Autonomous Mobile Manipulator Robots
The CDC Office of Acquisition Services seeks two autonomous mobile manipulator robotic platforms (Freight Robots) to support human-robot interaction research at NIOSH's Robotics Laboratory, with proposals due September 2. This is a brand name only procurement under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, foreclosing competition outside the specified vendor.
Place of performance is Morgantown, West Virginia (with administrative oversight in Atlanta, Georgia). The platforms will support two funded NORA research projects: "Improving safety of human-robot interaction" and "Investigation on safety and trust when working alongside industrial mobile robots." The systems must enable local path planning and task scheduling through direct communication without requiring vendor involvement for programming or remote network management. The robots will operate exclusively within an Isolated Secure Local Environment (ISLE) and will not connect to the CDC enterprise network or internet, complying with CDC/NIOSH IT security policies. The existing Freight Robots in the laboratory have reached end-of-life software support, necessitating procurement of additional identical units. The NAICS code is 333998, All Other Miscellaneous General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing; the PSC code is 6640, Laboratory Equipment and Supplies.
75D30126Q79057 Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Acquisition Services
8/27/26, 2:41 PM Autonomous Mobile Manipulator Robots
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Acquisition Services intends to sole source two ReBeL RBTX-IGUS-0243 robots manufactured by igus, Inc., with a response deadline of August 7, 2026. The procurement supports two funded NORA research projects at the Robotics Laboratory in Morgantown, West Virginia focused on human-robot interaction safety and trust evaluation when workers interact with industrial mobile robots.
The robots will operate exclusively within an Isolated Secure Local Environment (ISLE) and will not connect to the CDC enterprise network or the internet at any time. All experimental activities occur locally, with path planning and task scheduling performed through direct communication without vendor involvement or remote network connections. CDC/NIOSH IT security policies mandate closed network operation to ensure data security and system isolation.
The mobile robot platforms are essential to conduct controlled experimental studies evaluating operator behavior, safety, and performance during human-robot interaction. The Robotics Laboratory currently operates Freight Robots with similar specifications that have completed software update cycles; the additional mobile robots are necessary to fulfill the two human subject study requirements and enable rigorous evaluation in a safe, controlled setting. Researchers will assess trust levels and contact avoidance interaction through the human subject evaluation protocols.
The procurement is unclassified and carries no small-business set-aside. NAICS 333998 (All Other Miscellaneous General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing) and PSC 6640 (Laboratory Equipment and Supplies) apply.
75D30126Q79057 Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Acquisition Services
7/22/26, 2:33 PM