SAM #75D30126Q79054

CDC VR Lab Upgrade: MechDyne Proprietary Hardware and Integration Services

This opportunity involves the CDC's planned upgrade of its proprietary virtual reality (VR) laboratory system. - Government Buyer: - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - Office of Acquisition Services, National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) - OEM Highlight: - MechDyne Corporation is the sole manufacturer and provider of the Surround Screen VR system in use at CDC labs - Products/Services Requested: - New rendering PC for enhanced VR performance - Streamdeck Controller for system control - Cabling lot including adaptors, terminations, and consumables for system integration - Comprehensive design and integration services from MechDyne, covering AV design, mechanical design, applications engineering, project management, and installation - Unique/Notable Requirements: - All hardware and services must be engineered and integrated by MechDyne to ensure compatibility and validation with the existing proprietary VR system - Only MechDyne can provide updates and support for this custom system, making this a sole-source procurement - The upgrade aims to improve performance and subject immersion for occupational safety research in virtual environments

Description

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Office of Financial Resources (OFR), Office of Acquisition Services (OAS), National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) in accordance with FAR 6.103-1, intends to award a contract, on an other-than-full-and-open-competition basis as a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) commercial contract to MechDyne Corporation for the purchase of a VR upgrade. MechDyne will provide the following:

1) New rendering PC

2) Streamdeck Controller

3) Cabling Lot, Adaptors, Terminations, and Consumables

4) Mechdyne Design and Integration, including:

a) AV design

b) Mechanical design

c) Applications engineering

d) Project management

e) Installation

This procurement supports safety research in the virtual reality laboratory by upgrading existing hardware to improve performance and enhance subject immersion in virtual work environments.  The virtual reality laboratory in NIOSH/DSR has been a valuable tool for over twenty years to immerse workers in environments that would be too dangerous to study in the field.  The laboratory has produced many publications and recommendations over the years from work at height to working with collaborative robots.  The laboratory is actively studying working in close proximity to demolition robots.  Upgrading the graphics generator will improve frame rates and the ability to add more functionality to environments with no degradation to real time interaction. 

The maintenance and upgrades to the custom virtual reality system designed andinstalled by Mechdyne can only be performed by Mechdyne. Mechdyne is the only vendor, manufacturer, and developer of the Surround Screen virtual reality system installed in the research labs in the Protective Technology Branch therefore they are the only ones that can provide updates and support as software/hardware maintenance as a product to this specific set of system. These items are proprietary to Mechdyne Corporation, as they are specifically engineered, configured, and integrated to function as a complete and validated VR system.

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals; however, any firm believing it can fulfill the requirement identified above may submit a written response to be received by the Contracting Office no later than 15 business days after the date of publication of this notice, which shall be considered by the agency. The written response shall reference the solicitation number and provide a capability statement that clearly indicates the firm's experience, assets, background, and ability to perform the required work without compromising the quality, accuracy, reliability, and schedule.

The Government will consider all information received via email to the Contract Specialist by the listed cutoff date. A determination by the Government not to compete this procurement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The Government will not pay for any information received. No telephone responses will be accepted. Any submissions or questions shall be submitted via email to the point of contacts listed.

Interested firms must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database at https://sam.gov/ to start doing business with the federal government.

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