Earlier this week the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) issued a Request for Proposals for “Review and Development of Camouflage Pattern Generation for the Visual Spectrum” with the work to last through March 2012. So what exactly does that mean? To translate, they are looking for a set of software tools to rapidly prototype camo patterns.
Photo: Canadian DND
From the Solicitation:
Title:
Review and Development of Camouflage Pattern Generation for the Visual Spectrum
Objective:
The objective of the work is to develop a gallery of tools for Defense Research and Development Canada (DRDC) that will be used within the Canadian Dept of National Defence (DND) to synthesize new camouflage patterns in accordance with important aspects of the human visual system and a collection of environment-specific imagery.
Scope of the Work:
The scope of work pertains to the development of algorithms for the synthesis and evaluation of camouflage patterns. An image processing term related to the development of camouflage patterns is “colour texture synthesis”. Camouflage patterns produced as part of the work must be effective in the visible spectrum for use on stationary targets against unaided human observers (i.e. without the aid of vision or detection enhancing devices). The outcome of the work include: 1) an interpretive review on the current “state-of-the-art” methodologies and techniques for the synthesis and evaluation of camouflage patterns and 2) a gallery of algorithms for the synthesis and evaluation of camouflage patterns. The Contractor is to conduct
the work in 5 phases.
So what’s the intent here? Keeping up with the Jones’? MARPAT and UCP are both close cousins to CADPAT. Perhaps our recent preoccupation with camouflage is rubbing off on our friends north of the border. Do the Canadians feel the need to tweak the colorways or perhaps develop entirely new patterns? Similar to the USMC’s MARPAT, CADPAT currently comes in two flavors; Temperate Woodland, a verdant variation for jungle and other lush areas and Arid Regions produced with a combination of brown shades for desert use. Interestingly, just over a year ago, in the US, the Marine Corps Systems Command awarded Timothy R. O’Neil a sole source contract for just under $31k for the “development and testing of an improved Marine Corps camouflage measure for individual clothing and equipment”. Timothy R. O’Neil is said to have been involved in the development of CADPAT and has partnered with the Canadian company HyperStealth Biotechnology Corp. Perhaps they will be contenders for this new work.
