Vision-Guided Robotic Automation and Digital Twin Framework for Autonomous Experiments

Brookhaven National Laboratory, operating under the U.S. Department of Energy, is seeking to develop a vision-guided robotic automation system integrated with a digital twin framework to enable autonomous experiments at future synchrotron beamlines. The effort centers on deploying stereo camera systems to establish 3D perception pipelines using deep-learning models for detecting and estimating the pose of experimental components such as sample holders, detectors, and robotic tools, while also quantifying perception uncertainty to inform downstream safety and planning. A digital twin will be constructed to model robotic kinematics, workspace geometry, and beamline-relevant hardware, synchronized in real time with sensor data to enable predictive simulation of robotic movements. The simulation environment will perform reachability analysis, collision prediction, clearance margin estimation, and detection of joint limits and singularities to evaluate trajectories before physical execution. The robotic manipulator will be validated in a laboratory setting using 3D-printed beamline environment mimics, with outcomes used to quantify discrepancies between simulation predictions and real-world performance. The project timeline spans twelve months, beginning with hardware setup and perception model training in the first two months, followed by commissioning at the QAS and TES beamlines during months three through nine, and concluding with algorithm optimization and academic paper preparation. Performance is expected to occur entirely at Upton, New York, and the contract is anticipated to be awarded on or around September 1, 2026, under a cost reimbursement structure. Only one award is expected, and vendors must be registered in SAM under NAICS code 611310. This is a pre-solicitation notice; no formal quotes are being accepted at this time, and the official solicitation will be issued as RFQ-447848 via SAM.gov. The attached draft Statement of Work provides the technical scope, and while evaluation criteria and detailed terms are not yet defined, the procurement is being conducted as full and open competition with no set-aside.