A02 - Redacted Simplified Acquisition Sole Source Justification (FAR 13).pdf

Control No: JA-20-Adel-130 Contractor: Boston Dynamics

Supply: Spot Robot Leases project phase thus making them unavailable for procurement. Other smaller toy-like quadruped robots are available for purchase, but are not suitable for testing and evaluating following the integration of sophisticated sensors, nor do they have the ability to navigate through BTS.

ARL has determined the Boston Dynamics Spot robot to be the only commercially available platform that can effectively navigate BTS. ARL has discussed this requirement with DTRA and determined it is mission critical for ARL to evaluate this specific robot. If this robot is not procured, ARL will face the inability to provide a robotic solution to the problem of assessing BTS, continuing to put the Warfighter at direct risk of injury and loss of life. In addition, Army equipment and supplies are also at risk of damage or loss each time a BTS structure is entered. At this time, there are no other robotic platforms available in the industry that can meet the Government’s minimum requirements, therefore the Government finds this sole-source procurement to Boston Dynamics as fair and reasonable.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:. The Contracting Officer published the notices required by FAR 5.201 and any bids or proposals received shall be considered. An Intent to Sole Source Synopsis has been posted on Beta.SAM.gov on 12 March 2020 and closed on 19 March 2020, and the results of the Synopsis are discussed in Section 9 below. Based on market research performed and the lack of capable sources that responded to the aforementioned synopsis, there are no vendors other than Boston Dynamics, Inc. able to meet the Government’s minimum requirements of a quadruped robot platform. Because this is a sole source action, effective competition is not applicable. The estimated total for this requirement is under $700,000.00, therefore a subcontracting plan is not required.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: SEDD will continue to monitor the quadruped robotic platforms market for other potential sources in order to increase future competition for this requirement and any associated parts and repairs. Since the robot will be utilized to inspect BTS in the place of the Warfighter, it is imperative that the equipment be the most efficient and capable in the market. Settling for a less mobile and/or technologically advanced model would not be unacceptable. In addition, the vendor who responded to the synopsis and provided their products capabilities statement was examined and the lacking capabilities and concerns of the product were explained to the vendor to ensure they were clear on the Government’s needs for potential development.

8. Market Research: , Mechanical Engineer for the Sensors Experimentation Branch of the Army Research Laboratory, performed internet searches to identify robots capable of meeting the Governments required quadruped robot. Two industry products were found, Boston Dynamics’ Spot and ANYbotics’ ANYmal. The ANYmal robot was found to be lacking as it could only carry approximately eleven pounds and it’s movement, mobility, and obstacle avoidance was not as robust as the Spot robot. Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Narnegie Mellon are also working on legged robot projects, however they are all smaller platforms unable to support the type of building investigation required (BTS).

Control No: JA-20-Adel-130 Contractor: Boston Dynamics

Supply: Spot Robot Leases