Revised Specifications for N00173-24-Q-TL09 Amendment 0001.pdf

AMENDED SPECIFICATIONS FOR MOTION CAPTURE SYSTEM

SOLICITATION: N00173-24-Q-TL09 AMENDMENT 0001

NRL REQUIREMENTS FOR A

MOTION CAPTURE SYSTEM

I. INTRODUCTION:

The Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research, Code 1700 of the Naval Research Laboratory performs research and develops systems that pertain to research in the field of autonomous systems communication and navigation human robot interaction and machine learning. The LASR facility requires a Motion Capture system in order to support the previously mentioned research.

II. SCOPE:

Describes the minimum technical requirements and the minimum acceptable performance standards for a Motion Capture System to be installed by the contractor at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Washington, DC.

III. INSTALLATION SITE:

The Motion Capture System will be installed in the Autonomous Systems Research Laboratory, Prototyping High Bay at The Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC 20375. The Prototyping High Bay is 75' x 150' x 30' high and appx. 3,700 sq. ft. Cameras will be mounted to the walls and ceiling, which can frequently be affected by expansion and contraction, which is caused by both interior and exterior temperature fluctuations. Wall and ceiling vibration, based upon exterior weather conditions, often occurs as well.

IV. INSTALLATION:

IV.A. A combination of wall and ceiling mounting locations are provided by NRL.

Attaching devices are not provided by NRL and are to be included in the proposal.

The manufacturer is responsible for all hardware connections and installation, start-up and demonstration of the complete Motion Capture System.

IV.B. A .pdf file, of the facility architectural drawings, which include the uni-strut wall layout, the ceiling truss layout and a generic truss cross-section, will be provided upon award.

IV.C. A grid of Uni-Strut is provided and mounted to the four walls. The Uni-Strut Grid is made of: P5000 HS – 1 5/8" x 3 ¼" x .105" with holes 9/16" at 1 7 /8" on centers installed around the walls on 4'6" centers as shown in the .pdf file

IV.D. The steel roof truss can be used for mounting at the ceiling. Attachment at the bottom "L" edge would be by "beam clamp" or an equivalent "clamping" device.

No drilling or welding of the roof truss will be permitted.

V. DESCRIPTION:

The Motion Capture System will be utilized for recording, storing and analyzing 3- dimensional movements of robotic systems and human interaction with those systems as well as for real-time control of autonomous systems by researchers from many NRL Divisions. The robotic systems being tracked may be at floor level or flying within the entirety of the high bay simultaneously.

VI. SYSTEM FEATURES

VI.A. The system shall have the capabilities of recording, storing and analyzing 3-dimensional movements of robotic systems and of human interaction with those systems.

VI.B. The system shall have the capability of real-time control of autonomous systems to include unmanned air and ground vehicles.

VI.C. The system must provide an appropriate number of cameras for complete coverage of a 75' wide x 150' long x 30' High Bay.

VI.D. The camera System must provide pan/tilt capability and/or camera adjustment to obtain uniform coverage of the High Bay.

VI.E. The manufacturer must provide a means of attaching the camera and pan/tilt system to the provided mounting locations as well as attaching any peripheral equipment such as data processors, cables, illumination, etc.

VI.F. The system must be based on near infrared (Near IR) illumination

VI.G. The manufacturer must provide a computer system utilizing MS Windows operating system based environment for user login, operator interface, collection of data, storage of data and processing of data.

VI.H. The system must be capable of tracking a minimum of 50 targets simultaneously.

VI.I. The Prototyping High Bay will be used by many NRL researchers and shall be divided into as many as four different quadrants. The system must include 2 separate computer systems that shall allow a minimum of four users to share equipment and track their own set of targets simultaneously.

VI.J. System users will be tracking small UAV's. To allow freedom of target movement the system must use light-weight passive retro-reflective markers.

The manufacturer must provide 2 sets of passive retro reflective markers at 9mm and 20mm diameter. The markers must be suitable quantity of passive retro-reflective markers, in each diameter, to track a minimum of 50 targets simultaneously. The number of passive markers provided must match the number of reflectors indicated, per object, in the manufactures operational instruction manual and or specifications.

The manufacturer must also provide lightweight active markers required to track twenty-five objects simultaneously. The number of active markers provided must match the number of active markers indicated per object in the manufactures operational instruction manual and or specifications.

VI.K. The system must be capable of differentiating between overlapping Markers

VI.L. The system must provide an active tracking option to be able to create symmetrical and identical configurations of active leads on objects for unique rigid body object tracking.

VI.M. The manufacturer must provide a suitable quantity of active markers for a minimum of 40 objects to be tracked at once

VI.N. The system must provide resolution of position of 1mm or less.

VI.O. The system must provide rotational accuracy of 0.5 degree or less.

VI.P. The system must provide a minimum rate of calculating 6-Degree-Of-Freedom (DOF) for full accuracy of all targets at 120 hertz or greater.

