HEBI Robotics

NASA's Shared Services Center has issued a Special Notice announcing its intent to award a sole source contract to HEBI Robotics of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for robotic systems. The procurement is being conducted under FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i) authority, with NASA/NSSC serving as the procuring center and performance occurring at NASA's Ames Research Center. The contract will utilize commercial item acquisition procedures under FAR Parts 12 and 13, with a NAICS code of 333998 for miscellaneous general purpose machinery manufacturing. NASA has determined that HEBI Robotics is the sole provider capable of meeting their specific robotic requirements. The Special Notice was posted on July 22, 2025, with a tight response deadline of July 25, 2025.

The primary purpose of this Special Notice is to provide an opportunity for other qualified organizations to demonstrate their capabilities and potentially challenge the sole source determination before contract award. The Statement of Work reveals NASA requires development of SOLL-E, a modular 5-degree of freedom bipedal inchworm-style robot weighing under 10 kg for construction testing and demonstrations involving structural unit placement in 3D grid environments. Interested contractors must submit written capabilities and qualifications by 3:00 p.m. Central Standard Time on July 25, 2025, to the designated procurement contacts. The government will evaluate these submissions solely to determine whether to conduct the procurement on a competitive basis rather than sole source. The contract includes fabrication of one prototype robot, functional testing, delivery, and analysis of volume production potential, with a 4-week performance period. Organizations responding must demonstrate their ability to meet precise positioning requirements and deliver a robot capable of specific locomotion and placement trajectories.