ACAN 26-58020 Laboratory Motion Platform System (Hexapod)
1. 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.
2. Definition of the Requirement
The National Research Council of Canada’s Aerospace Research Centre (NRC-AERO) requires the supply, delivery, installation, and commissioning of one (1) laboratory motion platform system (hexapod).
The proposed system will be used to simulate ship motion within a ship airwake environment in order to evaluate the performance of mid-size unmanned aerial systems (UAS) during shipboard landing and takeoff operations. The resulting experimental data will support the development of safe operational wind limits for unmanned aerial systems operating from maritime platforms.
The proposed system must be capable of reproducing complex ship motion profiles used in existing NRC shipboard landing research programs.
The proposed system must also maintain compatibility with the motion control environment currently used by the NRC Aerodynamics Laboratory. This includes compatibility with the existing motion control architecture, motion profile development workflow, and data acquisition framework used to generate and analyze experimental datasets. Maintaining this compatibility will enable previously developed motion profiles, experimental procedures, and analysis tools to be reused without modification while ensuring continuity and comparability with the laboratory’s existing research database.
The procurement includes all hardware, control electronics, proprietary software, installation, commissioning, operator training, and warranty support required to deliver a fully operational motion platform system.
3. Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities (Minimum Essential Requirements)
Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a Statement of Capabilities that its proposed system meets all of the following minimum essential requirements:
A. System Compatibility
The proposed system must be directly compatible with the hexapod motion platform control environment currently used by the NRC Aerodynamics Laboratory.
The proposed system must:
• operate within the existing motion control architecture used by the current NRC hexapod platform;
• be capable of executing previously developed NRC motion profiles and experimental procedures without modification;
• support the existing motion profile development workflow and data acquisition framework used by the NRC Aerodynamics Laboratory;
• achieve this compatibility without the use of middleware, software translation layers, or third-party integration solutions;
• provide encoder position data that can be transmitted to external data acquisition systems with support for GPS-based timestamping.
Suppliers must demonstrate that their proposed system can execute existing NRC motion profiles within the current control environment without redevelopment of motion profile generation, validation, or execution processes.
B. Motion Performance
The proposed system must be a six-degree-of-freedom hexapod motion platform capable of reproducing ship motion dynamics and must be capable of providing:
• angular motion capability of at least ±30 degrees at a frequency of at least 0.2 Hz;
• capability to provide ±10 degrees angular motion simultaneously with ±500 mm vertical travel (1000 mm total stroke) at a frequency of at least 0.2 Hz;
• payload capacity of at least 800 kg to accommodate unmanned aerial systems, landing surfaces, sensors, and associated mounting equipment;
• high-precision closed-loop motion control suitable for research-grade dynamic testing.
C. Control System and Software
The proposed system must include a motion control system and software environment capable of:
• generating, validating, and executing motion trajectories used for ship motion simulation experiments;
• verifying motion profiles prior to execution and identifying operational constraints such as actuator limits, acceleration limits, workspace limits, or mechanical constraints;
• transmitting encoder position data to external data acquisition systems for synchronized experimental measurements;
• supporting GPS-based timestamping of motion data;
• accepting external trigger signals or internal software-based triggers for synchronized experimentation.
D. Environmental Performance
The proposed system must meet environmental performance requirements including:
• minimum ingress protection rating of IP65;
• operation in ambient temperatures ranging from -20 °C to +30 °C;
• protective shielding or weather-resistant mechanical protection suitable for outdoor research installations.
E. Installation and Support
The supplier must provide:
• delivery, installation, and commissioning of the system at the NRC facility;
• operational testing and system validation to verify correct functionality;
• training for NRC personnel on system operation and basic maintenance;
• a minimum one-year warranty covering parts and technical support.
4. Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement. This procurement is subject to the following trade agreements:
• Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)
• World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)
• Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)
• Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
• Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA)
• Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA)
• Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement (Canada-UK TCA)
• Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA)
5. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier
SYMÉTRIE is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of the hexapod motion platform system currently used by the NRC Aerodynamics Laboratory and is the only known supplier capable of providing a compatible expanded-capacity system. The existing platform operates using proprietary motion control software and system architecture developed and owned by SYMÉTRIE. Maintaining compatibility with this environment is required to execute existing motion profiles without modification and to ensure continuity and comparability with historical research data generated by the laboratory.
6. Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s)
The following exception(s) to the Government Contracts Regulations is (are) invoked for this procurement under subsection: 6(d) - "only one person is capable of performing the work".
7. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons
The following exclusion(s) and/or limited tendering reasons are invoked under the:
Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) – Article 513 (1) (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP) – Article XIII (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) – Article 19.12 (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – Article 15.10 (2) (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) – Article Kbis-16 (2) (c): necessary to protect intellectual property;
Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement – Article 1409 (1) (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement – Article 17.11 (2) (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement – referencing the WTO Protocol Amending the GPA, Article XIII (1) (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement – Article 16.10 (1) (b) (iii): because of the absence of competition for technical reasons;
Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA) –Article 1409 (1) (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement: refer to CETA as the provisions of CETA are incorporated by reference into and made part of this Agreement. (CETA) Article 19.12 (b) (iii);
Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) – Limited Tendering Article 10.13 (b) (iii) due to an absence of competition for technical reasons.
8. Period of the proposed contract or delivery date
The requirement is to be delivered on or around March 31st, 2027.
9. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier
Symetrie,
1 Avenue Philippe Lamour - 30230 Bouillargues - FRANCE
10. 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.
11. Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities
The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is: 10 July 2026 at 2pm EDT.
12. Inquiries and submission of statement of capabilities
Inquiries and statement of capabilities are to be directed to:
Katie Homuth | Senior Contracting Officer
Procurement and Contracting Services | Finance and Procurement Services Branch
National Research Council Canada | Government of Canada
Katie.Homuth@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca | 343-549-4539
