A02.08-Brand Name Justification Redacted.pdf

BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION

(Simplified Acquisition Procedures under FAR Part 13 Not Exceeding $250K)

1. Agency/Contracting Activity: Engineer Research and Development Center – Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (ERDC—CRREL)

2. Description of Action:

Nature: New Requirement Follow-On Requirement Mod to Existing Purchase Order/Contract Number

Pricing: Firm-Fixed Price Time and Materials

Funds: 2040 R&D Congressional Add Funds, FY23-24 Other Funds:

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) Force Projection and Sustainment Branch (FPSB) mobility team in Hanover, NH has a brand name requirement for one (1) Motion Capture System to provide indoor and outdoor robotics and positioning sensing for vehicle mobility testing and tracking of manned and/or unmanned vehicles. This motion capture system must be used to provide accurate positioning sensing, both indoor and outdoor, for robotics and vehicle mobility testing with manned and/or unmanned vehicles. The Motion Capture System needs to meet the Description of Requirements located in the file. The Motion Capture System shall be brand name to either OptiTrack or Vicon BRAND NAME in order to be fully interoperable with partnering government laboratories that must replicate and verify our test results.

4. Authority: FAR 13.106-1(b)(1): Soliciting from a single source. For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand name, or industrial mobilization.)

5. Reason for Authority Cited: Only two motion capture system vendors in the United States are used by CRREL’s partnering laboratories researching robotics and vehicle motion: the OptiTrack and Vicon motion capture systems. These two systems are both industry standards and are used by the laboratories with which CRREL must share its data to have them replicate CRREL’s results: Jet Propulsion Labs, Caltech, UPenn, and Army Research Labs.

These groups have data analysis routines established that CRREL will leverage, and these groups also understand the intricate nuances of how each of these data capture systems work sufficiently to ensure anomalies in datasets are identifiable. Additionally, scientific journal publications germane to CRREL’s research almost exclusively use one of these two systems. Therefore, for CRREL’s research to be interoperable with and replicated by these labs CRREL also need to use

ERDC Control No. 23-2840 one of these systems: Vicon and OptiTrack. It is critical that CRREL’s motion capture system research and data collection methodologies are compatible with the systems used by these labs that will replicate and verify CRREL’s results.

6. Actions to Increase Competition: Based on information provided above, a combined solicitation/synopsis and a redacted Brand Name Justification, indicating the Government’s intent, will be posted to the System for Award Management (SAM) website.

7. Market Research: This is a brand name request that cites two possible vendor solutions that can fulfill the DOR (Vicon and OptiTrack) for the purposes of interoperability. Market research was conducted through web searches, vendor phone calls, and vendor emails. Telephone conversations with sales representatives of each vendor revealed that they are each the sole authorized distributor of their products in the USA and that no other company has the right to sell, configure, install, or train on their products. CRREL requires warrantied products from the vendor and onsite vendor training, therefore must only procure from one of the two vendors via this brand name request. Resellers are not acceptable.

Both vendors are registered in SAM. Market research indicates that OptiTrack is not a small business (confirmed via phone conversations with the sales representative and checking in SAM) and that Vicon is registered as a small business in SAM. Vicon is British owned but has a US based entity serving the USA. Neither of the vendors sell on GSA. Both cited that the cost models enforced to sell via GSA are prohibitive to making a sufficient profit.

Both Vicon and OptiTrack warned CRREL that other companies do buy their motion tracking systems to include as smaller parts of larger integrated technical systems (like security or robotics packages) but those other companies are not solely selling the motion capture systems, rather bundled larger technical systems that integrate the cameras as components. It was confirmed with Vicon and OptiTrack that Vicon and OptiTrack are the sole authorized sellers of their motion capture systems. This confirmation was made verbally on the phone with the sales associates.

Natural Point Inc. DBA OptiTrack: CAGE Code 32QU0 Corvallis, Oregon – Other Than Small Business Concern

Vicon Motion Systems: CAGE Code- 1P2E1 Centennial, Colorado - Small Business Concern

A combined synopsis/solicitation and redacted Brand Name Justification, indicating the Government’s intent, will be posted on SAM.gov for full and open competition.

8. Procurement History:

Previous Purchase Orders(s) or Contract(s): Yes No Purchase order or contract number:

Was action competed? Yes No If action was not competed, state the cited authority, summarize rationale:

ERDC Control No. 23-2840

9. Additional information to support the justification: N/A

10. Technical/Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which is included in the abbreviated J&A is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

11. Fair and Reasonable Price Determination: As Contracting Officer, I hereby determine that the anticipated cost to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable.

Basis for the determination: price analysis techniques.

12. Contracting Officer’s Approval: I hereby certify that this Justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Based on the foregoing, I approve this brand name justification subject to availability of funds, and provided that the supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.