FWS_ADS_Request for Information.docx

Solicitation Number:

TBD

Notice Type:

Request for Information 6913G626RFI1002

1.0 Summary

This Request for Information (RFI) is one of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) steps in conducting research and implementation of driving automation systems on FWS National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs). The purpose of this research is to explore the suitability of driving automation systems in remote locations with differing road surfaces, wildlife, topographies, and other public land elements to aid in the integration, advancement, and development of this technology’s use on public lands.

The U.S. DOT John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) located in Cambridge, MA, is conducting market research to support FWS in identifying interested and capable driving automation systems vendors, including both academic institutions and private developers, who may be interested in participating in FWS’s driving automation systems pilots. This RFI Notice does not constitute a solicitation and is not to be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government will not pay for any effort expended in responding to this notice.

The scope of this research will include a range of features, including Automated Driving Systems (ADS) as well as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). ADAS help support the human operator by providing minor interventions when needed (e.g., momentary adjustments to steering or braking systems), while ADS serve as an operator and drive the vehicle (i.e., performing driving tasks on a sustained basis without needing human input).[footnoteRef:1] Throughout this RFI, the term “driving automation systems” is used to refer to both ADS and ADAS. [1: For more information on these types of vehicle automation, within a scale of levels of automation, see SAE J3016 at https://www.sae.org/standards/content/j3016_202104/.]

Section 3 provides an overview of the information sought which will inform the next steps in the approach for conducting research and implementation of driving automation systems on FWS NWRs. The objectives of the next steps following this RFI are to plan, coordinate, and implement driving automation systems pilot projects that will advance the research, development, and deployment of this technology in remote environments. These pilot projects are expected to be short-term, non-public facing, and without passengers. The purpose of the pilots will be to collect data and assess the suitability of current driving automation systems for use in FWS NWR environments and other remote locations that differ from the urban and suburban environments where most driving automation systems training has occurred to date. The results of the pilots may lead to potential expanded deployments in the future but will also be used to inform policies around the private use of automated vehicles on FWS land or other remote public lands environments.

Responses to the RFI must include a Statement of Capabilities of the driving automation systems available from the Offeror. Additional details pertinent to the requested information should align with the items listed in Section 3.0: Information Requested.

2.0 Background

Approximately one-third of the land area of the United States is managed by public lands agencies, including FWS and several others. Many of these lands are open for a variety of uses or reserved for conservation of natural and cultural resources. Most are remote environments with relatively less advanced physical and digital infrastructure. As driving automation systems technologies advance, vehicles with these technologies will increasingly need to interact with these remote environments. However, to date, relatively little deployment research has been conducted in remote environments such as FWS NWRs. To aid and accelerate the safe deployment of driving automation systems, FWS seeks to work with driving automation systems companies to provide research, testing, and pilot deployment opportunities within FWS NWRs.

The intent of piloting driving automation systems on rural roads within FWS NWRs is to ensure that it does not threaten the fauna in the area and will promote safer interaction for the visiting public. Potential challenges include interactions with various wildlife, interactions with the recreational visiting public across multiple modes (moving/stopped vehicles, bicyclists, trail users, etc.), the distinct characteristics of rural roadway topographies, and the remote nature of FWS NWRs. This research will aid in the integration, advancement, and development of driving automation systems by ensuring the protection of natural and cultural resources for the safety benefit of the American public. Goals of this research include:

· Evaluate the performance of driving automation systems on different road surfaces, focusing on the impacts of these road surfaces on vehicle performance and the impacts of the vehicles on FWS operations and maintenance.

· Evaluate how driving automation systems interact with wildlife and how those interactions could impact wildlife behavior, populations, and habitats.

· Analyze driving automation systems technology performance in multiple FWS settings, with a sample of sites that constitute different ecosystems, topographies, road compositions, wildlife species, and weather conditions.

· Develop recommendations for strategies, policy, and developmental elements to avoid, reduce, and/or mitigate adverse driving automation systems impacts in public lands. These recommendations will inform planning decisions and will support future driving automation systems policies, deployment, and implementation.

· Evaluate the potential to integrate driving automation systems with wildlife conservation efforts.

· Identify future collaborative research opportunities with private industry and public research institutions to advance driving automation systems technologies use on rural, remote, and public land roads, including potential future integration into visitor services programs and for passenger service.

As part of this research, driving automation systems pilots are expected to be carried out at up to three FWS NWRs with differing topography, wildlife species, flora, roadway material compositions, and weather conditions. Key to the execution of these pilots will be data sharing and evaluation by the driving automation systems provider, which will be further analyzed by FWS and the Volpe Center through topic-based memos and a final summary report.