VI.Q. The system must provide a means of calibrating, identifying, locating and orienting each camera during a session and correcting any camera lens distortion automatically.

VI.R. The system shall provide a recurring automatic calibration procedure in order that the system maintains optimal calibration.

The system shall include permanent fixed room markers in order to accurately perform recurring automatic calibration.

This function shall require no operator actions in order to monitor the calibration quality, or to initiate a recalibration.

The system shall autonomously evaluate the current calibration for quality and accuracy degradation.

Once degradation is detected the system shall automatically initiate and perform a recalibration without operator involvement.

VI.S. Automatic calibration is defined as a procedure that occurs immediately upon software start up and runs continuously in the background throughout system usage monitoring calibration quality.

The system must utilize permanent passive reflective markers mounted throughout the space in order to evaluate the current calibration for quality and accuracy.

The system will self-monitor the calibration quality for degradation and shall initiate and perform a re-calibration independent of any operator involvement.

NOTE: The area in which the motion capture system will be installed in the facility is appx. 3,700 sq. ft. at a height of over 30 LF. Cameras are mounted to the walls and ceiling which can frequently be affected by expansion and contraction which is caused by both interior and exterior temperature fluctuations.

Wall and ceiling vibration, based upon exterior weather conditions, often occurs as well. The effects of these conditions cause the motion capture systems calibration to fail, thus interrupting testing, and creating the need to recalibrate the system prior to test continuation. A system that can provide a reoccurring self-calibration procedure will limit the possibility of failure and allow testing to continue uninterrupted.

VI.T. Given the area to be covered and the expected number of cameras, in order to reduce latency, the system must provide a means of on-board processing and real time control, with a maximum latency of 7 milliseconds, while tracking 50 objects at full resolution.

VI.U. The system must provide a minimum Gigabit Ethernet connection, or faster connection between the cameras and computer for real-time data flow.

VI.V. The computer system must be network capable and provide simultaneous multi- user access for data processing.

VI.W. The system must be capable of starting data collection manually or automatically, via an external Through-The-Lens (TTL) event, within 7 milliseconds of the defined event, such as entering a designated region of interest. The system must be capable of ending data collection by the same means as well as by elapsed time.

VI.X. The system must allow playback of all trajectories

VI.Y. The system must be capable of Application Programming Interfacing (API) with popular third party modeling software such as, but not limited to, Open Scene Graph, WorldViz, Panda3D, Virtools and or LabVIEW.

VI.Z. Mobile Motion Capture Setup For Off-Site Experiment — The manufacturer must provide a complete motion capture system setup for mobile Off-Site use.

The manufacturer must provide an additional 16 camera units and all necessary hardware and software for this system.

The Manufacturer must provide all necessary components for this fully operational mobile motion capture system setup to include the following:

o One (1) control computer system utilizing MS Windows operating system based environment for user login, operator interface, collection of data, storage of data and processing of data.

o 16 tripods that extend from 3’ to 7’ for camera mounting, o 16 mounting hardware connectors/devices to attach the camera to the tripod, o 16 connection cables in order to attach each camera to the connection box.

o The necessary number of connection boxes to connect the 16 cameras to one control PC.

Full setup and training for this mobile setup shall be provided as well.

The camera system must be capable of use in outdoor lighting situations for use in off-site experiments.

The Manufacturer shall also provide an additional 8 cameras with a wider Field of View and a shorter range for the purpose of a small area close range setup.

VI.AA. The manufacturer must provide system installation, commissioning, system verification and operator training in order to verify a fully operational system in accordance with the written specifications. .

This must be conducted by a factory trained Field Service Technician and/or a Field Service Engineer.

Operational training must be provided independently for the indoor fixed system as well as for the mobile offsite system.

The training must include testing and verification of system features specification VI.I in order to prove four operators can track four sets of targets independently in four separate quadrants simultaneously.

VII. DOCUMENTATION:

The system must be shipped with one (1) complete set of operation and maintenance manuals printed on plain paper as well as electronic versions (CD, DVD, Thumb Drive, and Video).

VIII. MAINTENANCE & WARRANTY:

VIII.A. The contractor must be provided with a minimum 1-year factory warranty that covers all parts, labor and travel expenses for on-site support/repair of the equipment.

VIII.B. The contractor must be provided standard phone technical support during normal business hours upon government acceptance of the system.

VIII.C. The contractor must be provided support for both service and troubleshooting.

VIII.D. The warranty period begins after the system has been installed, training has been completed and the system has been accepted in ERP by NRL.

VIII.E. The warranty period begins after the system has been installed, training has been completed and the system has been accepted in ERP by NRL.

IX. OPTIONS (Note, Optional Extended Warranty may not be awarded at time of award, but shall be price in proposal.)

Extended Warranty option available for additional coverage on an annual basis.