Sonde Health announces it has been selected by AFWERX for a SBIR Phase II contract in the amount of $1,215,606 focused on Sonde Mental Fitness to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF). The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution. The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018 which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded and now on Aug. 16, 2024, Sonde Health will start its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.

“Our Phase I SBIR identified multiple DAF use cases for employing Sonde Mental Fitness vocal biomarker tracking to promote mental health engagement and resource utilization and to enhance operational decision-making,” said Jim Harper, founder and Chief Strategy Officer for Sonde Health. “The customization and integration work planned for this SBIR Phase II effort will enable use and validation of this next-generation mental fitness tracking technology in selected DAF settings. This will add a new and important mental dimension to remote physical fitness tracking capabilities that are being integrated and deployed to enhance training programs and operational command data interfaces. We are honored to support the DAF in their work to enhance mental health and resilience and ensure holistic readiness and well-being of the people who serve our nation.”

“The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.”

About Sonde Health

Sonde Health is the global leader in voice-based health tracking and data insights. Sonde’s vocal biomarker API/SDK serves enterprise apps and devices spanning consumer wellness to population health. Leveraging a best-in-class, health-labeled voice data set and clinical research with over 1.2 million samples from 85,000+ individuals on four continents, Sonde uses advanced audio signal processing, speech science, and AI/machine learning to sense and analyze subtle vocal changes due to changes in a person’s physiology to provide key insights into health and well-being. www.sondehealth.com

About AFRL

The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 12,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit afresearchlab.com.

About AFWERX

As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs approximately 370 military, civilian and contractor personnel at five hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4 billion budget. Since 2019, AFWERX has executed over 6,100 new contracts worth more than $4 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: www.afwerx.com.

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