice of intent, call or email Mr. Sean Lester, Connectivity Branch, 
U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center; telephone 860-271-
2600, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5a081e197733343c351a2f29393d74373336"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cf9d8b8ce2a6a1a9a08fbabcaca8e1a2a6a3">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Table of Abbreviations

CG U.S. Coast Guard
DHS Department of Homeland Security
U.S.C. United States Code

II. Background and Purpose

    The CG is evaluating the operational impact and technical 
integration of Super Intelligence (SI) situational awareness tools to 
perform benchmarking, evaluate system interoperability, and propose 
data handling best practices. The CG currently leverages a variety of 
sensor inputs and processes across multiple units and operational 
assets to complete SAR operations. The incorporation of SI tools may 
allow the CG to automatically detect, classify, and track targets while 
addressing variables, such as low light, fog, precipitation, and rough 
sea states. By implementing these tools and analyzing system 
performance, the Coast Guard will improve critical decision-making 
during SAR mission execution when the necessity for rapid data 
aggregation and continuous analysis is critical.
    By examining LOOKOUT's situational awareness tools, the CG has an 
opportunity to streamline, simplify or augment the existing SAR process 
workflows and generate performance data relevant to future operations. 
An additional possible goal is to characterize SI system confidence and 
operational performance, to build a measurable evaluation tool that 
could reduce the CG's barrier to integrate SI tools.

III. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We request public comments on this notice. Although we do not plan 
to respond to comments in the Federal Register, we will respond 
directly to commenters and may modify our proposal in light of 
comments.
    We encourage you to submit comments in response to this notice of 
inquiry at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. To do so, go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, type USCG-2026-0374 in the search box and click 
``Search.'' Next, look for this document in the Search Results column, 
and click on it. Then click on the Comment option. In your submission, 
please include the docket number for this notice of inquiry and provide 
a reason for each suggestion or recommendation. If your material cannot 
be submitted using <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, contact the person in 
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for 
alternate instructions. To view documents mentioned in this notice of 
inquiry as being available in the docket, find the docket as described 
in the previous paragraph, and then select ``Supporting & Related 
Material'' in the Document Type column. Public comments will also be 
placed in our online docket and can be viewed by following instructions 
on the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> Frequently Asked Questions webpage.
    We accept anonymous comments. Comments we post to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> will include any personal information you have 
provided. For more information about privacy and submissions in 
response to this document, see DHS's eRulemaking System of Records 
notice (85 FR 14226, March 11, 2020).

IV. Discussion

    CRADAs are authorized under 15 U.S.C. 3710a.\1\ A CRADA promotes 
the transfer of technology to the private sector for commercial use, as 
well as specified research or development efforts that are consistent 
with the

[[Page 67325]]

mission of the Federal parties to the CRADA. The Federal party or 
parties agree with one or more non-Federal parties to share research 
resources, but the Federal party does not contribute funding.
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    \1\ The statute confers this authority on the head of each 
Federal agency. The Secretary of DHS's authority is delegated to the 
Coast Guard and other DHS organizational elements by DHS Delegation 
No. 0160.1, para. II.B.34.
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    CRADAs are not procurement contracts. Care is taken to ensure that 
CRADAs are not used to circumvent the contracting process. CRADAs have 
a specific purpose and should not be confused with procurement 
contracts, grants, and other types of agreements.
    Under the proposed CRADA, the U. S. Coast Guard Research and 
Development Center (R&D Center) will collaborate with one non-Federal 
participant. Together, the R&D Center and the non-Federal participant 
will conduct testing, development and evaluation of artificial 
intelligence enabled situational awareness tools designed to augment 
existing SAR workflows and generate critical performance data to inform 
future operational adoption.
    We anticipate that the Coast Guard's contributions under the 
proposed CRADA will include the following:
    1. Provide appropriate staff with pertinent expertise to take the 
lead in accomplishing the agreed tasks.
    2. Provide all support resources, including travel for Coast Guard 
staff that support this CRADA.
    3. Provide data feeds as required to support test objectives.
    We anticipate that the non-Federal participants' contributions 
under the proposed CRADA will include the following:
    1. Provide appropriate staff with pertinent expertise to support 
the agreed upon tasks in Statement of Work.
    2. Provide all support resources, including travel for staff that 
support this CRADA.
    3. Assist with installation of system equipment and software for 
evaluation.
    4. Provide technical support, as needed.
    5. Draft summary report in collaboration with all participants.
    The Coast Guard reserves the right to select for CRADA participants 
all, some, or no proposals submitted for this CRADA. The Coast Guard 
will provide no funding for reimbursement of proposal development 
costs. Proposals and any other material submitted in response to this 
notice will not be returned. Proposals submitted are expected to be 
unclassified and consist of not more than five single-sided pages 
(excluding cover page, DD 1494, JF-12). The Coast Guard will select 
proposals at sole discretion on the basis of:
    1. How well they communicate an understanding, of and ability to 
meet, the proposed CRADA's goal; and
    2. How well they address the following criteria:
    a. Technical capability to support the non-Federal party 
contributions described, and
    b. Resources available for supporting the non-Federal party 
contributions described.
    Currently, the Coast Guard is considering LOOKOUT for participation 
in this CRADA. This consideration is based on the fact that LOOKOUT has 
demonstrated its technical ability and availability of SI tools that 
are ready to be deployed, evaluated and operated in a CG test 
environment with CG sensor feeds. However, we do not wish to exclude 
other viable participants from this or similar CRADAs in the future.
    This is a technology assessment effort. The goal of the Coast Guard 
for this CRADA is to establish a framework to determine SI's 
effectiveness in automating target detection, which will be used to 
establish a reliable coverage factor value to enable data-driven 
Lateral Range Curve (LRC) results for Search and Rescue (SAR) 
operations. Special consideration will be given to small business firms 
and consortia, and preference will be given to business units located 
in the United States. This notice is issued under the authority of 5 
U.S.C. 552(a).

P.J. Granati,
Captain, Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development 
Center.
[FR Doc. 2026-21723 Filed 10-23-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P


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