Hyperspectral Camera

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering Research and Development Center Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) in Champaign, IL has a requirement for one (1) Specim IQ Hyperspectral Camera, one (1) Specim INSIGHT software license, and one (1) custom hard case for camera. ERDC-CERL intends to award a purchase order with competition restricted to Konica Minolta Sensing Americas Inc in accordance with RFO FAR 12.102(a). The anticipated award date is 05/15/2026. Konica Minolta Sensing Americas Inc is determined to be the only source capable of fulling the government's requirements. The Government requires a specialized hyperspectral camera that can operate in the field or the laboratory. Field-based cameras generally are permanently attached to gantry systems for research plot repeated measures, and are dependent on a computer for operation, or flown on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) with a completely different interface that does not allow image acquisition on the ground. The Government requires a battery-operated camera with a high enough resolution and band coverage to mimic those from UAS or gantry systems. After extensive market research and contact with industry, only the SpecimIQ camera was found to meet all of those very specific criteria: It is battery operated and can be operated easily in the field without tethering. It has a touchscreen that negates a requirement to be tethered to a tablet or computer for operation It covers 204 spectral bands which is much higher than many in the industry Specim is a Finnish company that was recently bought out by American company Konica Minolta Sensing Americas Inc. Konica Minolta is currently the exclusive supplier of this camera and is therefore the only source available for this purchase. This is a presolicitation notice posted in accordance with RFO FAR Part 5.101(a). It is NOT a solicitation or a request for competitive quotations. This is not a set-aside of any kind. Any interested party that believes they should be considered as capable of fulfilling this requirement should submit a capability statement of their related products or services to be reviewed for technical content. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. A determination by the Government not to compete the requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government All submissions will be considered, however there is no guarantee that submissions in response to this notice will in any way alter the Government's acquisition strategy. Please provide responses to this notice no later than the time listed above in this notice, to: CERL-CT_Quotes@usace.army.mil. Telephone responses will not be accepted.