Notice of Intent - UNMANNED VEHICLE & SONARview on SAM.gov

The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Ecosystems Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, Michigan Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit requires an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) with side scan and bathymetric multibeam sonar. The USGS is aware of no other source that can provide the above. Therefore, it intends to make an award to Blue Robotics unless it is contacted by any vendor who believes they have similar technical expertise and can provide the same product(s). Vendors are invited to contact the Contract Specialist, Miranda Blankenship, via email at Miranda_blankenship@ios.doi.gov no later than 1:00 PM EDT, Friday, July 24th, 2026, with an affirmative answer. Sole Source Justification States the Following Parts: Contracting Agency: The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Ecosystems Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, Michigan Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 12.102(a), I hereby determine that the required services/products for an unmanned surface vessel (USV) are available from only one responsible source, and competition is precluded. No other vendors are known to provide services that meet the Government’s requirements without resulting in unacceptable duplication of cost or delay. This acquisition is restricted to the following source: Blue Robotics, Inc. 2740 California Street Torrance, California 90503, USA Phone: 310-533-9184 Description of Supplies: The supplies consist of an unmanned surface vessel (USV) meeting the following criteria: USV must use an open source and completely customizable operating system. Catamaran hull design not to exceed 47 X 36.5 X 18 inches when deployed and 47 X 28 X 95 inches when folded for transport and not exceed 32 lbs. in weight (without payload or batteries) Payload capacity (batteries and instrumentation) of at least 30 lbs. Includes at least 3 serial UART ports, 1 ethernet port, 2 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 16-bit 3.3 V ADC, and 1 16-bit 6.6 V ADC Have a minimum endurance of 18 hrs Wireless range with omnidirectional antennae of at least 200 m and at least 800 m with directional antenna Cellular communication equipped Wireless controller for manual navigation Payload bracket to support attachment of other sensors and wet link penetrators to allow cables to traverse the hull Include ethernet switch or other means to integrate multiple data sources (e.g., 2 or more sonar units) Include a Cerulean Sonar Omniscan 3D 450 SS or equivalent 450-kHZ 16-channel side scan sonar system Include a Cerulean Surveyor Multibeam echosounder or equivalent 240 kHz 16-channel multibeam sonar system with an 80-degree swath, depth range of up to 100 meters, and a built-in IMU to provide pitch and roll compensation 1080p USB camera with depth rating of 400 m, preinstalled wetlink penetrator and USBconnection or equivalent Open-source, customizable operating system and software Includes…