Photo-Realistic Simulations of Building Failure Scenarios for NCST Investigation of Champlain Towers South Collapse

Amendment 01: The purpose of this sources sought notice amendment is as follows: 1. Answers to contractor questions are provided, as attached. 2. The sources sought notice response deadline is extended to Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time. 3. The Government emphasizes that this notice is for market research purposes and is not a request for quotation. We are looking for industry feedback on the anticipated potential requirement. Industry feedback will be used to refine the potential requirement and potential future acquisition strategy. ____________________________ SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE Photo-Realistic Simulations of Building Failure Scenarios for NCST Investigation of Champlain Towers South Collapse NAICS: 541330 - Engineering Services PSC: R425 - Engineering Services INTRODUCTION This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified business sources. This notice is strictly for market research and information purposes only. Your responses will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. NIST is seeking responses from all responsible large and small business concerns. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 541330 (Engineering Services) as those domestic sources with average annual receipts not exceeding $25.5 million. Background: The Champlain Towers South (CTS), a 12-story beachfront condominium with an underground garage in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, in the United States, experienced a sudden partial collapse on July 24, 2021. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is conducting a full technical investigation of the collapse of CTS under the authority of the National Construction Safety Team Act (Act or - NCST), Pub. L. 107-231, codified at 15 U.S.C. 7301 et seq. The goal of the NIST technical investigation is to determine the technical cause of the collapse and, if appropriate, to recommend changes to building codes, standards and practices, or other actions to improve the structural safety of buildings. There are millions of high-rise condominium units in Florida alone, many of them aging structures near the coast. As part of the investigation efforts, NIST's Remote Sensing and Data Visualization Project team is producing visualizations to better understand and communicate conditions leading up to, and events during, the partial collapse in support of the technical investigation. Part of the visualization effort includes the development of photo-realistic simulations of select failure scenarios to aid in communication of potential initiation, progression, and ultimate building failure mechanisms to a broad audience. A three-dimensional (3D) building information model (BIM) of CTS will be provided by the Government (in Autodesk Revit format). Failure scenarios will be identified and structurally simulated by the Government, and three failure scenarios will be selected for further simulation and animation for visualization purposes as part of this scope of work. Scope of Requirement: The Government requires contractor services to 1) develop photo-realistic simulations of NIST-developed failure scenarios of the CTS building collapse, based on the Government's 3D BIM of CTS and the Government's structural analysis results, and to 2) produce videos from the simulations as well as stand-alone personal computer (PC) and virtual reality (VR) visualization environments. The resulting deliverables will be used to convey the results of the investigation and technical analyses in a clear and concise manner to a broad audience. Key Requirement Tasks: The required work includes the following key task areas: Video Storyboard and Narration Development: This requirement includes the development of storyboards for videos to be developed and narrations to be included with the videos. Animation and Video Development: This requirement includes development of 3D simulations, driven by information provided by the Government about the motions of key structural elements, as well as the motions of other objects such as vehicles or people, that show how the building collapse started and progressed. Videos of five to seven minutes will also be developed for each simulation (at a minimum resolution of 1080p high-definition). The videos will include rendered sequences of the pre-collapsed building and key structural elements that contributed to the collapse from aerial, street level, and subsurface views. Realtime Virtual Reality Simulation Development: This requirement includes importing failure scenario simulations into Unreal Engine 5 and ensuring ability to view via a stand-alone personal computer as well as a virtual reality headset. The simulations must include: A timeline allowing the viewer to easily playback, pause, rewind, fast forward, speed up, and slow down the simulation, with the ability for the user to navigate around and into the CTS building while the simulation is playing. The ability to save, easily recall, and overwrite/replace 12 viewpoints, to allow a viewer to jump from one saved viewpoint to another (also while the simulation is playing). The viewer shall be able to save aerial viewpoints, street-level viewpoints, and viewpoints from inside the building. The ability to simulate different lighting conditions (based on the location of the sun in the sky) by selecting the day of the year, the time of day, and the amount of cloud cover within the PC and VR environments. Streetlights and lights inside certain locations of the CTS building (to be coordinated with the Government). The ability to change the viewer's camera parameters such as the field-of-view, focal length, focus, barrel distortion, etc. QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE Questions regarding this sources sought notice may be submitted via email to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at contact@example.gov. Questions are due by or before 11:00 AM ET on June 7, 2024. Questions will be anonymized and answered via sources sought notice amendment following the question submission deadline. RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS All responsible small business sources able to provide the services described above are asked to email a response to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at contact@example.gov by or before 11:00 AM ET on June 25, 2024. Please include the following information in the response: 1. Name of company authorized to provide services, along with their address and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, and email address). 2. The company's primary NAICS, size classification, and socio-economic status (i.e., Small Business, Woman Owned Small Business, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, etc.). 3. Brief description of capabilities in relation to the three key task areas identified in this sources sought notice. 4. Information on any GSA Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) or other Government-wide contracts through which the company offers these services, if applicable. 5. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider. The Government is interested in industry feedback on the potential requirement and possible sourcing strategies. Responses are limited to a maximum total of five (5) pages in MS Word or searchable PDF format. IMPORTANT NOTES This notice is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will not be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response; however, NIST will recognize as restricted or proprietary data which is clearly marked such.