Polaris Alpha-4 with AUGV Kit and Control System

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) intends to award a contract on a sole source basis to Applied Research Associates Inc. (ARA) upon the basis of the authority provided at FAR13.106-1(b)(1).

ERDC-CRREL seeks to procure one (1) Polaris Alpha-4 with an Autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicle (AUGV) Kit and Control System installed for mobility testing:

• Must be identical to CRREL’s existing two (2) Polaris MRZRs.
• Vehicle has capacity of carrying 4 people.
• Vehicle must be diesel.
• Independent suspension and 2000 lb. payload capacity.
• 8-speed automatic transmission,
• Sling loadable
• 32. Inch tires
• 12-inch ground clearance
• Company has a partnership with Polaris to build drive by wire kits on the Alpha vehicles
• Must be from Applied Research Associates (ARA) to match the two drive by wire equipped MRZR D4’s purchased in recent years as a sole source.
• System is fully integrated with the Alpha-4:
  • Has direct access to:
    • Vehicle wiring harness
    • Firmware
    • Onboard electronics
  • Direct autonomous control of require components:
    • Throttle
    • Brake
    • Steering
    • Transmission
  • Future upgrades will support direct control of:
    • Ignition
  • Provides integration onto the Alpha-4 with testing to ensure system is functional.
  • System provides control access to autonomy package using ROS

 Commands.

• System produced in an A-Kit and B-Kit where the B-kit is hardware and software integrated on the vehicle and the A-Kit is interchangeable between multiple vehicles.

• Commercially available
  • Not an R&D system in development
  • Fully developed software package for access to mobility controls
• Polaris MZRZ Alpha 4 must be delivered by 30 June and AUGV system must be integrated by 30 September.

ARA is the only vendor that has the required level of integration because they have a sole partnership with Polaris to provide robotic kits on their MRZR vehicles. Further, ARA is the only vendor that can obtain an MRZR Alpha 4 by the need date due to an agreement with Polaris to receive a single early production unit for Government use. As a Polaris partner, ARA have direct access to the vehicles wiring harness, firmware, and onboard electronics allowing direct control of the required components to include throttle, brake, steering, transmission, and ignition. They are the exclusive provider of integrated robotic technology on Polaris MRZR vehicles.

The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 334511, which has a size standard of 1,250 employees.

This Notice of Intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this requirement. Any interested party that believes they can fulfill this requirement should submit a capability statement to be reviewed. All submissions will be considered, however there is no guarantee that submissions in response to this notice will in any way alter the Government's acquisition strategy.

Please provide responses to this notice NLT 12:00 PM CST 6 June 2022 to: William.A.McFarland@usace.army.mil

Telephone responses will not be accepted.

Responses to this notice will not be considered as a response to any solicitation, a request to be added to a prospective offerors list, or to receive a copy of any solicitation. A determination by the Government not to compete the contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.

Note: In order to be eligible for award of a Government contract, vendors must be actively registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), have no active exclusions, and complete the FAR and DFARS representations and certifications.