Biological Detectors - Data Format

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes; it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quotation (RFQ) or a promise to issue an RFP, RFQ or Broad Area Announcement (BAA). This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. DHS CWMD is not seeking proposals at this time. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay any cost incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the responding party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, RFQ or BAA. In order to receive an award from any resultant solicitation, should one be issued, the successful offeror must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM). The SAM website is https://sam.gov. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor the website for any information that may pertain to this RFI. The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. All submissions become the property of the Federal Government and will not be returned. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the government to form a binding contract. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organizations capabilities. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. Proprietary, confidential, privileged commercial or financial information submitted in the RFI response should be marked accordingly to ensure appropriate handling and disposition by the Government. No classified information shall be submitted in the RFI response. Do not use Government security classification markings. Do not mark the entire response as proprietary. All businesses Small, Medium, and Large, irrespective of minority status, are encouraged to respond to this RFI if you have relevant experience. This is not a Solicitation. DESCRIPTION The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office is seeking information on data formats for use in current biological detection systems designed for surveillance of the environment and/or detection of aerosolized materials. BACKGROUND The purpose of a data format standard is to provide a uniform format for data to be output from biological detection measurement instruments for use in homeland security applications. This enables interpretation of data without reference to manufacturer's documentation. SCOPE Through this RFI, DHS CWMD is seeking technical information responses to determine the type of data format used by biological detection systems designed for surveillance of the environment and/or detection of aerosolized materials. This includes the data format used internally in the system to process data, the data format used to export data from the system to an external device such as a personal computer, external memory card or similar type device, and the data format used for real time transmission of data to a receiving device such as a smartphone, tablet or similar type of device. Desired Capabilities: CWMD is planning to sponsor development of a data format standard for these types of detectors. The standard has several goals among which are: Ensure that data can be used for modeling and simulations (M&S) (e.g., dispersion modeling) and that the M&S tools developed are interoperable with various detectors. If applicable, ensure that data can be transmitted real time to a receiving device such as a smartphone, tablet or similar type of device. Ensure that data are reusable so that users of the data can understand how the data were collected and who to contact for more information. Ensure that data can be easily combined with data from other types of sensors (e.g., temperature, wind, pressure, humidity, and video). Ensure that data can be readily combined with data from other organizations and researchers, facilitating reuse of the data. Also, users will benefit from community developed tools. Ensure that data can be used and understood in the context of other data for easier reuse, especially for machine-to-machine operations. Ensure that data are easily imported to computing software and analyzed to support rapid informed decision making. Facilitate interoperability and upgradability of the components of a detection system of systems by utilizing a common data format for all biological sensors within the system. In addition, CWMD is looking for experts or manufacturers of these types of biological detection systems with the knowledge to be part of the development of the proposed consensus standard. RESPONSES Interested parties must submit responses to the point(s) of contact identified below: Contracting Officer, Andrew Whittaker, at Stephen.Whittaker@hq.dhs.gov and Contract Specialist, Ronald Miles III at ronald.miles@hq.dhs.gov no later than 5:00pm (Eastern) on December 05, 2022. The subject line of the email should contain the RFI number 70RWMD23RFI00000002 Proprietary information should not be included in this RFI response. Please be advised that all submissions become government property and will not be returned. The electronic copy of responses is to be in Microsoft Word format. Responses shall be limited to 10 pages. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. The subject line of the email should contain the RFI number. At a minimum, responses should include: Company Information: (name, phone number, UEI, CAGE Code, POC information, website, etc.) A description of your company's relevant experience in the use of data formats for these types of detectors, and any essential requirements for such formats.