Procurement of Quadruped Manipulator Robot

STATEMENT OF WORK/REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT Title: Procurement of a Quadruped Manipulator Robot BACKGROUND INFORMATION The item being acquired is a quadruped-type robot with an integrated manipulator arm. Specifically required is robot with four legs, a center body, and an attached robot arm, ending in a manipulator. The robot should be capable of simple and complex locomotion tasks, including walking, balance recovery, sensing of the immediate environment, obstacle avoidance, and the ability to cross various rough terrains. The robot should also be capable of gross manipulation tasks and interaction with common objects. Accompanying the robot should be a software or API that allows for interaction with underlying code including joint control commands, motion planning, and sensor feedback. Communication with the robot should be possible through any computer. The robot will be operated by NIST staff to accomplish previously created test methods and new ones in the future. It should be a representative example of the robots available today in terms of physical design, construction, capabilities, sensing, and locomotion and manipulation performance. Purpose/Objective: The purpose of these requirements are to detail the needs of the Measurement Science for Robotics and Autonomous Systems program for a quadruped robot with integrated manipulator arm that can be used to develop and validate both mobility and manipulation test methods and metrics. SCOPE The Contractor shall deliver a quantity of one (1) quadruped manipulator robot, accompanied by any required accessories to repeatedly run the robot in a laboratory environment. With the robot should also be made available, as open access or through a license, a software or API that allows for direction and control of the robot. These items are inclusive of FOB Destination delivery, installation, warranty and training, and option line items. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS The Contractor shall provide a system that meets all technical specifications identified below. All items must be new. Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for award. Experimental, prototype, or custom items will not be considered. The use of “gray market” components are not authorized for sale in the U.S. by the Contractor is not acceptable. All line items shall be shipped in the original manufacturer’s packaging and include all original documentation and software, when applicable. Line Item 0001: Quadruped Manipulation Robot Description: One quadruped robot with an integrated arm that attaches to the chassis of the robot. The quadruped base and robot arm should be powered from the same source, and an included controller should be able to perform coordinated control of the base and the arm. The arm should be at least 6 degrees of freedom, ending in an actuated gripper. Quantity: One (1) Quadruped Robot Physical Specifications Structure: The robot must consist of four legs (each ending in a foot), a central chassis, an attached robot arm ending in a manipulator end-effector. Degrees of Freedom (DOF): Each leg should consist of at least three (3) DOF from chassis to foot. The arm should consist of at least six (6) DOF from chassis to end-effector (not including internal end-effector degrees of freedom, such as closing a gripper). Size: The arm and robot together should be able to reach a height of at least 1800 mm. Battery Power: The robot should be capable of continuously running for at least ninety (90) minutes on a single battery. Tethered Power: The robot should be able to run on tethered power. This should also allow for battery pack swapping without powering down the robot. Sensing: The complete kinematic and dynamic state of the robot should be observable from the sensors on the robot. The robot should have, at minimum, one vision sensor, one lidar sensor, and one central IMU sensor on the robot integrated into it’s functionality. Each joint or actuator should have position, force or torque, and current sensors. Communication: The robot should be capable of internal communication (joint sensor and control included) at a rate of at least 1000hz. Interface: The robot should have a method for continuous remote operation from an auxiliary device. This device can be provided in the form of a handheld controller or tablet. The robot should also be able to be controlled through software that can be downloaded onto a pre-existing computer or tablet or through API (described below). Control: The rate of the controller should be at least 100hz. The motion control for the quadruped mobility and arm manipulation capability should be fully integrated. The remote-control interface should be capable of issuing combined manipulation and mobility commands, with continuous safety guarantees to avoid falling and self-collisions. Required Capabilities The quadruped robot shall be capable of robustly performing basic mobility tasks such as balance, walking at up to 1.5 meters per second, obstacle avoidance, walking up and down standard height stairs, climbing up or down a 30-degree incline, and traversing common rough terrains such as grass, sand, and shallow water. The robot should have the range of motion and leg strength to walk up and down stairs and dynamically interact with the environment. The arm should have a continuous lifting capacity of 5 kg and be able to drag objects of up to 25kg. It should be capable of additional dexterous tasks such as grasping common objects, valve turning, close-up visual inspections, autonomous door opening, zipper opening, hook and carry, dragging objects, pushing E-stop buttons, and simple autonomous pick and place tasks. The robot should be capable of self-righting to a standing position after a fall or other failure (even from a fully upside down position). The robot should be capable of autonomous functionality, with an option for preprogramming and triggering semi- or fully-autonomo…