NOI_Autonomous_Robot_1.pdf

United States Department of the Interior

INTERIOR BUSINESS CENTER

Washington, DC 20240

Pre-solicitation Notice/Notice of Intent to Sole Source- DOIDFBO260073

This pre-solicitation notice is being posted in accordance with the Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Overall (RFO) 5.101.

(1) Point of contact. Department of the Interior (DOI), Interior Business Center (IBC), Acquisition Services Directorate (AQD), Melissa Onyszko (CO)

381 Elden Street, Herndon, VA 20170 melissa_onyszko@ibc.doi.gov

(2) Set-asides. No set-aside will be utilized. This is a sole source acquisition on behalf of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

(3) Codes for services or supplies. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) NAICS 334516 – Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing. The Product Service Code (PSC) is 6640 – Laboratory Equipment and Supplies.

(4) Description.

(i) One Molecular Devices BioAssemblyBot (BAB) 400 (BAB400).

(ii) AQD intends on issuing a sole source acquisition in accordance with RFO Part 12; this acquisition is a bona fide need of Fiscal Year 2026.

(iii)The World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA) and/or a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will not apply to this acquisition.

(v)Construction is not applicable to this acquisition.

(vi) Vendors interested in providing alternative instruments should email the following information to melissa_onyszko@ibc.doi.gov in no more than 2 pages no later than 10 AM ET, August 5, 2026:

1. Vendor name

2. System for Award Management Unique Entity Identification Number (UEI)

3. Size standard under the NAICS code referenced in this notice

4. Description of the instrument, demonstrating it can meet the salient characteristics listed further in this notice

5. If the item can be acquired through a re-seller. If so, provide a list of resellers with UEI numbers

6. If the item is available through any established government-wide vehicle, such as

General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedules.

(vii) The intended source is Molecular Devices - The BAB400 is an advanced robotic cell-culture and bioprinting platform, featuring a six-axis robotic arm that seamlessly switches between interchangeable tool "hands" to perform various laboratory tasks without manual intervention. Its AI-enabled workflow orchestration, powered by the BioApps Studio software, allows browser-based development and execution of autonomous laboratory workflows, integrating robotic execution, instrument control, and AI-driven process management. The requested configuration includes a 44-plate incubator for continuous, unattended culture storage; a brightfield/fluorescence plate imager for non-destructive cell monitoring and characterization;

and a single-cell (organoid) dispense hand for precise, standardized seeding. Additional features such as integrated robotic liquid handling, automated temperature-controlled processing, precision single-cell and organoid handling, and automated quality control ensure reproducible, high-quality results with minimal manual variability.

Full onsite installation, training, software, preventive maintenance, and comprehensive service support are required for three years.

(viii)State whether an offeror or its product or service must meet a qualification requirement in order to be eligible for award; and if so, identify the office from which the qualification requirement may be obtained. No specific “qualification requirements” are required. However, alternate sources other than the Molecular Devices BioAssemblyBot (BAB) 400 (BAB400) must meet the salient characteristics.

Salient characteristics:

Autonomous Wet-Lab Platform — BAB400 System The BAB400 is a robotic cell-culture and bioprinting platform built around a six-axis robotic arm that swaps between interchangeable tool "hands" to carry out different laboratory tasks on the same set of plates, without a person physically handling them.

AI-enabled Workflow Orchestration The platform includes the BioApps Studio software environment, providing browser-based development and execution of autonomous laboratory workflows. The software integrates robotic execution, instrument control, workflow traceability, experiment recovery, and AI-enabled process management into a unified platform capable of supporting continuously learning laboratory operations.

The specific configuration requested includes three components:

a) 44-plate incubator

• Provides controlled temperature, humidity, and CO₂ environment for continuous, unattended storage and incubation of up to 44 microplates at a time.

• Plates are accessed directly by the robotic arm, so cultures can be maintained around the clock without manual removal from controlled conditions (which is itself a source of variability in standard manual workflows).

b) Brightfield/fluorescence plate imager

• Captures repeated, non-destructive images of the cells in each plate over time (both standard brightfield images and fluorescence images, which can visualize specific labeled markers).

• This imaging is what feeds the AI models on the GPU server — it is the "monitoring" and "characterization" function referenced in the project description, generating the data the models use to assess growth and cell state at each timepoint.

c) Single-cell (organoid) dispense hand

• A robotic tool-head that precisely dispenses individual cells or small cell clusters into plates.

• Used for standardized seeding of new cultures at a consistent density — important because seeding consistency is a major source of variability between plates and between runs in manual workflows. In Stage 2, this same tool is what enables consistent organoid seeding into ECM structures as the platform scales to organoid culture.

d) Integrated Robotic Liquid Handling

• The BAB400 integrates automated pick-and-place operations together with precision single- and eight-channel liquid handling, enabling fully automated media exchanges, reagent additions, wash steps, assay preparation, and complex multi-step biological workflows while minimizing manual variability.

e) Automated Temperature-controlled Processing

• Integrated programmable thermal control stations enable automated temperature-sensitive workflows including reagent conditioning, incubation, and sample preparation, allowing continuous execution of complex biological protocols without manual intervention.

f) Precision Single-Cell and Organoid Handling

• The Precision One dispensing module utilizes impedance-based detection and piezoelectric fluid control to isolate and dispense individual cells or organoids with minimal shear stress, preserving viability while enabling reproducible clonal expansion, standardized organoid generation, and AI-directed experimental workflows.

g) Automated Quality Control

• Continuous multimodal imaging and workflow traceability enable automated quality assessment of cultures throughout experimental execution, generating standardized datasets suitable for AI-driven analysis and regulatory-quality documentation.

The Government also requires full onsite installation, training, software, preventive maintenance visits, and comprehensive service support for the full three-year period.

**The Government will not reimburse vendors for any response preparation fees and a request for quote (RFQ) for competitive offerors is not guaranteed from this notice.