Jaiabot Systems Hydro System

***NOAA'S ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, EASTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-NORFOLK, COAST SURVEY DEVELOPMENT LABORATORY OFFICE (OCS) INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), WITH JAIA ROBOTICS INC OUT OF BRISTOL, RI TO PURCHASE A JAIABOT HYDRO SYSTEM THAT CAN MAP AND CHARACTERIZE THE OCEAN FLOOR.

***THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION'S (NOAA) REQUIREMENT THAT JAIAROBOTICS IS THE SOLE PROVIDER OF THE JAIABOT HYDRO SYSTEM. OCS LEVERAGES A VARIETY OF TOOLS TO MAP AND CHARACTERIZE THE OCEAN FLOOR. THE JAIABOT-HYDRO SYSTEM, A PRODUCT OF JAIA ROBOTICS, INC., IS A LOW-COST, SEMI-AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE, UTILIZING OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE, THAT CAN TAKE CTD (CONDUCTIVITY, TEMPERATURE, AND DEPTH) DIVES AT PREDETERMINED LOCATIONS. CSDL/HSTB HAS RESEARCHED VIABLE OPTIONS, AND HAS DETERMINED THAT THE JAIABOT-HYDRO SYSTEM, TO BE USED FOR MEASURING SOUND VELOCITY IN THE WATER COLUMN AND TO ASSESS ITS FEASIBILITY AS AN OPERATIONAL TOOL IN NOAA’S WORKFLOW, IS THE BEST PRODUCT TO MEET OUR MISSION CRITICAL NEED AT A PRICE POINT THAT GIVES THE MOST BENEFIT TO THE GOVERNMENT AT THE BEST PRICE.

NOAA’S CAST REQUIREMENTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
• CONDUCTIVITY, TEMPERATURE, AND PRESSURE MUST BE MEASURED TO A SUFFICIENTLY ACCURATE DEGREE. PROFILING SENSORS MUST BE CAPABLE, AT MINIMUM, OF MEASURING CONDUCTIVITY, TEMPERATURE, AND PRESSURE, IN ORDER TO COMPUTE SOUND VELOCITY AS A FUNCTION OF DEPTH. THESE SENSORS MUST BE SUFFICIENTLY ACCURATE IN THEIR MEASUREMENTS TO SUPPORT RAY-TRACING OF MULTIBEAM SONAR DATA, WHEREBY THE RESULTING BATHYMETRIC MEASUREMENTS MEET NOAA'S HYDROGRAPHIC SPECIFICATION AS OUTLINED IN THE HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYS SPECIFICATIONS AND DELIVERABLES (HSSD).
• CASTS MUST BE TAKEN AT A 4-HOUR INTERVAL, OR MORE, AS NEEDED.
• CASTS MUST BE TRANSFERRED TO THE VESSEL SHORTLY AFTER ACQUISITION.
• CASTS MUST BE ABLE TO BE CONDUCTED FROM SHORE AND/OR SMALL MANNED SURFACE VESSELS.

NOAA’S RESEARCH INTO OPTIONS TO FILL THIS NEED DETERMINED THAT THE JAIABOT-HYDRO IS THE BEST CHOICE FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:
• THIS PROCUREMENT CONTINUES THE WORK PERFORMED BY THE CENTER FOR COASTAL AND OCEAN MAPPING (CCOM) IN CHARACTERIZING AND VALIDATING THE PERFORMANCE OF THIS UNIT. THE CONTINUITY OF THIS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT WOULD BE COMPROMISED BY CHANGING THE HARDWARE USED AND SET BACK OUR DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS BY AT LEAST A YEAR.
• THERE ARE NO OTHER IDENTIFIED HAND-DEPLOYABLE SEMI-AUTONOMOUS CTD PLATFORMS THAT MEET THE ABOVE SPECIFICATIONS IN THE MARKET AS OF THE TIME OF THIS REPORT. THIS FLEXIBILITY IS REQUIRED TO ALLOW FOR DEPLOYMENT FROM THE SURVEY LAUNCHES ALREADY PRESENT ON OUR HYDROGRAPHIC SHIPS, AS WELL AS THE SMALL CRAFT IN OUR NRB FLEET. NOAA’S HYDROGRAPHIC FIELD UNITS WILL BENEFIT FROM AN UNTETHERED, SEMI-AUTONOMOUS OPTION FOR CAST DATA COLLECTION. THE OBVIOUS ISSUE WITH STATIC CTDS IS THE NEED TO STOP THE VESSEL AND TAKE A CAST. MOVING VESSEL PROFILERS (MVPS) SOLVE THIS HANDILY; HOWEVER, THE SYSTEMS IN PLACE ARE PRONE TO FAILURE AND ARE CHALLENGING TO MAINTAIN AND OPERATE. ADDITIONALLY, NEITHER CTDS NOR MVPS ARE OPTIMIZED FOR AUTONOMOUS OPERATIONS LIKE THE DRIX AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE, WHICH LEAVES A REAL GAP IN NOAA’S ACQUISITION CAPABILITY. THE JAIABOT-HYDRO SYSTEM IS THE BEST PRODUCT TO ADDRESS THIS GAP AT A REASONABLE PRICE.

MARKET RESEARCH
EXTENSIVE RESEARCH INTO THE AVAILABILITY OF SYSTEMS THAT MEET ALL OF THE MISSION REQUIREMENTS ABOVE WAS CONDUCTED AND NO COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE ALTERNATIVES WERE FOUND. COMPARABLE PLATFORMS THAT MIGHT BE ALTERED TO CONDUCT THESE MEASUREMENTS WERE NOTED AT FOUR TO SEVEN TIMES THE PRICE OF THIS UNIT AND WOULD NOT MEET THE PROCUREMENT TIMELINE FOR THIS PROJECT. IN ADDITION, AS STATED ABOVE, THIS PROCUREMENT CONTINUES THE WORK PERFORMED BY THE CENTER FOR COASTAL AND OCEAN MAPPING (CCOM) IN CHARACTERIZING AND VALIDATING THE PERFORMANCE OF THIS UNIT. THE CONTINUITY OF THIS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT WOULD BE COMPROMISED BY CHANGING THE HARDWARE USED AND SET BACK OUR DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS BY AT LEAST A YEAR.  JAIAROBOTICS HAS NO AUTHORIZED PARTNERS OR RESELLERS WHO CAN PROVIDE THIS SYSTEM. 

***THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS AND NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE IS AVAILABLE. HOWEVER, FIRMS THAT BELIEVE THEY CAN FULLY MEET THE GOVERNMENT'S REQUIREMENTS MAY SUBMIT SUBSTANTIATING DOCUMENTATION IN WRITING TO THE IDENTIFIED POINT OF CONTACT WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THIS SYNOPSIS. SUCH DOCUMENTATION WILL BE EVALUATED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT TO CONDUCT THIS PROCUREMENT ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS. A DETERMINATION BY THE GOVERNMENT NOT TO CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT, BASED UPON RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE, IS SOLELY WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNMENT. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE.