Hyper wideband Enabled RF Messaging (HERMES) | Apply Online

HERMES (DARPA BAA 14-34) FAQ

1) What is the HERMES opportunity?

HERMES (Hyper wideband Enabled RF Messaging) is a DARPA Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA 14-34) focused on early-stage research into an extremely wideband, spread-spectrum radio-frequency (RF) communications concept.

2) What is DARPA trying to prove or determine through this effort?

The core technical aim is to determine whether a practical RF messaging system can be built that achieves more than 10 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth while operating below 20 GHz.

3) What does "more than 10 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth" mean in the context of this BAA?

Based on the description, DARPA is investigating RF messaging approaches that can use an extremely large span of spectrum at once (more than 10 GHz at a given time), rather than narrower-band links, as part of a spread-spectrum communications concept.

4) Why is the operating band constrained to below 20 GHz?

DARPA states the under-20-GHz constraint is deliberate to reduce atmospheric absorption compared with higher-frequency bands.

5) What is the intended operational advantage of the HERMES concept?

The concept emphasizes resilience in contested environments by relying on coding gain and spectral filtering to improve resistance to intentional interference and jamming.

6) Is HERMES a mature acquisition program or exploratory research?

It is framed as an exploratory study intended to map what is technically feasible, inform ongoing debate in the community, and guide potential future DARPA investments. DARPA positions it as a first step that could precede a larger program.

7) How is the research scope organized?

The scope is organized into two main thrust areas: (1) system-level feasibility and demonstration and (2) enabling hardware advances on the receive side.

8) What is included in Thrust Area 1 (system-level feasibility and demonstration)?

Teams are expected to investigate candidate end-to-end system architectures, understand channel and propagation effects across very large instantaneous bandwidths, account for practical spectrum regulation and coexistence issues, and develop supporting signal processing approaches.

9) Is there an expectation for a hardware demonstration?

Yes. Thrust Area 1 is intended to culminate in a demonstration that uses commercial components, indicating DARPA wanted evidence grounded in real hardware constraints and not purely theoretical results.

10) What is included in Thrust Area 2 (enabling receiver hardware advances)?

Thrust Area 2 calls for novel receiver technologies that could plausibly evolve toward a handheld radio size, weight, and power envelope. The emphasis is on receiver-side innovations as a key bottleneck, along with a credible conceptual path toward miniaturization and fieldable form factors.

11) Does this opportunity focus on transmitters, receivers, or both?

Both are relevant at the system level (Thrust Area 1 addresses end-to-end architectures and demonstrations), while Thrust Area 2 specifically targets enabling hardware advances on the receive side.

12) What is the CFDA number and what type of opportunity is this?

The listing identifies this as a discretionary science and technology R&D opportunity under CFDA 12.910.

13) What funding instruments might DARPA use for awards under this BAA?

Funding instruments may include cooperative agreements, grants, other transactions, or procurement contracts, depending on what DARPA determines is appropriate for a given award.

14) Is cost sharing or matching required?

No. The listing indicates there is no cost-sharing or matching requirement.

15) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any additional constraints that might appear in the full text of the announcement.

16) What are the key dates for this opportunity?

The posting date is June 30, 2014. The original and current closing date is August 13, 2014. The archive date is February 13, 2015.

17) What is Amendment 01 and does it change the technical goals?

Amendment 01 does not change the technical goals of HERMES. It makes a procedural correction to the proposal instructions.

18) What proposal instruction was corrected in Amendment 01?

It deletes a reference to Section III of the Technical/Management Proposal that appeared in Part II, Section IV, Subsection B(3) (page 20) of the BAA.

19) How can applicants tell what changed in the amended document?

DARPA noted that edits were highlighted in yellow in the conformed version of the document, and applicants would need to use that conformed version to follow the corrected formatting and content requirements.

20) Where does DARPA direct applicants to access the full announcement?

Applicants are pointed to the MTO Solicitations page for access to the full announcement materials.

21) Who is the program contact for help accessing the announcement?

The listed contact is Dr. Joshua Conway, MTO Program Manager and BAA Coordinator.

22) What kinds of technical considerations does DARPA expect teams to address beyond pure waveform design?

Based on the stated scope, teams should address channel and propagation effects across extremely wide instantaneous bandwidths, practical spectrum regulation and coexistence issues, and supporting signal processing approaches, in addition to selecting candidate end-to-end system architectures.

23) Why does DARPA emphasize the use of commercial components in the demonstration?

The description indicates DARPA wanted evidence grounded in real hardware constraints rather than purely theoretical results, which is why the demonstration is intended to use commercial components.

24) What is the broader purpose of running HERMES as an early-stage effort?

DARPA describes the effort as a way to map feasibility, inform debate in the technical community, and guide potential future DARPA investments, potentially serving as a first step before a larger program.