A02 - Sources Sought (Robotics Platform) signed.pdf

Last updated 2/13/2017

Sources Sought Template:

(1) Action Code : SOURCES SOUGHT

This is a Sources Sought Notice only. This is not a request for proposal, but a survey to locate potential sources. This Sources Sought does not constitute an Invitation for Bids, Request for Proposals, or a Request for Quotations, and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue an order or otherwise pay for the information solicited, nor is it a guarantee of a forthcoming solicitation or contract. It is for market research purposes only. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation.

The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to gain knowledge of interest, capabilities, and qualifications of various members of industry, to include the Small Business Community: Small Business, Section 8(a), Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUB-Zone), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Women- Owned Small Business (WOSB), and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB). The Government must ensure there is adequate competition among the potential pool of responsible contractors. Small business, Section 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, & EDWOSB businesses are highly encouraged to participate.

(2) Date : 30 January 2020

(3) Classification Code : 66

(4) NAICS Code: 334516

(5) NAICS Size Standard: 1,000 employees

(6) Contracting Office Address: 2800 Powder Mill Road Bldg. 601 Adelphi, Maryland 20783

(7) Subject: Sources Sought for One (1) Liquid Handling Robotics Platform

(8) Proposed Solicitation Number: W911QX20R0016

(9) Sources Sought Closing Response Date: 02/06/2020

(10) Contact Point: Douglas Dennard, Contract Specialist, Douglas.C.Dennard.civ@mail.mil 301-394-3371

(11)

A. Objective:

To find sources that are qualified to meet the supplies/services as listed in section 11B. Note that the specific requirements in section C are subject to change prior to the release of any solicitation.

B. Salient Characteristics

C.1 Objective

In an effort to conduct research for high through put biological engineering and testing, the Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate (SEDD) within the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) requires a quantity of one (1) Liquid Handling Robotics Platform. The Contractor shall provide the aforementioned Liquid Handling Robotics Platform in accordance with section C.2.

C.2 Requirements

C.2.1 The Contractor shall deliver a quantity of one (1) Liquid Handling Robotics Platform within the lead time of 12 – 14 weeks After Receipt of Order (ARO). The delivery location is ARL South, Austin, TX 78710.

General Liquid Handling Robotics Platform

The system shall be able to accommodate up to six (6) plates in the bench top depth of the instrument.

System shall be teach free for standard microplate modules System shall offer one touch easy teaching for third party devices The system shall offer a tailored and customizable run time environment separate from the setup software The system shall have an integrated controlled e.g. touch screen for daily operation/operation without keyboard.

The system shall be able to utilize up to three (3) independent arms for greater throughput through multitasking.

Capable of upgrading or exchanging the robotic system arms without removing the system from site location within ARL South.

Operator shall be able to stop the operation of the instrument by opening the front shield.

384 and 96 Multi-Channel Arm

The system shall include a pipetting arm that is able to work in both the 96 and the 384 format without the need of a manual intervention & maintaining the optimal liquid handling performance over the range

The 384 multi-channel arm shall be able to pick up various different arrays of disposable tips, to include but not limited to 8, 12, 16, 24, 96 or 384 tips and be capable of exchanging them automatically during a run.

The multi-channel arm in 96 format shall have a volume range of 250 nanoliters

(nl) – 500 microliters (µL)

8 Channel Liquid Handling Arm

System shall be able to transfer volumes down to 200 nl.

Each tip shall be able to dispense a different volume at the same time.

Each pipetting channel shall be able to individually access samples, one (1) at a time.

The disposable tip system shall be able to offer nested tips for increased capacity and to dispose of the nesting wafers without use of a gripper arm.

High pipetting security shall be available through sensitive and adaptive liquid level detection. The system must recognize no liquid, not enough liquid, incorrect aspiration with a single liquid level detection and aspiration supervision event generating dual and confirmatory signals.

System shall include an eight (8)-tip liquid handling arm with variable distance between tips from 9 to 38 milliliters (ml). Each tip shall be independently controlled and be used individually to access samples, one (1) at a time.

Pipetting arm internal channels shall be protected by an in-line filter.

Pipetting technology shall include;

o Capacitive Liquid Level Detection (cLLD) for use with conductive liquids o Adaptive Signal Technology (AST)

The instrument shall utilize disposable tips. All tip sizes shall utilize the same disposable tip adapter. Disposable tips are available in 10, 50, 200 and 1000 µL sizes.

Instrument shall have a pipetting range from 0.5 µL to 1000 µL.

All liquid handling parameters, such as air gap sizes, aspiration and dispense speeds and mixing shall be accessible to the operator and shall be accessible for change.

Robotic Manipulating Arm

The system shall be able to contain a gripper that has the ability to reach beneath the worktable of the workstation to access peripherals.

The Robotic gripper shall have access to each edge (sides, front and rear) of the system to allow optimal device integration and minimize occupation of the liquid handling area.

Gripper head shall be able to exchange finger types automatically, on-the-fly to optimize eccentric, vertical grip and tube handling.

Software

The system shall provide a dedicated operator interface for daily running of the system.

The system shall provide all applicable embedded usage guides, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), photos or videos showing how the system is operated

Editing of the software protocol shall be able to be navigated from a single program interface.

System software shall be equipped with an instrument simulator that can be installed on multiple separate Personal Computers (PC) in order to program entire functional methods at a remote location while the actual instrument is running.

The virtual simulator shall visually reproduce instrument movements and respond with the same return commands as the actual instrument.

Accessories, Storage and Miscellaneous

The system shall be able to accommodate single tube-racks for microfuge tubes in an arrangement of 1x32 tubes.

Instrument shall have an open-deck arrangement where individual labware carriers are removable.

Instrument shall provide carrier mounting to a lower surface below the primary worktable surface to form a “lower deck”.

The system shall have a front-mounted touchscreen where a Graphical User Interface may be used to run the method. This front-mounted touchscreen shall be separate from the monitor used with the instrument control computer.

The system shall enable customized Graphical User Interfaces for showing run setup, inputting settings such as sample count, volume, number of plates, etc.

into the script, as well as enable selection of worklist files from a Windows directory.

C. Responses:

All interested parties should notify this office in writing, mail, fax, or e-mail within the posted date. Responses shall include:

(I) To what extent each of the specifications can be met.

(II) Include your type of business (i.e. commercial, academia), whether your organization is classified as a large or small business based on the 1,000 standard that accompanies NAICS code 334516. If a small business, you must also list any small disadvantaged status you hold [HUBZone, 8(a), Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Women Owned Small Business (WOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB), etc.].

(III) Past experience/ performance through the description of completed projects.

(12) Responses to this sources sought are due no later than 4:00 PM eastern standard time 06 February 2020. Submissions should be emailed to Douglas Dennard at douglas.c.dennard.civ@mail.mil.

Questions concerning this sources sought may be directed to Douglas Dennard at douglas.c.dennard.civ@mail.mil or 301-394-3371. Please be advised that .zip and .exe files cannot be accepted.

(13) Place of Contract Performance: United States (U.S) Army Research Laboratory, UT Austin 2506 Speedway Austin, TX 78710

(14) Estimated Delivery Timeframe or Period of Performance: 12-14 weeks after receipt of order (ARO)

1/30/2020

X Joseph Dellinger

Contracting Officer (KO) Signed by: DELLINGER.JOSEPH.M.1456820650