DnF for OTFOC - Amendment Redacted.pdf

Template last updated 4/23/2018

BRAND NAME - Amendment

DETERMINATION & FINDINGS FOR OTHER THAN FULL & OPEN COMPETITION

(ACTIONS SAT AND BELOW)

1. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED PROCUREMENT: Universal Robotics (UR) e-series: one (1)

UR-10e Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Kit and one (1) UR-20e

2. PROPOSED CONTRACTOR/MANUFACTURER:

Manufacturer

Universal Robots Energivej 25 DK-5260 Odense S Denmark

Authorized U.S. Reseller:

Applied Controls Unique Entity ID: FLG3P96SNRX9 CAGE Code: 1CAA2 47 General Warren BLVD Malvern, Pennsylvania 19355-1245, United States Small Disadvantaged Business Concern SAM Expiration Date: 16 July 2024

3. ESTIMATED TOTAL VALUE:

4. STATUTORY AUTHORITY PERMITTING CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL

AND OPEN COMPETITION: The statutory authority permitting sole source is 41 USC 1901(e), implemented by FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i):

✓ Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

___ Unusual and Compelling Urgency ___ Industrial Mobilization; Engineering, Developmental, or Research Capability; or Expert

Services ___ International Agreement ___ Authorized or Required by Statute ___ National Security ___ Public Interest

5. JUSTIFICATION FOR THE AUTHORITY CITED ABOVE:

The item(s) listed in section one above is available from only one source and competition is precluded for reasons indicated below. There are no substitutes available.

___ Compatibility: The item(s) must be compatible in all aspects (form, fit, and function) with existing systems presently installed. Describe the equipment you have now and how the new item/service must coordinate, connect, or interface with the existing system:

___ Proprietary: A patent, copyright, or proprietary data limits competition. The proprietary data are described as follows:

___ Experimental Continuity: The item(s) must be consistent with prior materials in order to ensure experimental continuity. Describe the conditions that necessitate the use of experimental continuity:

___ Warranty: Purchasing item(s) from another manufacturer/provider would void existing warranty. Provide a brief explanation for the use of this reason and the impact that would occur if the item was purchased from another manufacturer/provider:

___ Direct Replacement: These are “direct replacement” parts/components for existing equipment and no substitutes exist.

✓ Other reasoning to support a sole-source buy:

The Army Research Laboratory’s (ARL) Autonomous Systems Branch (ASB) requires robotic arms to further its research goals in mobile manipulation and in support of the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Chemical Biological Center (CBC) Autonomous Chemical Decontamination project.

ASB has upcoming projects involving robotic self-righting, robotic room breach, and autonomous shield manipulation. The Universal Robotics (UR) e-series are the only robotic arms that meets the Government’s minimum requirements. ASB personnel have also successfully incorporated UR e-series arms into previous robotics projects and programs.

Three (3) main factors distinguish UR's e-series from other robotic arms:

(1) Mobility. In order to mount on a mobile robotic platform, the arm must not be excessively heavy. While platform capacities vary, generally the arm should weigh less than 100 kilograms

(kg) to fit within the payload of the platforms commonly used by ASB and our partners.

(2) Arm Payload (Lift Capacity). In order for the arm to perform Army-relevant tasks, the arm must be able to lift and manipulate objects of moderate weight. Self-righting requires an arm to manipulate a substantial fraction of the overall platform weight in order to tilt or flip the platform back to an upright position. Robotic breach will require the arm to not only manipulate hefty tools such as crowbars, sledgehammers, and Halligan tools, but to also use such tools to apply forces in excess of the simple weight of the tool itself. Generally, ASB looks for an arm to be able to handle a minimum of ten (10) kg (or roughly 100 newtons [N] of force).

(3) Robot Operating System (ROS) compatibility. ASB integration engineers and most of ASB's academic partners use the ROS robotics middleware to manage software tasks such as messaging, concurrency management, packaging, and motion planning. ASB looks for robotic hardware with well-supported ROS drivers or wrappers whenever possible, because if such software compatibility modules have to be developed from scratch, it typically adds months to development times.

After extensive market research, the UR e-series of robotic arms is the only commercially available robotic arm that meet these three (3) requirements. In particular, the UR-10e weighs less than 40 kg, has a lift capacity of 12.5 kg, and has an established, well-maintained set of ROS drivers available. Heavy industrial arms, such as those commonly made by vendors like ABB and Kuka, are far too heavy to be considered mobile, and rarely have ROS drivers available. Smaller arms, such as those marketed to student or home users, lack the payload to be used for Army application.

In support of the CBC project, ASB procured a UR-16e under W911QX-21-P-0178 in July of 2021 for and built it into a complex mobile robotic system intended for use in a series of autonomous chemical decontamination proof-of-concept demos for the CBC over the next 15 months. In September of 2022, as a risk-mitigation step, ASB procured a backup arm under W911QX-22-P-0174 for . As the demos were successful, the project began to transition from the proof-of-concept stage to the development of a prototype.

Accordingly, ARL and CBC now require an arm with increased payload and reach to demonstrate the decontamination of larger vehicles.

The UR-20 arm belongs to the same product series as the UR-16e, and uses the same software drivers, middleware, and interfaces as the UR-16e, thus saving the ARL team from having to repeat the 200 software man-hours spent integrating the original UR-16e onto the decontamination platform, which amounts to approximately in labor costs. The changes required by the UR-20 arm could, instead, be integrated in about 20 software man-hours, or about in labor costs.

In addition, the UR-16e was the only robotic arm capable of meeting the original salient requirements of weight, power, speed, and strength (payload lifting capacity). Similarly, the UR-20 is the only product capable of meeting the new, increased power, speed, and strength requirements, while still staying within the weight and power requirements dictated by the base platform. Without the UR-20, ARL would not be able to support the next stage of the CBC project. Due to the aforementioned, Applied Controls is the only authorized reseller able to meet the Government’s needs.

6. FAIR AND REASONABLE PRICE DETERMINATION:

It has been determined that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable and that approval of this recommendation is in the best interest of the government. This justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

X

Contracting Officer (KO)