Robotic Arm Replacement and Scheduling Software In

The Department of the Interior's Interior Business Center, procuring on behalf of the National Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute, seeks one robotic arm system with integrated scheduling software for an automated high-throughput imaging platform, with proposals due June 1, 2026 at 9:00 AM Eastern Time. This is a small business set-aside.

Place of performance is the NIH's Center for Cancer Research facility in Bethesda, Maryland. The robotic system must integrate with an existing Yokogawa CV8000 imaging platform and handle SBS-compliant microplates in 6-, 96-, 384-, and 1536-well formats. The arm must interface with existing auxiliary plate hotels, barcode readers (specifically a SICK CLV622-1000 model), and operate within fixed geometry constraints (robotic mounting table: 31 11/16 inches height by 31 1/2 inches length by 27 1/2 inches width; auxiliary plate hotels: 19 11/16 inches height by 5 5/16 inches length by 6 1/8 inches width) without requiring structural modifications. All offerors must submit a completed Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) and comply with HHS Section 508 ICT accessibility standards. A SICK barcode scanner was originally installed by PerkinElmer in 2015 and reconfigured by Wako Automation in 2016.

This is a firm fixed-price procurement with delivery required within four months (twelve weeks delivery plus ten business days installation and ten business days onsite training). All costs including freight, shipping, installation, and training must be included in the total price. The NAICS code is 334516, Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing, with a 1,000-employee size standard. Evaluation prioritizes technical capability to integrate with existing systems and achieve compatibility, with price as secondary consideration. Offerors must be SAM.gov-registered at submission and award, hold prices firm for ninety days, and warrant supplies for twelve months from installation. FAR 52.225-8 Duty-Free Entry is anticipated to apply to the imported robotic arm (valued over $20,000); offerors must clearly outline any tariff costs, and the contracting officer reserves the right to remove tariff pricing from quotes for evaluation and award purposes upon US Customs and Border Protection confirmation. Quotes are submitted via email to Melissa_Onyszko@ibc.doi.gov. Questions were originally due May 13; questions and answers have been posted in amendments.