Statement of Requirements - final.pdf

STATEMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR AN APERA VUE BIN-PICKING SYSTEM

The Intelligent Systems Division (ISD) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) requires an Apera Vue BIN-PICKING SYSTEM to support robotic assembly applications. One of the programmatic goals of this effort is to demonstrate and develop tests for different bin-picking systems that are used in industry. The BIN-PICKING SYSTEM as well as related software must provide the positions and orientations of parts in a bin and part picking motion plans to a UR5e ROBOT ARM and preferably to other brand collaborative robot arms.

REQUIRED APERA VUE BIN-PICKING SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS

Brand Name Only Requirement IAW FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i):

The NIST ISD has identified the Apera Vue bin-picking system as the only system capable of meeting its requirements. Specifically, it is the only system that has been identified that a) can use any off-the-shelf 2D cameras for bin picking operations and b) uses artificial intelligence for training and recognizing parts for picking operations. Some of the other unique features that are required for ISD's research efforts that the system possesses are: a) Automatic path planning and guidance; b) Auto calibration of robot arm with the vision system; and, c) Compatibility with several robot arm makes and models.

These features enable lower setup times, change-over times, and cycle times that also enable higher success rates for picking parts from a bin which are crucial to improve the efficiency of the manufacturing operation.

CLINs 0003 and 0004 ONLY are Brand Name or Equal requirements. Brand name or equal descriptions are intended to be descriptive, but not restrictive and are to indicate the quality and characteristics of products that will be considered satisfactory to meet the agency’s requirement.

The system shall meet or exceed the technical specifications identified below. All items must be new.

Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for award.

All offerors shall provide a firm fixed price quotation for the line items below. Offerors must, at a minimum, specify the make and model of each of the line items below and the equipment and software must be commercial products. Offeror may also provide brochures or specifications sheets for the equipment or software below.

LINE ITEM 001: Quantity One (1) each, Apera Vue BIN-PICKING SYSTEM (Brand Name Only) The BIN-PICKING SYSTEM must have the following minimum salient characteristics:

1. The BIN-PICKING SYSTEM must work with more than one kind of industrial or collaborative robot arm including, but not limited to, the Universal Robots UR5e robot arm.

2. The BIN-PICKING SYSTEM must be able to be mounted fixed and separate from the robot arm.

3. The BIN-PICKING SYSTEM must have an auto-calibration feature and any apparatuses needed must be provided by the vendor.

4. The BIN-PICKING SYSTEM must be able to determine the pose (position and orientation) of a part in a bin or randomly arranged identical parts.

5. The BIN-PICKING SYSTEM must work with different sizes and types of bins.

6. The BIN-PICKING SYSTEM must have vision technology that meets the following requirements:

i. Must be based on passive off-the-shelf 2D machine vision cameras with 12 mega pixel resolution and 12 mm lens.

ii. Must be capable of using two (or more) cameras pairs to ensure more coverage on parts.

iii. Must have cameras that each has a resolution of 12 mega pixels (or more).

iv. Must have a minimum working distance not less than 200 mm.

v. Must have a 3D imaging volume with length 900 mm (or more), width 900 mm (or more), and depth 900 mm (or more).

7. The BIN-PICKING SYSTEM must be able to measure the pose (position and orientation) of several parts in a bin (or kit) and provide those measurements to the robot controller in 5 seconds or less.

8. The BIN-PICKING SYSTEM must work with parts that:

i. Range from matte to specular (i.e., shiny)

ii. Range from dark to light colored

iii. Symmetrical or asymmetrical

iv. Can identify parts that are at least 6 mm x 6 mm (L x W) in size

v. Rigid (i.e., non-flexible parts)

vi. Not marked or altered specially for use with the BIN-PICKING SYSTEM

9. The BIN-PICKING SYSTEM must have the ability of providing collision free path planning instructions to the ROBOT ARM for picking the objects detected by the system.

10. The BIN-PICKING SYSTEM must include the required hardware, software, computer and/or controller to provide pose information to the ROBOT ARM controller.

11. The BIN-PICKING SYSTEM must be operable on standard U.S. mains (i.e., 110-120V, 60 Hz) or the vendor must provide an appropriate step-up or step-down transformer.

12. The BIN-PICKING SYSTEM must be configured to identify at least one user defined part (digital asset).

LINE ITEM 002: Quantity One (1) each, Digital asset training for Apera Vue (Part# APERADGTA-APERA- 001A) (Brand Name Only)

LINE ITEM 003: Quantity Two (2) each, C125-1218-5M 8mm lens (Part# APERALENS-BAS-001A) (Brand Name or Equivalent) The lens must have the following minimum salient characteristics:

1. Compatible with the camera system in LINE ITEM 001.

2. Fixed focal length of 8 mm

3. F-stop settings from F1.8 - F22

4. Sensor Format: 1/2.5''

5. Lens Mount: C-mount

LINE ITEM 004: Quantity Two (2) each, C125-1218-5M 25mm lens (Part# APERALENS-BAS-003A) (Brand Name or equivalent) The lens must have the following minimum salient characteristics:

1. Compatible with the camera system in LINE ITEM 001.

2. Fixed focal length of 25 mm

3. F-stop settings from F1.8 - F22

4. Sensor Format: 1/2.5''

5. Lens Mount: C-mount

DELIVERY

Delivery shall be FOB DESTINATION and not later than 6 weeks ARO; however, delivery shall not take place until the contractor coordinates with the designated NIST Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) and Contracting Officer. Prior to shipment, the Contractor must coordinate delivery with the NIST TPOC and ensure NIST’s campus is open and accepting deliveries. If the restrictions of access to the campus impacts delivery schedules, a modification may be executed by the CO to establish an extended delivery timeframe.

The contractor shall deliver all items to:

NIST

100 Bureau Drive Building 301 Shipping and Receiving Gaithersburg, MD 20899

ACCEPTANCE

In addition to the inspection and acceptance terms articulated in 52.212-4, the Government reserves the right to perform performance tests and evaluations to verify performance.

NIST will inspect and test the equipment in the lab for a period of 60 calendar days after installation to ensure that the manufacturer’s specifications have been met and that the equipment is functioning correctly before official receipt acceptance.

A visual inspection will be performed by the NIST TPOC to identify defects or any form of indication that the scanner was damaged during transport to NIST. The Government shall have sole discretion to require repair or replacement of damaged and/or nonconforming supplies at no cost to the Government. The Government at any time prior to acceptance shall reject the scanner due to defects and/or nonconformance.

The contractor is responsible for latent defects discovered any time after final inspection.

EQUIPMENT WARRANTY

Manufacturer’s standard warranty, beginning from date of acceptance, to include technical support, service and repair by manufacturer for defects, workmanship faults, or loss of functional operation stemming from normal use and operation.