Opportunity Overview
The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) is seeking professional services from a qualified firm for LiDAR and Aerial Imagery Data Collection under BID 27-09 / RFx 3160008217. The work supports elevation and terrain modeling, shoreline mapping, coastal flooding analysis, land-cover research, and disaster monitoring.
Deadline and Status
The controlling USM bid document requires receipt by September 17, 2026 at 2:00 PM CT. USM’s current-bids page lists the solicitation as active and currently publishes Addenda 1, 2, and 3.
Funding / Contract Value
No contract ceiling, estimated value, or guaranteed quantity is published in the controlling public solicitation. This is a procurement, so grant match or cost share is not applicable.
Geography and Scope
The project covers approximately 2,331 square kilometers, or about 900 square miles, in southern Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson counties, including natural and developed shorelines and coastal port infrastructure. The selected contractor must provide necessary personnel, aircraft, LiDAR sensors, camera payloads, GNSS systems, post-processing software, and ground surveys.
LiDAR must provide an average density of at least 18 returns per square meter, be georeferenced, meet USGS QL1 vertical accuracy of 10 cm RMSEz or better, use LAS v1.4 classification, include FGDC metadata, and include flight logs and QA/QC documentation. Multispectral imagery must be acquired during the same flight missions, be cloud-free, include red/green/blue/near-infrared bands, achieve 6-inch or better ground sampling distance, and be delivered as orthophotos in ECW and TIFF formats.
Vendor Qualifications and Submission
Responding firms must demonstrate proven experience in aerial LiDAR and photography data collection and the capability to meet the technical specifications. Traditional sealed bids require at least one signed original, one signed copy, and a virus/malware-free electronic copy on a thumb drive. USM also permits electronic response through Mississippi’s state procurement system after supplier registration. The solicitation notes that USM strongly encourages traditional sealed delivery because electronic systems can experience delays.
Sealed responses may be hand-delivered to USM Procurement Services, Bond Hall Room 214, Hattiesburg; mailed to 118 College Drive #5003, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001; or sent by express carrier to the Receiving Department, 2609 West 4th Street, Hattiesburg, MS 39401. Buyer: Amber Floyd. Procurement questions: 601-266-4131 / Bids@usm.edu. The Mississippi state procurement listing also identifies Amber Floyd at amber.floyd@usm.edu and 601-266-4855.
Addenda and Q&A
Addendum 1, September 4, 2026: USM states that the prime bidder should respond if it meets the specifications and supplies a KMZ project-area file. LiDAR and multispectral imagery must be acquired simultaneously from the same aircraft.
Addendum 2, September 8, 2026: no collection/processing buffer is required beyond the project boundary; multispectral imagery must be acquired during the same flight missions as LiDAR; higher high tides should be avoided; optional ground-control survey work is not required to be performed under a Mississippi-licensed Professional Land Surveyor; the contractor is responsible for control and checkpoint establishment; reference systems will be determined after selection; and USM imposes no additional tile-size or naming-convention requirements.
Addendum 3, September 10, 2026: USM confirms that no specific horizontal accuracy or validation requirement is imposed for the orthoimagery component.
Atlas Analysis
N9+ Fit Score: 0/100. This procurement is for airborne geospatial data acquisition and processing, not telehealth or clinical examination technology.
QC Healthcare / Dr. Miltie direct-vendor fit: 0/100. Available Dr. Miltie records do not establish aircraft, airborne LiDAR, aerial-imagery, geospatial processing, or comparable-project qualifications. Atlas will not represent Dr. Miltie as qualified.
Atlas Opportunity Score for direct pursuit: 5/100. The opportunity is legitimate and higher-education research-related, but there is no verified Dr. Miltie/QC pursuit path.
Official Sources
USM Current Bids and Sole Source Notices
Official BID 27-09 Solicitation
Addendum 1
Addendum 2
Addendum 3