Contract C7787D

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has awarded contract C7787D for $288,824 with a performance period from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. This fixed-cost agreement supports the implementation of robotic automation in the Rearing, Automation, and Development (RAD) production facility, with the objective of advancing coral species propagation through automated systems and establishing best practices for potential deployment across additional facilities in subsequent phases. The contract encompasses four primary task areas: Quality Assurance Plan and Reporting, Robot Fitness in Production Pipeline ($217,483.81), Scalability of Integrating Automation ($31,635.91), and Stakeholder Engagement on Automation ($39,704.28).

The contractor is required to deliver quantified outputs across four quarterly milestones, commencing September 15, 2026 and concluding June 15, 2027. Deliverables include a quality assurance plan, progress reports, coral species inventory documentation, operational logs from both manual and automated husbandry activities, photographic evidence of the robotic system and coral health outcomes, a final presentation, and a 508-compliant final report. Quarterly milestone payments are structured at $82,420.67 for Q1, Q2, and Q3, with a final payment of $41,561.98 in Q4, contingent upon submission and approval of all specified deliverables.