Unmanned Air Systems and Flight services
Solicitation Number: 22-58132
ACAN Definition: Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN): An ACAN is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier.
Requirement:
The National Research Council of Canada’s (NRC) Flight Research Laboratory (FRL) has a requirement to have our current Peregrine Autonomy System (Peregrine) overhauled to enable operations in more demanding flight environments. The current mandate of a client-offset research project in the area of autonomous flight sciences, requires that the FRL demonstrate the functionality of the Peregrine in a physical environment that it cannot safely operate in.
As a result, the Peregrine system needs to be returned to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Near Earth Autonomy (NEA), and an overhaul performed, including the addition of moisture and dust ingress protection/mitigation. The internal codebase will also be updated to the latest version (version 4.2) as part of the overhaul.
Successful demonstration of the autonomy technology can only be achieved if the current Peregrine system is overhauled by the OEM, in accordance with the tasks noted herein.
Background:
The NRC-FRL is engaged in a client-offset research project entitled the Canadian Vertical Lift Autonomy Demonstration (CVLAD) program. This research project currently supports the Integrated Aerial Mobility (IAM) program Flight Autonomy R&D roadmap. This initiative is a Technology Demonstration Program (TDP) intended to develop, implement, and evaluate a prototype autonomous flight systems technologies onboard a full-scale aircraft. CVLAD outcomes are aimed at increased capabilities in areas such as aircraft availability, mission automation, pilot assistance and workload reduction, optionally piloted or reduced crew operations, degraded environment operations, and teaming in order to achieve industrialization.
Minimum Essential Requirements:
Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that its product/equipment/system (as appropriate) meets the following minimum essential requirements for its autonomous flight systems procurement, including:
System (integrated hardware/software) solution delivery and support of integration flight tests
Knowledge of the Peregrine architecture and design such that the necessary moisture and dust ingress modifications and firmware modifications can be implemented successfully and within project timelines.
The overhauled payload must still comply with the external integration form factor of: 1.5-by-1-by-1 (L x W x H) foot, and an internal aircraft integration limited to operator and pilot display technology, and a 50-pound system integrated weight limit.
Regime of Flight: Hover to 120-knot flight regime (incorporating autonomous landing zone evaluation/interfacing, obstacle detection/avoidance, and 200-meter range area mapping)
System (integrated hardware/software) and processes compatible with concurrent research on-going with NRC’s collaborators.
This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s):
World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier:
NEA has developed unique intellectual property enabling it to provide reliable and rugged aircraft-integrated autonomy flight system payloads that may be customized to NRC-FLR flight research requirements. The overhaul of the existing Peregrine system can only be performed by the original manufacturer NEA.
Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s): – (6d)"only one person is capable of performing the work").
Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons. The following exclusion(s) and/or limited tendering reasons are invoked under the (section of the trade agreement(s) specified):
World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) – Article(s) 1016(b)
1016.2 (b) - where, for works of art, or for reasons connected with the protection of patents, copyrights or other exclusive rights, or proprietary information or where there is an absence of competition for technical reasons, the goods or services can be supplied only by a particular supplier and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists.
Ownership of Intellectual Property: Ownership of any Foreground Intellectual Property arising out of the proposed contract will vest in the Contractor.
Period of the proposed contract or delivery date:
All deliverables in this contract are expected to be completed by March 31 2024.
Contract value :
The estimated value of the contract is $228,000 CAD (plus applicable taxes) for time and materials.
Name and address of the pre-identified supplier:
Near Earth Autonomy Incorporated
150 North Lexington Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15208 USA
Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities:
Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.
Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities
The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is March 27, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. EDT.
Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities :
Katie Homuth–Email: Katie.Homuth@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Team Leader (acting) Procurement and Contracting Services
Procurement Services | Finance and Procurement Services
National Research Council Canada
