The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering Research and Development Center - Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) has a requirement to expand the connectivity of the exiting Smart Base Transportation Testbed at Fort Carson, CO to include smart traffic and weather artificial intelligence (AI) platforms. The Army now views its installations as part of the battlespace under Multi-Domain Operations. Installations as Strategic Support Areas emphasize the necessity of maintaining competitive advantage at the point of initiating combat power by leveraging the latest automation technologies to expedite Army modernization, improve readiness, and enhance quality of life on installations. As per its March 2020 report to Congress, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy, and Environment is sponsoring demonstration pilots on military installations to test and evaluate smart base concepts and technology. These pilots include technology modernization efforts and sensor integration with AI. Fort Carson is now an established smart transportation testbed that includes the establishment of a 4G/5G network, autonomous vehicle (AV) shuttle transportation for personnel service on the cantonment area, and AV airfield services for debris detection and analysis. This requirement shall leverage the existing testbed and expand into the Colorado Springs local community to include sensor deployment, data integration, AI model, and decision dashboards development that integrate traffic and weather-related information. ERDC-CERL intends to award a contract on a sole source basis to US Ignite, Inc. in accordance with FAR Part 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii). Specifically, the original contractor is deemed to be the only responsible source to provide these highly specialized follow-on services because award to any other source would result in (A) substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition; and (B) unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements. The effort to be contracted is a direct follow on to a current US Ignite contract that was awarded in August 2019 for research and development (R&D) services in support of smart transportation platform activities. Many of the tasks that were performed under that R&D contract involved research that was directly applicable towards establishing the initial requirements and set up of the Smart Base Transportation Testbed at Fort Carson. Those R&D activities included conducting a technology demonstration of automated vehicle systems, researching requirements for establishment of a 4G/5G network, and initializing ground AV or passenger service and Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) mid-aerial system flights at the airfield for debris detection and associated data analytics. Due to the unique knowledge and experience gained under those R&D efforts regarding Fort Carson facilities, US Ignite possesses the unique intellectual capital to provide the highly specialized services required to meet the Government's current scope of work. No other company is likely to have a currently assembled team that is fully capable of beginning work on the requirements of this new contract in the current fiscal year and adhering with the strict schedule of the smart traffic and weather AI platforms to be developed within the next 2 years. Finally, market research indicates the US Ignite is the only source for this requirement with overall management of a smart city effort under resiliency to provide a broader understanding of how military installation's existing 4G/5G infrastructure can interact with smart sensors. The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541330 which has a size standard of $16.5M. This is not a small business set aside. This notice is NOT a solicitation or a request for competitive quotations; however the government requests information from any interested parties that believe they should be considered for this requirement in full. Interested parties that feel they have comparable capabilities and overall experience inclusive of (a) technology demonstrations of innovative automated vehicle systems (including vehicles, sensors, etc.) at government installations, (b) establishment of a 4G/5G network at a government installation, (c) initializing ground AV or passenger service, AND (d) initializing SUAS mid-aerial system flights, may submit a capability statement to be reviewed. Full and complete detail on all parts of such capabilities is requested. All submissions will be considered, however there is no guarantee that submissions in response to this notice will be in any way alter the Government's acquisition strategy. Please provide responses to this notice no later than the Response time listed above in this notice, to:
contact@example.gov Telephone responses will not be accepted. Responses to this notice will not be considered as a response to any solicitation, a request to be added to a prospective offers list, or to receive a copy of any solicitation. A determination by the Government not to compete the contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.
