PURPOSE
The purpose of this sources sought notice is to conduct market research and identify potential sources of commercial products/services that satisfy the Government’s anticipated needs.
BACKGROUND
The Engineering Laboratory (EL) at NIST works on the Grasping, Manipulation, and Contact safety performance of robotic systems designing test methods that benchmark performance of collaborative robot systems. The Grasping, Manipulation, and Contact Safety project develops and standardizes performance metrics, test methods, and associated measurement tools that support the development of robotic systems that have human-like dexterity and force-control characteristics. These types of robotic systems enable tactual-based safe human collaboration and contact-rich manufacturing operations, such as assembly, while addressing the barriers to automation faced by low-volume, high-mix manufacturing environments.
NIST is has a potential requirement to obtain two (2) collaborative robotic manipulator arms to assist NIST in the creation of standards for benchmarking the performance of coordinated control between separate robotic arms.
NIST is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing a solution that will achieve the objectives identified in this notice.
ANTICIPATED REQUIREMENTS
The Contractor shall provide Robot Arms for Bi-Manual Manipulation test methods meeting or exceeding the following minimum specifications:
Line Item 0001: Robot Manipulator Arm
Description: A robot arm with 7 degrees of freedom
Quantity: 2
Technical Specifications (all of which must be met):
• At least 7 degrees of freedom.
• Integrated joint torque sensors at the end-effector (wrist joint)
• Power supply supporting a 120V utility power input.
• Capable of handling a 5.5kg load
• Compatibility with ROS2
• Controllable from remote computer including a start and stop program
• Capable of receiving position commands in real time and provide feedback in real-time
• Capable of communicating between arms with no time delay exceeding 100ms
In addition, the Robot Manipulator Arm must be compatible with the Robotic Operating System 2 (ROS2). ROS2 is middleware software currently being utilized at NIST, which simplifies the creation of complex and robust robot behavior and their platforms, such as real-time control-loop behavior.
HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE
In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. Please include only the information described below, readable in either Microsoft Word 365, Microsoft Excel 365, or Adobe .pdf format.
Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact and, if specified, to the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice, or by 7 business days after issuance of this notice. Please note that to be considered for award under any official solicitation, the entity must be registered and “active” in SAM at the time of solicitation response. “ID Assigned” is not acceptable.
• Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your company’s Unique Entity ID (UEI).
• Identify the equipment that your company sells that can meet the objectives addressed in the BACKGROUND section of this notice. For each product recommended to meet the Government’s requirement, provide the following:
o Manufacturer name
o Model number
o Technical specifications
o If your company is not the manufacturer, provide information on your company’s status as an authorized reseller of the product(s)
• State whether the proposed equipment is manufactured in the United States and, if not, state the name of the country where the equipment is manufactured.
• Describe performance capabilities of the product(s) your company recommends to meet the Government’s requirements. Additionally, if there are other features or functions that you believe would assist NIST in meeting its objectives described above, please discuss in your response.
o Discuss whether the equipment that your company sells and which you describe in your response to this notice may be customized to specifications and indicate any limits to customization.
• Identify any aspects of the NIST market research notice, including instructions, and draft minimum specifications in the BACKGROUND section you cannot meet and state why. Please offer suggestions for how the market research notice and draft minimum specifications could be made more competitive.
• Identify any plans/possibilities for changes in manufacturing location of the aforementioned equipment and provide relevant details, including timeline.
• For the NAICS code listed in this notice:
o Indicate whether your company is (a) a small business or (b) other than small business. See the Table of Small Business Size Standards (located at www.sba.gov) and the associated .pdf download file for small business size standards and additional information.
o If you believe the NAICS code listed in this notice is not the best NAICS code for the type of product addressed in this notice, identify an alternative NAICS code that you believe would be more appropriate for the planned procurement.
• Describe standard terms and conditions of sale offered by your company for the recommended equipment such as: delivery time after your company accepts the order; FOB shipping terms; manufacturer warranty (including details regarding nature and duration); if available, description(s) of available extended warranty; equipment setup and test; operator and service instruction manual(s); cleanup after installation; and if applicable, other offered services. Provide a copy of manufacturer standard terms and conditions that typically relate to the sale of the specified equipment, if available.
• If the recommended equipment and related services are available for purchase on any existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts against which NIST may be able to place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information.
• Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for NIST to know as part of its market research for this requirement.
• State if you require NIST to provide additional information to improve your understanding of the government’s requirement and/or would like to meet with NIST representatives to discuss the requirement and the capabilities of the identified equipment.
QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE
Questions regarding this notice may be submitted via email to the Primary Point of Contact and the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice. Questions should be submitted so that they are received by three business days after SSN issuance. If the Contracting Officer determines that providing a written amendment to this notice to document question(s) received would benefit other potential respondents, the questions would be anonymized, and a written response to such question(s) would be provided via an amendment to this notice.
IMPORTANT NOTES
This notice is for market research purposes and should not be construed as a commitment by NIST to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. There is no solicitation available at this time.
This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response.
NIST reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate.
Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s capability.
Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.
After a review of the responses received, a synopsis and solicitation may be published on GSA’s eBuy or SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered an adequate response to any such solicitation(s).
The responses shall not exceed five (5) pages including all attachments, charts, etc.
Thank you for taking the time to submit a response to this request!
