RFI 49-22 Ultra-wideband UWB RFI Document~2.pdf

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Request for Information

RFI Number: 49-22

Ultra-wideband (UWB)

March 29, 2022

Responses Due: April 11, 2022

COMMBUYS BID #: BD-22-1206-40000-40000-73298

Request for Information

Issue Date:

Department Procurement & Logistics Department Address MBTA, 10 Park Plaza, Room #2810 City, State, Zip Code Boston, MA 02116 Procurement Contact Person Michael Pillemer E-Mail Address mpillemer@mbta.com RFI Name/Title Ultra-wideband (UWB)

RFI Number # 49-22 CommBuys Bid Number # BD-22-1206-40000-40000-73298

March 29, 2022 mailto:mpillemer@mbta.com

MBTA Request for Information An RFI in service of a new use case for ultra-wideband (UWB) beacons: wayfinding technology for transit riders who are blind or low-vision.

1. Context The MBTA operates 171 bus routes, stopping at 7,600+ bus stops, in 50+ cities and towns across Eastern Massachusetts. Taking the bus is intimidating for a lot of people—and can be especially so for riders who are visually impaired. One of the challenges that these riders face is safely and confidently finding a bus stop. GPS navigation is limited to a radius of 30 feet, resulting in “the last 30 feet of frustration” for riders with visual impairment trying to find their stop. In 2016, the MBTA partnered with the Perkins School for the Blind to develop Blindways, a smartphone application designed to solve this problem. Blindways guides users to their bus stop using permanent landmark clues (“Before the stop there is a bench”) contributed by volunteers, but the uptake was limited due to the low fidelity of the navigational instructions.

In 2021, ultra-wideband (UWB) emerged on the commercial market with sufficient spatial and directional precision to navigate down to the centimeter in real-time. Apple’s U1 chip is available in new iPhone models (11 and up), and new Android models (Galaxy S21+, Galaxy S21 Ultra) have similar hardware. Both iOS and Android 12 smartphone software support UWB. The MBTA believes that UWB technology might be a better way to solve this problem for riders who are visually impaired.

What the MBTA is imagining:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blindways-bus-stop-navigation/id1146615175 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blindways-bus-stop-navigation/id1146615175

2. Objectives

2.1 The MBTA’s objective is to assess whether UWB technology could be used to help riders who are blind or low-vision confidently, safely, and reliably find their MBTA bus stop.

2.2 The MBTA is seeking to learn more about commercially available (off the shelf) UWB anchor solutions.

3. Requirements

3.1 Where the MBTA has firm specifications, those are listed below as technical specifications.

3.2 Where the MBTA only has functional requirements, those are listed below, and respondents are invited to describe how their solution supports these requirements.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Interoperability UWB anchor that can reliably interoperate with multiple UWB-enabled smartphones tags at the same time. Must be fully compatible with both Apple and Android UWB developer kits.

Anchor Semiconductor Qorvo or NXP semi-conductor (Apple approved third party accessory)

Ingress Protection Minimum rating of IP64

Power Direct Current (not A/C), Battery-operated Latency <1s

Reliability Averages 99% uptime

Warranty Minimum warranty period of three years

FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATIONS

Completeness Commercially available and feature complete; not seeking a product that requires rapid prototyping

Dimensions Of a size and weight that can be mounted to a bus stop pole

Physical Access Can be attached securely to the bus stop pole. Secure enough that it can withstand intentional damage by hand. Not expected to withstand an angle grinder. All parts can be physically inspected and accessed by trained MBTA personnel.

Operating Temperature Can reliably withstand all seasons in a New England climate

Accuracy Is accurate within a 30-foot radius at minimum

Price Per-unit price should be minimal. If bulk discounts are available, those should be specified.

FORMAT OF RESPONSE TO THIS RFI:

Please include answers to the following questions in your response to this RFI, and format your response in the order of the questions below

A. Introduction/Cover Letter: Please introduce your company and an overview of its experience with Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology.

B. Technical Questions & Information Sought: Please respond to the following questions:

a. Can your company, whether independently or in partnership with others, deliver a product that meets the objectives and specifications described above? If you disagree with any of the technical specifications, or believe your firm has a different way of meeting the overall goals, please explain in your response.

b. Would your team be able to deliver at least 50 units of the proposed product?

c. How is this solution priced? Include the following details:

i. By line item: hardware, warranty

ii. By volume: Does the unit cost change as more units are purchased?

If yes, provide a volume pricing model.

d. Has your company supplied hardware for any projects similar to this one? If so, please describe.

Estimated RFI Calendar:

Please note, respondents are required to monitor COMMBUYS for changes to the Procurement calendar.

PROCUREMENT ACTIVITY DATE TIME

RFI Release Date 3/29/2022 5:00 pm

Bid Response Deadline (Bid Opening Date & Time in CommBuys) 4/11/2022 3:00 pm

Instructions for Submission of Responses:

All vendor responses shall be submitted electronically via COMMBUYS. Responses shall be sent via the “Create Quote” functionality contained in COMMBUYS. For instructions concerning how to submit a Quote, please visit http://www.mass.gov/anf/docs/osd/forms/instructions-for-vendors-responding-to-bids.docx.

RFI Response Organization & Format:

RFI Response Organization - Please organize your RFI response as follows:

Introduction/Cover Letter – See Section A above. Introduction of your company and an overview of your experience with UWB technology.

RFI Response – See Section B above. Response to the Technical Questions & Information Sought.

http://www.mass.gov/anf/docs/osd/forms/instructions-for-vendors-responding-to-bids.docx http://www.mass.gov/anf/docs/osd/forms/instructions-for-vendors-responding-to-bids.docx

RFI Response Document Format – To facilitate the review of each Respondents RFI, all RFI responses are requested to address each item in the RFI in the order in which it appears. The RFI responses must be submitted in one of the following formats:

• Microsoft® or Adobe® Formats – The RFI Response must be submitted in MS Word, MS Excel, or Adobe PDF formats. (MS Word or MS Excel versions must be Microsoft Office 2010 or greater and Adobe formats must be version 10.0 or greater). Please do not use embedded or nested documents within other documents.

RFI Response Submission – Responses are due by Monday, April 11, 2022 at 3:00 pm. They should be posted on CommBuys as a response to this RFI.

RFI Response Contact – Organizations responding to this RFI shall designate a single contact within that organization for the receipt of all subsequent information regarding this RFI.

Reimbursement – The MBTA will not reimburse organizations responding to this RFI for any costs in conjunction with their responses to this RFI.

RFI Respondent Follow-Up – The RFI Evaluation Committee, at its discretion, may elect to invite one or more RFI Respondent(s) to meet with the Team to discuss the Respondent’s RFI Response in greater detail. The Respondent will be given adequate notice to respond to this request.