Request for Information (RFI)-Mobile Biometrics Technology. DUE: 09-24-07

The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWARSYSCEN), Charleston, Code 741 (Advanced Law Enforcement Technology Branch), is seeking information on the current state of the art in mobile biometric technologies and attempting to determine what equipment and systems are available from specific vendors. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Authorized Equipment List (AEL) item number for this equipment is 05AU-00-BIOM. SPAWARSYSCEN Charleston is seeking information on available mobile biometric products to be used in a wide range of missions by law enforcement personnel. The mobile biometric products described must be rapidly deployable to the scene of an incident and provide a mobile capability in severe environments with limited to no supporting infrastructure. SPAWARSYSCEN Charleston is interested in both portable and handheld biometric systems. Examples of possible missions include victim identification, identity verification, and checks of wants and warrants. SPAWARSYSCEN Charleston is primarily interested in products that comply with American National Standards Institute and National Institute of Standards and Technology (ANSI/NIST) standards. Products that collect and search fingerprint data should also meet FBI Electronic Fingerprint Transmission Standards (EFTS). Responses should detail these standards where applicable to the product. Review of this information is being performed for DHS. DHS established the System Assessment and Validation for Emergency Responders (SAVER) Program to conduct comparative assessments and validation activities that provide the emergency responder community with information on important products and services. Visit the SAVER Program Web site at https://www.dhs-saver.info for more information on the SAVER Program. All information received will be treated as public knowledge and may be used in SAVER Program documentation; therefore, vendors should not submit proprietary information in response to this RFI. Specific information sought includes: 1. Company information, including name, address, and URL. 2. Whether the company is a manufacturer or distributor. 3. A point of contact for follow-up information, and the point of contact’s phone number and e-mail address. 4. Product name, price, GSA schedule (if applicable), specific biometric modality used, and a brief description (75 words or less). 5. Details of ANSI, NIST, EFTS, AFIS standards compliance. 6. Communication features of the equipment (how does the system transmit and receive data from other computers) including what networks and protocols are used (e.g., 802.11, Bluetooth, etc). 7. The specific hardware parts and sub-components in the product. 8. Compatibility with local, state, federal and international databases ((ncluding FBI and DoD). 9. Major installations/users of the product. 10. How the system can be used in law enforcement applications with examples of specific use by law enforcement personnel (police, etc). 11. Product description should include typical mobile law enforcement applications for the product, accuracy and reliability in field applications and environments, operations with lack of power and communications infrastructure, operation in contaminated environments, suspect identification applications, victim identification applications, and mobile identification of law enforcement staff applications. 12. Product description should also include details of data collected by the product, the format in which the data is collected, and the interface protocol used by the product. The submitted information will be evaluated for inclusion in SAVER projects and reports. Determination as to an individual product’s suitability will be made by SPAWARSYSCEN Charleston based on the objectives of this request. Vendors may be contacted following submission to request more detailed product information. Vendor provided information may be reformatted for publication in SAVER Program documents. Submissions should be made in the format contained in the document attached to this announcement. To access the document, use the hyperlink contained at the end of this announcement. Submittals Respondents are required to complete the attached product summary questionnaire (Mobile_Biometrics_questionnaire.pdf) for each product and submit the questionnaires via e-mail using the submit button on the form. The technical point of contact for this RFI is Kelly Williams at contact@example.gov. Interested parties are asked to use the link at the bottom of this announcement to access the required document, which will take to you the SPAWAR E-Commerce website where the document resides. This RFI is for information gathering and planning purposes only and should not be construed as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or solicitation of an offer. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or otherwise pay for the information solicited. Submission of vendor information constitutes consent to publication of that information in SAVER Program documentation. E-mail your non-technical/contract related questions to the Contract Specialist at contact@example.gov.