SOLICITATION NOTICE
T -- Notice of Intent to Award Radar Imaging Services
- Notice Date
- 6/30/2006
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541922
— Commercial Photography
- Contracting Office
- Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Aerial Photography Field Office, 2222 West 2300 South, Salt Lake City, UT, 84119-2020
- ZIP Code
- 84119-2020
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-IFSAR
- Response Due
- 7/21/2006
- Archive Date
- 8/5/2006
- Description
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency (FSA), in response to an unsolicited proposal, intends to award to EarthData International Inc., a noncompetitive contract for an Automated Crop Cultivation Assessment Tool using a dual-sided, dual-frequency, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) mapping system. The development of this tool is specifically called for in the 2006 USDA Budget to test the concept of supporting FSA?s farm program compliance monitoring and to augment the USDA National Agriculture Photography Program (NAIP). FSA has identified EarthData International Inc., as the only source technically capable of providing FSA the unique crop assessment tool based on their airborne IFSAR mapping system (GeoSAR). However, companies believing they can meet the stated requirements are encouraged to submit supporting evidence to that effect in sufficient detail to demonstrate the respondent's ability to meet the stated requirements. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed action based on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Interested sources must submit demonstrative supporting evidence by fax, or e-mail to the address listed below no later than 15 calendar days from the date of this announcement. Responses must include technical statements and other material in sufficient detail to demonstrate the respondent's ability to meet the requirements stated in this announcement. Further, responses should include the firm's Dun and Bradstreet number (DUNS) and Tax Identification Number (TIN). Finally, firms should identify themselves as ether a small business, or other than small business, in accordance with the size standard for North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Code 541922 which is $6 million averaged annual revenue. This is a Notice of Intent only and not an announcement of a solicitation. The Government will not pay for any materials furnished in response to this synopsis. Submittals furnished will not be returned to the sender. Send all responses to the attention of John Mootz: john.mootz@slc.usda.gov or Fax at (801) 975-3512. Background: The FSA is responsible for administering USDA farm programs involving crop commodity price supports, disaster relief, and assistance for conservation practices. FSA administers farm programs in part by digitizing and maintaining agricultural field boundaries, or common land units (CLU) from digital orthoimagery from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP). NAIP acquires orthoimagery during peak agricultural growing seasons on an annual basis. CLU boundaries consist of fence lines, waterways, the interface between agricultural vegetative cover and non crop vegetative cover on the surface. Another key aspect of farm program administration is to verify that agricultural practices are in accordance with USDA program parameters. FSA has performed this verification by using NAIP imagery. The aerial imagery, along with existing program parameters, is viewed in a geographic information system (GIS) at county based USDA Service Centers to show crops and agricultural practices. CLU boundaries are displayed to assist with identification of farm parcels and area acreages. If current agricultural conditions cannot be determined from the imagery, due to sub-optimal timing in image acquisition or quality factors, USDA personnel may be required to assess conditions on the ground, which is expensive and time consuming. The use of NAIP imagery has been very successful in terms of providing current orthoimagery for maintaining CLU boundaries and performing farm program administration. For most regions of the country, the imagery is acquired within time frames that allow crop/land use verification. However, in some regions, particularly the southeastern United States, acquisition within specified time windows can lead to the following problems: (1) Difficulties posed by high humidity and cloud cover characteristic of the southeastern US during the summer months; (2) Difficulties posed include identifying and digitizing field boundaries through tree/forest canopy or shadows cast due to low sun angle during aerial photo/image acquisition; (3) Difficulties discerning boundaries between agricultural crops and non-crop vegetative cover that may have similar appearance in natural color or black & white orthoimagery. Based on information provided from EarthData International Inc., the proposed Automated Crop Cultivation Tool can provide a cost effective solution to these specific problems. Requirements for test project, titled: PILOT AUTOMATED CROP CULTIVATION ASSESSMENT TOOL. Conduct pilot study to determine the feasibility of identifying common crop types from the acquired GeoSAR data sets. GeoSAR is a dual-sided, dual-frequency, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) mapping system integrated onto a Gulfstream II business jet wholly owned by EarthData International. The system is capable of collecting data from 40,000 ft at an airspeed speed of over 400kts yielding a net collection rate of over 280 sq km per minute. The SAR operates at 2 frequencies simultaneously, X-Band, with a center frequency of 9700MHz, and P-Band, with a center frequency of 350MHZ. The system is designed to produce high accuracy digital elevation models (DEM) through the process of radar interferometry, as well as SAR orthophoto mosaics. GeoSAR will collect simultaneous, precisely registered X and P Band IFSAR imagery over a single county in Mississippi (approximately 1,000 square miles) during the peak growing season of July 15 through August 31, 2006. The collection will be timed and carried out to demonstrate that the system can collect during the night and during difficult atmospheric conditions when it is often impossible to collect conventional photography. EarthData will investigate whether the unique characteristics of the X and P band SAR images can facilitate the collection of certain feature types, such as fence lines, that are not readily visible in standard NAIP imagery. EarthData will also use the GeoSAR X and P band image data to determine whether the common crop types present in the data sets (Corn, Soy, Wheat etc.) are separable within the feature space defined by the GeoSAR data. This will allow EarthData to determine whether the GeoSAR can be used as a tool to monitor compliance. Various parametric and non-parametric statistical classification algorithms will be tried to demonstrate this capability. The use of precisely registered X and P band, along with height maps for both bands, slant plant imagery, etc. can be combined to provide a higher statistical component for evaluation. General Requirements: (1) Data acquisition capability must support rapid, day or night, all weather, clear or cloudy, data collection utilizing synthetic aperture radar (SAR); (2) Data acquisition and delivery capability must support delivery of final products within 30 days of acquisition; (3) Products must have comparable resolution to traditional one meter orthoimagery and planimetric accuracy to register within five meters to government furnished geospatial control datasets; (4) Provide pilot study report including orthoimagery products, digital elevation models, associated metadata; (5) Products must be visually interpretable, with minimal training requirements at the USDA service center level, to delineate and identify multiple features and objects that may not otherwise be discernable on standard NAIP imagery; (6) Data products must support automated statistical classification algorithms for crop type verification. Government Furnished Material. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Aerial Photography Field Office will furnish the following materials for use in the performance of this contract: Crop reporting data, that ties specific crop types to the CLU data for the year flown, current Common Land Unit (CLU) data, and 2005 NAIP 2 meter imagery. Contract Deliverables: All data delivered under this contract to USDA shall be placed in the public domain. (1) 8-bit grayscale and 24-bit RGB mosaics in MrSid format using the X and P orthoimagery; (2) the X and P raw data; (3) digital elevation model, and (4) metadata for items 1-3; (5) final pilot study report. The study will result in a whitepaper that will evaluate the utility of GeoSAR data for the collection of information commonly derived from NAIP imagery, as well as value added products, such as CLU collection and crop program compliance monitoring.
- Record
- SN01080988-W 20060702/060630220248 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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