Drone with Imager and Camera

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation number 12505B21Q0188 is issued as a request for quote (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2021-07. This solicitation will be a 100% Total Small Business Set-Aside. The associated NAICS code is 336411, Aircraft Manufacturing, with a small business size standard of 1,500 employees and the PSC code is 1550.

The Department of Agriculture (ARS) has the need for the following products and services:

001) Drone with Imager and Camera

Scope of Work:

The USDA-ARS Cereal Corps Research Unit (CCRU) in Madison, WI is requesting quotes for a drone with imager and camera.

Background:

In this project we are screening a large collection of barley accessions that are known as the iCore diversity panel to identify lines that are tolerant to abiotic stresses such as heat, drought, combined heat and drought stress as well as germination traits, growth stature, lodging and heading date. Such lines will then be analyzed to determine the molecular mechanism governing the tolerance trait and used in breeding programs to develop varieties with improved tolerance to abiotic stress.  The drone will be used to capture data throughout the growing season with the intent of developing spectral profiles associated with traits mentioned above. Additionally, we will be evaluating the image profiles to determine if malt quality factors such as protein content and seed color can be captured in the spectral profiles which will increase our ability to phenotype these traits and predict malt quality of grains as they mature in the field. The Walling laboratory currently does not have a UAV for monitoring field samples. The drone will be used on a biweekly basis throughout the growing season to monitor our barley accessions at a few field locations. This instrument is crucial to the needs of our research projects, to fulfill the requirements outlined in our CRIS.

Technical Requirements:

Below is a list of technical specifications that arebest suited for our experimental needs:

• UAV drone capable of 55+ minute flight time (payload dependent)
• 3:1 lift to weight ratio
• Multispectral Sensor with embedded GPS
  • Blue, green, red, red edge, near-IR
  • Global shutter, aligned with all bands. 
  • 8 cm per pixel (per band) at 120 m (~400 ft) AGL
• RGB  Premium Compact Digital Camera w/ 1-inch sensor 24-200mm ZEISS zoom lens and pop-up OLED EVF
• Universal gimbal-mount solution to allow for future additional payload integration
• Flight Control Computer
• Flight Control PCB with integrated PDB
• Drone Radio PCB and Video Encoder
• GPS/GNSS
• Super bright front and rear LED strobes, FAA certified for 3 miles
• Fully autonomous mission planning and waypoints/automatic flight logging
• Hovering accuracy: Vertical: +/- 0.5 meters, Horizontal: +/- 1.5 meters
• Wind resistance: 35 mph (~16 m/s)
• Designed for integration of custom payloads
• Smart return to home feature and fail safes
• No direct on-board or Ground Control Station cellular radio connectivity or cloud storage outside the United States
• 4k Video/High Resolution Stills/Thermal Imaging/NDVI 
• Foldable airframe with folding props and quick release landers for quick set up and storage
• Aerospace-grade carbon fiber construction
• Motor failure protection
• Power redundancy protection
• Redundant/independent battery power (two sides). Loss of one side still allows aircraft to receive power from operational side
• Motor failure or propeller blade loss (single or dual-opposing arms) allows for the aircraft to remain capable of flight
• Swappable battery solution
• Supported operating systems: iOS, Andriod
• Must be compatible with a Samsung tablet
• Training: Operations, Maintenance, & Basic Flight (6 hours)
• Made in USA
• US based Customer Service
• NDAA section 848 and Executive Order 13981 compliant
• No control, communication, sensor subcomponents or software that is manufactured or developed in an “adversary country”. 
• Approved by the US Army Corps of Engineers (Air Worthiness Certification).

One-year manufacturer warranty for system's operation and functionality from date receipt.

Name Brand or Equal: Terraview RangePro X8 Drone with Micasense MX multispectral imager and Sony digital camera OR EQUIVALENT.

Note: NO products manufactured in China are acceptable (purchase of Chinese drones for Government use is now prohibited).

Security Requirements:

Company must beNDAA section 848 and Executive Order 13981 compliant. No control, communication, sensor subcomponents or software that is manufactured or developed in an “adversary country”. Approved by the US Army Corps of Engineers (Air Worthiness Certification).

Contractor’s Key Personnel:

Personnel must have experience in supplying ARS scientists with UAVs for monitoring agricultural research and supply necessary imagers/cameras to do so.  Previous examples of supplying training for ARS scientists is preferred.

Evaluation Factors: 

Lowest price, technically acceptable. The government intends to award a firm-fixed price award based on the lowest price technically acceptable product. The lowest priced product will be evaluated first; if not found acceptable, the next lowest priced product will be evaluated, and so on until an acceptable product is identified. The government will not review higher priced products if the lowest priced product is determined to be technically acceptable. For a vendor’s products to be considered technically acceptable, they must meet all of the technical requirements identified in the solicitation.

Key Deliverables:

• Drone
• Sensor
• Sensor Integration
• Sensor Gimbal
• Payload Integration
• Camera
• Camera Integration
• Camera Gimbal
• Payload Integration
• Two (2) Batteries
• Control Tablet
• Delivery
• Training
• Warranty

Delivery:

Delivery and training to be made to USDA-ARS CCRU located at 502 Walnut Street, Madison, WI 53726 by or before December 31, 2021.

The vendor shall provide all items F.O.B: destination. Location of the Government site is aboard USDA-ARS Madison, WI and will be identified in the contract. The Government anticipates award of a Firm Fixed Price contract.

Submitting a Quote:

To be eligible for an award, all contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) with a current and active registration. A contractor can contact SAM by calling 1-866-606-8220 or e-mail at www.sam.gov. NO EXCEPTIONS. A DUNS (Dun and Bradstreet) number is required in order to register. Vendor must also include their DUNS# on their quote.

Also, to be eligible, all vendors must be NDAA 889 Certified. If they do not currently have a NDAA 889 Certification, then they must complete the attached NDAA 889 Certification form and submit it to aaron.dimeo@usda.gov so that they can be added to the list of NDAA 889 Certified vendors.

The submission and payment of invoices on the resulting contract will be made through the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). As such, vendors must be currently registered or register in IPP in order to be able to submit and receive payment on invoices for the resulting contract.  

Offerors responding to this announcement shall submit their quote on SF 1449 (see attached). The quote should include all fees, delivery charges, and/or surcharges. This will be a tax-exempt purchase.

Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Please email all quotes in writing on the SF 1449 to aaron.dimeo@usda.gov by no later than Monday, September 27, 2021 at 12:00 PM Central Standard Time.

Questions in regards to this combined synopsis/solicitation must be submitted through email and are due no later than 5:00 PM CST on Tuesday, September 21, 2021. Answers to any questions received by that time will be posted as an amendment to this combined synopsis/solicitation.