SOURCES SOUGHT
70 -- Sources Sought for a Ground-based Low-cost Pulsed LIDAR System for Measuring Atmospheric Winds
- Notice Date
- 2/1/2010
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 334511
— Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, 55 Broadway, Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02142-1093
- ZIP Code
- 02142-1093
- Solicitation Number
- DTRT57-10-SS-0002
- Archive Date
- 3/16/2010
- Point of Contact
- Stephen A Garanin, Phone: 6174946126
- E-Mail Address
-
steve.garanin@dot.gov
(steve.garanin@dot.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), Acquisition Division is conducting market research for a requirement for a low-cost pulsed Light-Detection-And-Ranging (LIDAR) system to measure atmospheric winds. The Volpe Center has been making extensive use of a pulsed LIDAR system for supporting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)'s NextGen development of improved procedures for more efficient and safe utilization of closely spaced parallel runways. These pulsed LIDAR measurements have included both aircraft wake vortices and wind profiles in an offline R&D mode. The existing system the Volpe Center uses, while proven instrumental to the program, suffers from a number of deficiencies that makes it difficult to expand the scope of future studies within the current program plan: A. High cost (>$1,000,000) B. High power requirement (>10 kW) C. Large size (approximately 50 square feet footprint) D. Weight (>6000 lbs) These are the results of the system designed for long range (i.e., near 10 km) and the laser technology involved. In certain applications, the capabilities the current system offers is considered to be over-designed for a range of wind sensing needs of the wake turbulence program. However, developments in LIDAR technology over the past 10 years have led to systems that are much improved in these four areas which theoretically could still maintain the minimal needs of the wake turbulence program, particularly in the wind measurement area. Since wind energy was the major application for these improved systems, their primary function was to measure the ambient wind profile up to the maximum height of a wind turbine. Some had the added flexibility to measure to higher altitudes and to measure the wake of a wind turbine. These developments in the wind energy field are actually necessary to potentially match the near-future phase of the FAA wake turbulence program needs, for example, to further enhance crosswind based wake turbulence alleviation procedures. The system in its current off-the-shelf form shall meet the following specifications: 1. Eye-safe 2. Horizontal or 3D wind profile measurement to a minimum altitude of 1000 ft. 3. Maximum range of 2km. 4. Performing the wind measurements with a minimal update rate of 10 minutes 5. Minimum laser range / line of sight resolution of 100 ft throughout the wind profile 6. Resolve the direction of the Doppler shift along line of sight 7. Ability to resolve wind magnitude and direction under 2 knot winds 8. Wind measurements to at least 50 knots 9. Minimal velocity resolution of 1 knot 10. Documented measurement accuracy by comparison with a tower-mounted anemometer 11. Can be carried by two field personnel. 12. Transportable by a pickup truck. 13. Power usage less than 1000 W. 14. Unattended operation for one month minimum. 15. Capable of scanning in velocity-azimuth-display (VAD) mode with variable elevation angles to obtain horizontal / 3D wind profiles. 16. Capable of scanning in a range-height-indictor (RHI) mode for maximum accuracy for just crosswind or headwind 17. Low cost (less than 225K USD, including basic maintenance) 18. Networkable 19. Designed to operate in saline / marine environment 20. At least 0.001 radians scanner resolution (1 m at range 1 km) The system will have the flexibility to be expanded / upgraded in the future with software modification only (i.e., the system capability can support future needs of the program without a hardware redesign) to obtain: 1. Aircraft wake scan at fixed azimuth and varying elevation; minimum update rate of 20 Hz. 2. Position-Plan-Indicator (PPI) scan of azimuth scan of 360° at fixed elevation angle 3. Zig-Zag scan for axial detection of wake vortices or jet blast applications 4. Real-time storage of at least 128 point Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) Doppler spectra, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and standard deviation of winds. 5. Incorporates an automated laser check by either monitoring the monitoring pulse or scheduled hard target return characterizations. Interested sources must submit a capabilities package demonstrating their past and current experience with supplies and equipment of this nature. Information provided should be detailed in the Areas above so the Government can assess the ability of your company to provide the described supplies and equipment. All Offeror capability information shall include: Customer (DOD Agency, other Government agency, private industry); Contract Number; for government contracts, the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) name, telephone and fax numbers; otherwise for private industry contracts point of contact (POC); contract value and type of contract; period of performance; and description of product(s). All of the information sought should be conveyed in no more than eight (8) pages, Font size should be between 11-12 with page size set at 8x11, double spaced in either MSWord (2007 or earlier version) or PDF. Each response must reference the sources sought title. All Offerors must state whether they are a large or small business. Offerors are requested to provide their DUNS and CCR numbers. Interested parties must respond to this announcement electronically (via email) within 30 days of publication. Mailed, telephonic or faxed requests will not be honored. All responses must be sent to the attention of Stephen Garanin, electronically via email. Please email responses to Steve.Garanin@DOT.GOV. All data received in response to this announcement marked or designated as corporate proprietary information will be protected from release outside the Government in accordance with the Federal freedom of Information Act and Privacy Provisions. Availability of any formal solicitation will be announced separately. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. This notice is for information and planning purposes only, and is a market research tool to determine the availability and adequacy of potential business sources prior to determining the method of acquisition and possible issuance of Request for Proposal including the use of any non-profit organization or small business programs. The Government is not obligated to and will not pay for any information received from potential sources as a result of response to this Special Notice. This notice does not constitute a solicitation for bids and proposals, and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. The information provided herein is subject to change and in no way binds the Government to solicit for or award a competitive contract. Unless otherwise stated herein, no solicitation regarding this announcement is available. Requests for the same will be disregarded. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on FedBizOpps. Please be aware that all information submitted in response to this request, whether written, oral, electronic, graphic, or any other medium, is considered public information under the Freedom of Information Act 5 U.S.C. 552. The Government will not pay for any materials provided in response to this sources sought and submittals will not be returned to the sender. For information about the Volpe Center refer to the Volpe Center website at http://www.volpe.dot.gov. Web Link Volpe Center Acquisition Division home page. Email Contract Specialist
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOT/RITA/VNTSC/DTRT57-10-SS-0002/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Various, United States
- Record
- SN02054761-W 20100203/100201235146-9f90180ffe883f3fded97d9b6800da42 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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