3.0 Information Requested

The U.S. Government is requesting the following information from Offerors of driving automation systems:

1) Potential research and development questions that are of interest to the Offeror, which could be explored through a pilot deployment in FWS refuges.

2) Description of the driving automation systems, including make and model of the potential vehicle(s), as well as indications of whether the vehicle(s) and technology are suitable for remote, rural locations with differing road surfaces, wildlife, topographies, and other public land elements, such as poor GPS and cellular data network coverage.

3) The following contextual information about the applicability of the driving automation systems in an FWS operating environment:

a. Required support infrastructure (if any) to conduct a pilot.

b. Anticipated level of coordination and other support needs for an onsite FWS manager leading up to and during deployment.

c. Potential environmental limitations, which could include, but are not limited to, terrain/roadway surface, weather conditions, and cellular and GPS coverage.

d. Current deployment capacity of the Offeror with respect to the needs of this research.

4) Potential deployment cost by vehicle type, number of vehicles, pilot duration, and any other considerations that could significantly impact costs.

5) Earliest start date and minimum deployment length for the Offeror to deploy the driving automation systems at a FWS site that would enable sufficient field data collection and integration of lessons learned, including a high-level overview of upcoming date ranges in 2026 when the driving automation systems will be oversubscribed or unavailable due to other commitments.

6) Overview of past and current deployments, highlighting those that served similar environments, research goals, and/or use cases.

7) Insights into what should be included, and what cannot be included, in a data collection plan.

a. The data collection plan will document the data to be collected and the types of data analyses to be conducted to evaluate the performance of the driving automation systems.

b. The Offeror should consider when it makes sense to provide raw data to the Government, and when it makes sense to provide processed data evaluation findings.

c. Internal, proprietary data, as defined by the Offeror, does not need to be shared, but the level of detail in shared data needs to be sufficient for FWS and Volpe to understand the results without significant follow-up with the Offeror.

8) Information on how the Offeror will ensure their driving automation systems are legal, insured, and can safely operate in the intended pilot environment.

9) Potential longer-term use cases, such as visitor experience transportation, public transit, maintenance, wildlife conservation efforts, or other park use, and potential safety and economic benefits.

10) Any additional benefits and challenges the Offeror has determined through their research, testing, and prior and current deployments that were not noted in this RFI.

4.0 Submission Instructions

Interested parties should submit a written Statement of Capabilities of sufficient detail demonstrating their experience and ability to provide said services as outlined in Section 3 entitled Information Requested.

Information provided shall be detailed and shall show technical capabilities, knowledge, and expertise so the U.S. DOT can assess the ability to provide the described services in each of the above stated work areas.

All the information sought must be conveyed in no more than 10 pages. Page size is set at 8 x 11 inches and text must be no smaller than 11 point. Graphics and images may be included within the 10 page limit. Text contained within graphics or images may be of any size so long as it is legible. Hyperlinks to external references may be provided but the information contained within the Statement of Capabilities should stand on its own. Each response must reference the RFI title. Interested vendors shall indicate their socio-economic small business size status (Total Small Business, 8(a) business development, historically underutilized business zone, service-disabled veteran owned, small disadvantaged, or woman-owned) in the appropriate North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. As a result of recent changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 19, small business concerns must ensure that their status certifications are up to date.

Interested parties must respond to this announcement in writing by February 13, 2026, at 4:00 pm Eastern Time. Telephone requests will not be honored. All responses must be submitted via e-mail to Andrew Josephs at Andrew.Josephs@dot.gov. Electronic attachments to the e-mail must be submitted in Adobe PDF format.

5.0 Information Availability

THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. This notice is for information and planning purposes only and is a market research tool to determine the availability and adequacy of potential business sources prior to determining the method of acquisition and possible issuance of a Request for Proposal. The notice does not constitute a solicitation for bids, quotations, and proposals, and is not to be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government. The information provided herein is subject to change and in no way binds the U.S. Government to solicit for or award a competitive contract. The U.S. Government is not obligated to and will not pay for any information received from potential sources as a result of response to this RFI notice. The U.S. Government will not pay for any materials provided in response to this synopsis and submittals will not be returned to the sender. Submissions must be disclosable to the public, or the submitter should provide a summary statement that can be disclosed to the public with fuller supporting information that is clearly marked as restricted. The U.S. Government will use customary means to safeguard proprietary information, but only when such information is (1) clearly marked as proprietary; (2) is, in fact, information that could not have been obtained from another party or source; and (3) is otherwise deserving of such treatment under standards and processes described in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Executive Order 12600.

For information about the Volpe Center, refer to the Volpe Center website at https://www.volpe.dot.gov. For information about the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, refer to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website at https://www.fws.gov.