SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- Next Generation Lader for Driving Unmanned Ground Vehicles
- Notice Date
- 6/6/2002
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition and Logistics Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 3571, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899-3571
- ZIP Code
- 20899-3571
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-BAA1234
- Response Due
- 7/9/2002
- Archive Date
- 7/24/2002
- Point of Contact
- Romena Moy, Contract Specialist, Phone (301) 975-4999, Fax (301) 975-8884, - Marsha Rodgers, Contract Specialist, Phone (301) 975-6398, Fax (301) 975-8884,
- E-Mail Address
-
Romena.Moy@nist.gov, marsha.rodgers@nist.gov
- Description
- BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is soliciting proposals on Next Generation Ladar for Driving Unmanned Ground Vehicles.Based on the experience gained in support of the Army Research Lab (ARL) Demo III Unmanned Ground Vehicle program over the past four years, the Intelligent Systems Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has identified the need for high performance Ladar sensors for autonomous on and off-road driving. These sensors will be mounted on UGVs and are needed to provide reliable and robust obstacle/object detection and terrain feature information. The sensors will provide information about the environment surrounding the vehicle sufficient to enable the vehicle to drive autonomously. Current Ladar sensors used in UGV research have proven to have limitations in performance, are large in size and are expensive. Phase I of this solicitation is for the design of an Engineering Prototype to advance the Ladar range imaging component/subsystem technologies to meet the needs for UGVs. Phase II will support prototype development. The Government envisions the requirement for two types of Ladar range imaging sensors for this type of application, one having a wide field-of-view (40 X 90 deg.) with a resolution of about .25 degrees or better per pixel and the second, a foveal Ladar having a narrow field-of-view of approximately 1/10th of the wide field-of-view with a resolution of about .05 degrees or better per pixel. Inter-pixel spacing of no more than 10% of the specified spatial resolution is anticipated. The intent is to make the foveal Ladar steerable to any position within the field-of-view of the wide angle Ladar. Both types of Ladar sensors shall have a range resolution of about 5 cm in range, shall be able to detect the ground plane out to a distance of at least 40 meters and vertical surfaces out to a range of at least 100 meters. 10 Hz frame rates or better are expected. Both Ladars must be eye safe and shall be provided with capability to penetrate dust, fog, grass and light foliage (either by sensing multiple returns or looking for the last return) and be able to operate in full sunlight conditions. The criterion for scoring the proposed designs are provided below. Two Phases are planned for this solicitation. Phase I is intended to obtain designs. Phase II may proceed to fund a prototype(s). In Phase I, in response to this solicitation, responders are to submit proposals describing their intended design concept and their capabilities to perform the design. Full designs are not sought at this point, however, the concept must be capable of leading to a design (and possibly a prototype) that can address the technical specifications provided below. The concept description must include relevant analytical explanation and/or experimental data required to support the concept. The concept description must make clear the principals of operation, attest to the scientific validity of the approach, and show how the proposed concept shall support the specifications. These proposals shall be evaluated and one or more responders may be funded to develop a full design for their concept(s). In Phase II, the completed designs shall be evaluated, and an award or awards may be made to developers of selected designs to build a prototype(s) according to the selected design(s). The following describes the Phase I and Phase II components of this solicitation in more detail: Phase I: Detailed concept design for Wide FOV Ladar, Narrow (foveal) Ladar or for the combination of both. Concept Proposal: o Proposals for the development of designs shall be reviewed and scored. o As many as four awards to develop and provide designs may be given depending on proposal quality and available funding. Design: o Award funding level will be at least $50K for each award to provide a design. Higher award amounts are possible and will be based on "best value" to the Government. o Within three months of an award, the offeror shall provide a detailed design for NIST to review. o A budget and schedule plan (including when a prototype will be available for testing) shall be provided with the design. o As part of the design, the offeror shall identify proposed computer interfaces necessary to interact with the sensor or sensor platform components, and describe the proposed software organization and proposed algorithms. Capability to be synchronized with external timing source shall also be supported by the design. Evaluation of Phase I The criteria and weights to be used for evaluation of proposals to develop a design will be: 1. Soundness, technical merit, and innovation (Maximum 40 points) In addition to the general technical soundness of the proposed concept, technical merit includes the likelihood that the proposed concept can lead to a design (and possibly eventual prototype) that can score well with respect to the specifications given below. 2. Qualifications of the proposed technical staff to perform proposed conceptual design (Maximum 30 points) Includes evaluation of experience with Ladar systems and similar or related system design experience, knowledge of Ladar measurement and performance issues, and knowledge of current approaches. 