A02.13 Sole Source Justification.pdf

ERDC Control No. FY20 - 1838

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

1. Agency/Contracting Activity: Engineer Research and Development Center – Construction and Engineering Research Laboratory (EDRC – CERL)

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: OMA Other Funds:__Army RDT&E_______

3. Description of Supplies/Services:

a. The total estimated dollar value of the proposed action is $116,720.

b. The Government has a requirement for Fiber Optic Gyro Inertial Measurement Units

(FOG IMUs) that can be used on existing ARGO J8 unmanned ground vehicle systems.

The purchase will include 4 IMUs, 2 harnesses and 1 FOG dual receiver kit.

4. Authority: FAR 13.106-1(b) (1): 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: The KVH 1775 Fiber Optic Gyro Inertial Measurement Unit (FOG IMU) is the most compact high performance IMU designed for highly dynamic challenging applications. The 1775 FOG IMU has a low profile (< 3” height) which is critical for its implementation on the existing ARGO J8 and CAT 308 unmanned ground vehicle system that the Robotics for Engineer Operations research program utilizes for site characterization. This particular IMU is extremely noise and temperature resistant and does not experience gyro drift.

Very low amounts of gyro drift enable precise localization and control of unmanned ground systems in challenging environments.

In addition, KVH 1775 FOG IMU is currently utilized by TARDEC Combat Vehicle Robotics and Autonomous Ground Resupply programs. TARDEC has already invested significant time and resource to create the necessary software drivers that enable use of this IMU on unmanned ground systems. Developing a driver for a different IMU would incur unacceptable duplication of effort and would result in severe delays for mission execution.

Finally, the KVH 1775 FOG IMU offers the following technical specifications, which are not available through any other vendor’s products:

• Bias stability, ≤0.05°/hr, 1σ (typical)

• Bias vs. Temp. (≤1°C/min ), ≤0.7°/hr, 1σ (typical)

• Height, <3in.

• Angle Random Walk, ≤0.012°/√hr (≤0.7°/hr/√Hz )

• Bandwidth, ≥1000 Hz

• Power Consumption, 5W (typical), 8W (max)

6. Actions to Increase Competition: A notice of intent to sole source was posted to the Beta Sam.Gov website open from 21 February 2020 to 28 February 2020. A company called EMCORE responded with a similar IMU product which was reviewed by the technical team, but ultimately did not alter the strategy of sole sourcing the acquisition. EMCORE was notified of this decision on 27 Feb.

7. Market Research:

(1) The Government has made a determination that no other source offers a product which meets or can be modified to meet this requirement. The KVH 1775 FOG IMU is the only unit that meets all of the specifications required by our team. There are two similar products offered by Emcore and Northrop Grumman. The Emcore EN-150 FOG IMU matches the size requirements, however, its bias stability is lower, it displays more random walk characteristics, and consumes more power. The Northrop Grumman LN- 200S does not meet size requirements and technical performance requirements. Finally, utilization of either of these options for the REO unmanned ground systems would require creation of software drivers from scratch. Market research conducted determined that the KVH 1775 FOG IMU is the only hardware that meets the needed specifications;

therefore, substitution is undesirable.

(2) Market research was conducted in February – March 2019 for the original procurement detailed below, and confirmed again in January 2020.

8. Procurement History:

Previous Purchase Orders(s) or Contract(s): Yes No

Purchase order or contract number: W9132T19P0022 – This procurement was for 2 FOG IMUs and 2 harnesses. It did not include a dual receiver kit.

Was action competed? Yes No

If action was not competed, state the cited authority, summarize rationale: FAR 13.106-1(b) (1)

9. Additional information to support the justification: Not applicable

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.

Submitted By:

Position Title:

Email Address:

Signature:

Date:

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 sole source justification subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services and supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition

Signature:______________ Typed Name:

Title:

Date: