SOURCES SOUGHT
87 -- Equipment for automated egg density estimation - Attachment 1
- Notice Date
- 9/9/2010
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 115210
— Support Activities for Animal Production
- Contracting Office
- Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Administrative Services Division/Contracting, 100 North 6TH Street, Butler Square 5TH Floor, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55403
- ZIP Code
- 55403
- Solicitation Number
- APHIS-447101
- Archive Date
- 10/5/2010
- Point of Contact
- Carol R. Dingess, Phone: 612-336-3208
- E-Mail Address
-
carol.dingess@aphis.usda.gov
(carol.dingess@aphis.usda.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Interested vendors please complete and return by 9/20/2010 CPHST and PPQ have developed a facility for mass rearing of Pink Boll Worms (PBW) for use in an eradication program. Much of the rearing facility's production steps have been automated. By using industrial automation and process control technology production can be maximized and quality tightly controlled. One critical step in the mass rearing process that has not yet been automated is the estimation of PBW egg densities on the filter media on which adult PBW deposit their eggs. The adults PBWs deposit eggs in a random fashion on 200mm diameter disks of filter paper and further complicating the task of estimating egg density is that in some locations, eggs are deposited in multiple layers, i.e. stacked on each other. At present 3-4 individuals inspect these disks, hundreds per day, and estimate from "experience" where to cut the disk so that each section will have the optimum number of eggs. This is a very subjective and difficult task, prone to significant variance from the optimum egg density. We intend to automate this estimation of egg density using industrial automation technology, reduce the variance in eggs density and thus further optimize the rearing facility's produce. A critical component to automating the egg density estimation is a Displacement Sensor System. There are 2 types of displacement sensors: Contact types, utilizing a dial gauge, differential transformer, etc., and non-contact types, utilizing a magnetic field, laser beam, ultra-sonic wave, etc. We require a non-contact laser beam sensors capable of fast response measurement and high accuracy and repeatability. The laser
 displacement
 sensor will measure, in a non-contact fashion, height of PBW eggs that have been deposited on a filter paper media. From this height profile we can then automatically, accurately and with high repeatability estimate egg densities on the filter media on which adult PBW deposit their eggs. The height differences to be measured are on the order of 30 um, which is in the range of the size of human hair. The laser
 displacement
 sensor will also be required to perform measurements with similar accuracy in x-y plane. There are a number of unique 
specifications
 required by 
the 
laser 
displacement
 sensor for this egg counting task, imposed by; 1) the small size of the PBW eggs themselves; 2) the large area of the filter paper on which the eggs are deposited and the large volume of egg pads to be processed daily 3) the relatively large variation in height of the egg masses 4) the translucent nature of the PBW egg. Finally, 5) it is critical to get this important tool online to support mass pink bollworm rearing as soon as possible. Any 
laser 
displacement
 sensor must meet or exceed these specifications: To address issue the above issues: 1) Requires small beat spot to enable detection of individual eggs: 30 micron diameter 2) Requires High Sampling Rate near 50kHz with large data storage capacity of at least Data storage capabilities 65,000 point memory so we can rapidly scan the large filter area and process the large volume of egg pads produced daily 3) A Measuring Range of at least: 10mm to cover the various heights of stacked eggs 4) The eggs we are measuring are translucent, which for many laser displacement sensors it can be difficult if not impossible to measure accurately. The laser displacement sensors must be able able to accurately measure the location and heights of the translucent eggs. 5) A sensor with which have had hands-on experience integrating with similar automation systems. Interested sources are encouraged to complete and return Attachment 1 to the contracting office. Telephonic inquiries will not be honored. Please email all questions regarding subject item(s) prior to Sources Sought closing date to Carol.Dingess@aphis.usda.gov. Small Business concerns are encouraged to participate. This is not a request for competitive proposals, but instead a market research method to determine interested sources. A determination by the Government not to compete this requirement based on 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. No requests for capability briefings will be honored as a result of this notice. Interested sources who submit data are responsible for appropriately marking information if it is proprietary in nature. Please provide Tax I.D. Number, Duns Number, and point of contact information. The Government will not award a contract based on the information received, nor reimburse participants for information or samples they provide. Information or materials provided is strictly voluntary. Please Email or Fax Attachment 1 to Carol Dingess at Carol.Dingess@aphis.usda.gov. fx# 612-336-3550 Email is the preferred method of communication. Telephonic inquiries will not be honored. Closing date for submissions of Statement's of Capability is September 20, 2010 at 4:00PM ET. Anyone interested in doing business with the USDA must also obtain a Dunn and Bradstreet number. If your company does not have a DUNS number, you may contact Dun and Bradstreet directly to obtain one by calling 1- 866-705-5711or via the following website: http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform or at ccr.dnb.com/ccr/pages/CCRSearch.jsp. Anyone interested in doing business with the USDA must complete a Representations and Certifications electronically at http://orca.bpn.gov and be listed in the government's Central Contractor Registrar. You may register on line with www.ccr.gov. or by calling Central Contractors Registration @ 1-888-227-2423
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USDA/APHIS/Contracting/APHIS-447101/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: New Mexico State University, USDA/APHIS/PPQ/CPHST/NWML/PROGRAM, 945 College Ave, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88003, United States
- Zip Code: 88003
- Zip Code: 88003
- Record
- SN02275657-W 20100911/100910000652-4d4acf09e8a2cb9edf1d531305e9ca3a (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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