Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF MAY 05, 2006 FBO #1621
SOURCES SOUGHT

A -- Request for Information Only - Unmanned Ground Vehicle

Notice Date

5/3/2006
 

Notice Type

Sources Sought
 

NAICS

541710 — Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences
 

Contracting Office

US Army C-E LCMC Acquisition Center - DAAB07, ATTN: AMSEL-AC, Building 1208, Fort Monmouth, NJ 07703-5008
 

ZIP Code

07703-5008
 

Solicitation Number

W15P7T-06-R-P225
 

Response Due

5/19/2006
 

Archive Date

7/18/2006
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

The US Army Communications-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command (C-E LCMC) on behalf of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) Communications and Electronics Research, De velopment and Engineering Center (CERDEC), Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD), Ground Combat Systems Division, Robotic, Urban and Ground Sensors Branch is seeking information on the availability of existing systems suitable for use in the following concept of operation and the level of development effort required to meet the capabilities described herein. Concept of Operation: The system will provide the Department of Defense (DoD) with an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), semi-autonomous, all weather, sample collection platform for use in areas contaminated by radiation. The UGV system will provide the operat or a safe stand-off range (5-10 miles) by operating beyond line of sight where it will perform collection and reconnaissance tasks. The UGV is expected to operate in urban and non-urban environments. The UGV system will use a modular configuration capable of employing various sample collection and detection/identification systems. The system must be inherently simple to use, survivable, durable, multi-functional, and easily transportable. The system is composed of the UGV platform and an associated Ground Control Station (GCS). The capabilities for each of these are described below: Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV): Mobility: - UGV is envisioned to have the capability to traverse improved surfaces at high speed during ingress and egress of the target area. - UGV should be capable of operating at speeds up to 30kph. - The UGV is also expected to encounter unknown terrain and therefore must be capable of traversing off-road terrain, rubble resulting from the damage or destruction of buildings and other structures, and some level of water and mud. - The UGV should be capable of moving (not lifting) debris or an object weighing 100 lbs. Autonomy: -UGV should have teleoperation capability. -UGV should possess semi-autonomous mobility capability with inherent all terrain obstacle detection and avoidance. -The semi-autonomous capabilities should aid the operator in teleoperation. Communications: -UGV should have tactical data links that support bi-directional communication line-of-sight (LOS) and beyond LOS back to the UGV GCS. The data links must perform in urban and non-urban environments. The type of information transmitted should include but is not limited to data, telemetry, video and platform commands. The latency of this information must not impair the operators ability to control the vehicle. Payload: - UGV should have autonomous radiological search capability. - UGV is to have a manipulator arm with the ability to collect samples from a variety of locations around the vehicle. - UGV manipulator should possess a minimum of 5 degrees of freedom. - The desired samples consist of debris, vacuum, and swipe samples. The UGV is to have the ability to collect and store at least 5 samples of each type (debris, vacuum, swipe). - UGV manipulator arm should be capable of lifting 70lbs. - It is envisioned that this manipulator arm will have some autonomous capabilities such as pre-programmed poses, user defined poses, automatic placement in storage containers, automatic tool changes, etc. to aide the operator. - UGV is to have a means of verifying radiological content of the samples. Mission: - UGV is expected to conduct extended missions with a length up to 24 hours (refueling time included with periodic re-supply). - UGV is to be hardened to withstand the intended environment, which includes radiation contamination. - UGV must have the ability to be decontaminated and design considerations should be made to ease this process. - UGV should be capable of collecting and transporting at minimum - 5 debris, 2 kg each - 5 vacuum samples, 0.25 kg each - 5 swipe samples - UGV should be capable of transporting 200 lbs. of collected cargo in a cargo hold or on a trailer. - UGV must be readily transportable by both military and commercial means. To minimize response time, both air and ground transportation will be necessary. Ground Control Station (GCS): The GCS must incorporate open software architecture for future UGV support. The GCS is to be a complete command and control (C2) suite that incorporates all relevant DoD standards. The GCS should be capable of mission planning , executing, monitoring, and dynamic re-tasking and communicating with the UGV. The GCS should have the ability to control at least two UGVs. It should also have an open systems architecture that can interoperate with external devices such as printers, d rives, video recording equipment, etc. Human factors engineering considerations should be taken into account due to the extended mission duration. The GCS must also import and interpret a variety of data from external sources to include digitized geographi c/mapping data. The GCS should have the ability to store data locally and transmit or receive data from a higher echelon. The GCS should be capable of monitoring all UGV telemetry data including but not limited to fuel level and any warning or caution si gnals. Sources possessing the capabilities to satisfy these requirements are invited to submit a white paper, up to twenty-five (25) pages, describing their system or proposed system. The white paper shall include as a minimum: 1. A description of the system or proposed system, that clearly identifies where Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) and Non-Developmental Items (NDI) will be utilized. 2. Cost and schedule estimates for an initial prototype system and 15 additional systems. It is requested the cost estimates at a minimum be broken down into the following categories of which requirements are described above: a. Robotic Platform b. Autonomy i. Tele-operation ii. Semi- Autonomous Mobility c. Communications d. Robotic Payload e. Ground Control Station 3. Past Performance on relevant work in the past 5 years. This is NOT a request for proposal. This Request for Information is not construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for any information solicited. The technical point of contact for this Request for Information is Andrew Hetr ick 703-704-1996, email AHetrick@nvl.army.mil. All interested parties shall send in their responses via email to AHetrick@nvl.army.mil by close of business Friday May 19, 2006.
 

Place of Performance

Address: US Army C-E LCMC Acquisition Center - DAAB07 ATTN: AMSEL-AC, Building 1208 Fort Monmouth NJ

Zip Code: 07703-5008

Country: US
 

Record

SN01040137-W 20060505/060503220903 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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