3. Potential for use in military UGV applications and product development (Maximum 30 points) Degree to which concept can be applicable to unmanned ground vehicle systems. Proposer shall show knowledge of technical issues associated with this application domain, and indicate how they will be addressed. The following specifications define the performance capabilities desired in the next generation Ladar systems being sought. In Phase I, the submitted design concepts will be evaluated according to the criteria above, which includes the likelihood that the proposed concept can lead to a design (and possibly eventual prototype) that can score well with respect to these specifications. In Phase II, these specifications and the associated points shown, will be used to score full designs as the means to evaluate the full designs for possible awards to build a prototype(s). Ladar Specifications (and Phase II Points): The first two items are for the Wide FOV Ladar. The next two are for the Narrow FOV Ladar. The Wide FOV and Narrow FOV designs will be scored separately, whether they are for part of a single, combined system or are for independent Wide FOV and Narrow FOV systems. Vertical FOV Points Horizontal FOV Points Wide Field-of-view Ladar 40 deg 4 90 deg 4 < 40 but not < 30 deg 3 < 90 but not < 60 deg 3 < 30 deg 0 < 60 deg 0 > 40 deg 5 > 90 deg 5 Wide FOV Ladar Spatial pixel resolution .25 - <.3 deg 12 < .25 deg 15 .3 - .5 deg 8 > .5 deg 0 Narrow (foveal) FOV Ladar: If a design for a foveal Ladar is offered, the proposed FOV will be rated on technical merit in combination with the proposed spatial resolution. A maximum of 10 points is possible. It is expected that the FOV shall not be less than 4 X 4 deg. or larger than 9 X 9 deg. Narrow FOV Ladar Points Spatial pixel resolution .05 - <.06 deg. 12 < .05 deg 15 .06 - .1 deg 8 > .1 deg 0 The following specifications are common to either the Wide FOV or Narrow FOV Ladar Range resolution 5 - 10 cm 3 (over min. to max. > 10 cm 0 measurement range) < 5 cm 5 Ground detection** Maximum range > 50 m 10 **Sensor 1.5 m above flat 40 - 50 m 5 ground surface - gravel, dirt, < 40 m 0 or mowed grass. Vertical surface detection 125 - 200 m 12 Maximum range > 200 m 15 100 - 124 m 8 < 100 m 0 Minimum range < 1 m 5 1 - 2 m 3 > 2 m 0 Frame rate < 5 Hz 0 5 - 9 Hz 8 10 - 20Hz 12 > 20 Hz 15 Laser wavelength In 1500 nm range 10 Note: Laser power/lasers - Other wavelength not detectable 8 must be eye safe by night vision equipment Other wavelengths not in visible 5 Other wavelengths in visible 0 Interference prevention Has prevention 5 between multiple active No prevention of interference 0 sensors Potential solution provided 3 Reflectance image Yes. Scoring will depend on quality 3 - 5 No. 0 Potential solution provided 3 Dust, smoke, foliage, etc. Yes. Scoring will depend on technical8 - 15 Penetration quality of approach No. 0 Potential solution provided 8 Maximum possible score of each type of Ladar for technical specifications: 110 Other Design Considerations: Acceptable designs will be determined through evaluation of the above criteria. Among the acceptable designs, additional points are available to those designs that may optionally address the following: Since the Ladars sought are engineering prototypes, requirements on size, weight, power, shock and vibration, protection from rain/humidity and temperature range of operation are not critical. However, since the ultimate intent is for vehicle-based systems, up to 10 additional points will be awarded for proposed designs according to their feasibility of implementation on Demo III XUV type (2500 - 3000 lb.) vehicles, where size, weight, power, shock and vibration, protection from rain/humidity and temperature range of operation will be important. It is anticipated that the size of the production prototypes for that purpose will need to be smaller than a cylinder (20 - 25 cm. high and about 12 cm. across) If a design for a foveal pan/tilt stage is offered (in addition to the Ladar imager), up to 10 additional points will be awarded according to its technical merit. Servos in the stage shall be capable of at least 3 saccades (point to point moves) per second. Designs for image stabilization must also be provided. Phase II: Engineering Prototype Development The designs developed under Phase I award(s) will be evaluated according to the specifications and points above. Based on the quality of the designs and availability of funding, NIST will consider funding one or more contracts to build a prototype Wide FOV Ladar, a Narrow (foveal) Ladar or a combination of both. We anticipate making Phase II award selections before the end of the calendar year. For any prototype that is developed, the offeror shall fully describe interfaces necessary to interact with the sensor platform components, and provide software required to control components. Capability to be synchronized with external timing source shall also be provided. Proposal Due Date This notice constitutes a BAA as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.102(d)(2)(i). A formal Request for Proposal or other solicitation regarding this announcement will not be issued, nor will paper copies of this announcement be issued. The Government reserves the right to select or award all, some or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement. All responsible sources may submit a proposal, which shall be considered by the agency. Proposals shall be received by 3:00 PM on July 9, 2002.
- Place of Performance
- Address: National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland
- Zip Code: 20899
- Country: USA
- Zip Code: 20899
- Record
- SN00089125-W 20020608/020606213102 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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