SOW_0592_OET-MAPR Upgrade_Sharon Walker.doc

Miniature Autonomous Plume Recorder (MAPR) electronics upgrade Statement of Work 24-March-2020 Period of Performance:

The period of performance for this project is expected to begin upon award of the contract, and run through completion of tasks outlined below. It is estimated that this work can be completed by the end of March 2021, but may be extended beyond that date if required.

Place of Performance:

The work will occur at the contractor’s worksites.

Scope of work:

Miniature Autonomous Plume Recorder (MAPR) instruments were originally designed and built by the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) Engineering Development Division (EDD) in 1994-1995. These instruments are self-contained, high-resolution data recorders in custom designed and built 6000 m depth rated titanium housings. MAPR instruments include sensors for measuring temperature, pressure, turbidity (optical backscatter), and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), the principle tracers for detecting active seafloor hydrothermal and chemosynthetic ecosystems. The list of existing sensors is attached in Appendix A. Since they were originally introduced, MAPR instruments have been shared collaboratively with national and international, academic, government, and commercial researchers, and have proven to be valuable tools for discovery and characterization of seafloor hydrothermal and chemosynthetic systems. To date, MAPRs have contributed to the discovery of nearly half of the known (~600) vent sites listed in the global InterRidge Vents Database (http://vents-data.interridge.org/).

The PMEL MAPR Program maintains and schedules an inventory of 35 MAPR instruments for world-wide collaborative exploration and research, however, several are showing signs of age with decreased reliability and intermittent performance problems that will ultimately require replacement of electronic boards. Another 5 instruments require a complete rebuild. In all cases, pressure housings are serviceable, new sensors are available as needed, but spare electronic boards cannot be manufactured with the existing design (most recently modified in 2008 by PMEL EDD staff) due to unavailable, obsolete components. A custom solution is required, and PMEL EDD is no longer available to provide this support.

The goal of this project is to modernize MAPR instrument electronics, to take advantage of technical advances in electronic componentry, and to return MAPR instruments to previous levels (or better) of data quality, reliability, and ease-of-use, plus improve functionality (see below) for a next-generation of MAPR instruments. PMEL has a significant investment in the pressure housings and sensors, so it is essential that any new electronic board design fits within, and supports, the existing hardware (pressure housings and sensors). Minor modifications to internal configuration may be allowed provided ease-of-use criteria (i.e. for battery changes) is retained. With new electronics and CPU, upgraded MAPRs will need new internal firmware. The commands that should still be available include: a way to set MAPR data and time, show instrument STATUS (including instrument clock date/time, amount of data stored, battery voltages, serial number, sample interval, delayed start date/time, and other features currently reported). Contractor will develop internal firmware. PMEL will be responsible for developing general use user-interface software and data management/display procedures for typical users (all external to the instrument).

.2 MAPR instruments will be fitted with new boards for testing (in both the lab and field) and quality assurance by the contractor and PMEL. Once this is accomplished, the contractor will collaborate with PMEL to develop a plan for upgrading all currently existing MAPR instruments with the new boards, and a supply of spare boards for future repairs.

Current functionality of MAPRs is described in Appendix B. It is expected that the new board design and internal programming will meet or exceed the existing levels of performance and data quality, as well as provide the following improvements:

1. Reduced power consumption to improve reliability and to increase deployment times and sample density

2. Increased sample rate (1-sec desired) and data storage capacity for higher spatial and temporal resolution

3. Increase capability for supporting other sensors, such as new ion-specific sensors currently under development;

4. Improved data output and access to an RS232 data stream for real-time monitoring on ROVs, AUVs and other platforms, which are expected to become faster, more autonomous, and more capable of remote data transmission in the future

The contractor will work on upgrades to the MAPR electronic board and internal firmware design in consultation with PMEL. MAPR blueprints and schematic drawings are available online and can be used to assist with upgrade work. It is expected that the upgrades will likely include: incorporating an ultra-low power microcontroller; new high-accuracy digital temperature measurement system; current generation 24 bit analog to digital converter to lower noise and improve sensor performance; the capability for real-time data transmission to platforms capable of incorporating digital data into their on-board data streams (i.e. ROV, AUV, or similar) over serial connection at high data rate, and allow for subsea communication with the instrument; and consider an option to power the MAPR externally by platforms that may allow for that. The self-contained deployment mode must be preserved. One possible improvement for data storage and transfer may be via USB transfer with onboard SD Card, however this is not a requirement as space on the endcap is limited and may not allow for utilization of a larger connector. MAPRs currently use an on-board SD card for data storage. The contractor will provide a high-quality schematic, assembly Drawing, BOM, Source Code, Operation Manual, and 3D model of the newly designed circuit board, and will work with PMEL to create an updated schematic/blueprint for the MAPR if necessary.

Requirements:

The contractor must have: (1) expertise in electronic engineering and soft/firmware design for deep sea (capable to at least 6000 m) systems, and (2) extensive experience with deep sea exploration technologies, methods, and procedures, including for ROV and AUV platforms.

Deliverables:

1) Complete design for new MAPR electronic boards and development of internal firmware (60%)

2) Prototype boards installed in 2 MAPRs for testing and verification: PMEL will provide contractor with two MAPRs with existing sensors for installation of prototype boards and initial testing by contractor. One MAPR to be retained by the contractor for continued firmware and bench testing, the other to be delivered to PMEL for lab testing of calibration procedures, data quality, and user-interface software development. The goal is to verify data quality, provide PMEL an opportunity to work with new data format, learn new command set, etc. (25%)

3) Field tests of the two upgraded MAPRs: Both will need complete calibration for (temperature, pressure, turbidity, and ORP) before field tests (to be done by PMEL). Field tests by contractor and PMEL during previously planned projects (i.e. opportunistic field tests) (10%)

4) Production Plan: Create a plan for producing enough boards of the verified design to upgrade all 35 existing MAPRs, plus full rebuild of at least 5 additional MAPRs, and adequate spares for future repairs. (5%) Timeline (one-year performance period)

a. Spring/Summer 2020: Procure equipment & supplies, design work

b. August/September 2020: design & start build

c. Fall 2020: lab testing & installation of boards in 2 MAPRs for calibration and field tests

d. Fall 2020/Winter 2020-2021: field tests as opportunities allow

e. Winter 2020-2021/Spring 2021: continued development & testing

f. Spring 2021: determine production plan & field tests Evaluation Factors:

Technical Capability (50%)

Previous Relevant Experience (35%)

Price (15%)

Associated Travel:

No travel is expected to be required to execute this contract. Field testing will occur during opportunities provided by other projects the contractor or PMEL staff may be participating in regardless of this contract, so any travel related to field testing will be covered by those projects of opportunity Appendix A: Existing sensors Temperature:

YSI 46006 thermistor; resolution 0.001°C

Pressure:

Rosemont Specialty Products, LLC) strain-gauge model# 210-35-170-16

Range = 0-7500 psi; resolution = 0.2 psi

(note: Rosemont Specialty Products, LLC was formerly Paine Electronics)

Turbidity:

Seapoint Sensors, Inc. custom 5X sensitivity turbidity meter (optical backscatter)

Analog output = 0-5 V (equivalent to 0-5 NTU); required resolution = 0.1 mV

Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP): PMEL-designed and manufactured; Platinum working electrode with Ag/AgCl reference electrode; op-amp circuit included in MAPR electronics schematic drawing.

Output range = -500 to + 500 mV; resolution 0.001 mV

Appendix B. Existing performance MAPRs are internally powered by 4 standard alkaline (or lithium) 9V batteries for two circuits (“Logic” and “Sensor”). Lithium batteries are usually avoided due to significant issues related to shipping world-wide. The sample interval is user-set with a minimum of a 5-sec interval. The batteries will last for 3-4 days of continuous sampling with a 5-sec sample interval. For long-term deployments (i.e., on moorings), MAPRs are expected to acquire data over the course of a year using a 15 or 20 min sample interval. Data is stored on an SD card (512 MB) in a data format that is a hold-over from prior PMEL projects. Communication with the MAPR is via an RS232 connection. A terminal program (written by PMEL scientific staff) provides a point-and-click user interface so that MAPR commands are easily sent to set the instrument date/time, configure for sampling, and download data. Users are also provided with an Excel file containing a macro to read raw data files, apply individual instrument calibration coefficients and convert raw data (counts) into values of temperature (°C) , pressure (dbar), turbidity (NTU) and ORP (mV). It typically takes less than 1 minute to download data from a 12-hr deployment (5-sec sample interval) using the XMODEM file transfer protocol. The internal MAPR program was written by EDD staff at PMEL