Remote Simultaneous Interpretation (RSI) Platform

At the Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT) the Procurement Division (PD) is requesting Expressions of Interest (EOI) from qualified vendors for the provision of RSI platform services at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT The RSI Platform should provide the possibility for remote interpretation in six (6) official UN languages plus six (6) additional languages as required. The platform should cover the following working modes: 1) Dispersed mode requires interpreters working remotely. 2) Co-location mode, with interpreters working in booths at the UN premises using CMSI interpreting consoles. 3) Hybrid mode, when some interpreters work remotely and some from UN booths. The RSI Platform shall provide for accessibility, including but not limited to sign language interpretation with PIP option, close/open captioning, integration with JAWS, NVDA and Voiceover speech to text and text to speech option. The platform will require to be integrated into the United Nations on-premises Audio Visual systems. The following requirements apply to remote simultaneous interpretation (RSI) platform providers in all three modes mentioned above. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS 1) Technical requirements: a) The Vendor shall demonstrate intention and efforts to comply with the ISO standards 20108 and 20109 and the ISO/PAS 24019 containing the parameters under which simultaneous interpreting. Ability to prove nearest possible compliance with ISO standards will be great recommendation for vendor. b) The platform shall provide for the confidentiality of, and full protection and privacy of, all data stored on devices used by the interpreters and all other participants. c) Number of participants: maximum number of active participants higher than 300, maximum number of event viewers non-active participants higher than 1000. d) User interface control shall provide for request to speak, activation of camera and microphone, and language selection always visible and accessible. e) Clean feed with full screen picture of active speaker shall be available to be selected and outputted as video signal for recording and distribution. f) Platform shall provide for floor, 6 official languages and up to 6 additional languages with the UN interpreters. g) The Vendor shall be able to provide support for Integration with physical CMSI system h) The platform shall have ability to encrypt traffic for access to the platform, traffic for web conference content, traffic for any data stored at the provider. i) Ability of platform to be integrated with another collaborative tools used in UN is desirable (Webex, MS Teams, …) j) The Platform shall provide a timer (e.g. countdown timer) to show the time used by each speaker k) Platform shall guarantee global availability, accessible from all countries, independently from potential sanctions or any other status that would potentially prevent a global availability/accessibility. 2) Required features and audio-video quality: a) Handover function: interpreters shall be able to handover the microphone without disrupting the delivery of interpretation. b) Relay function: The platform must have a working relay switching outgoing channels smoothly in less than one second. c) The platform shall include a communication function that allows for direct coordination between interpreters within the same booth and for direct communication with the technician. d) The platform shall provide for the confidentiality of all communications as appropriate. e) The meeting moderator (or equivalent) shall be able to mute the microphone of meeting participants in the platform user interface. f) The platform shall allow for the smooth integration of acoustic shock and acoustic feedback protection devices g) The platform shall perform with minimal delay/latency within the parameters defined in ISO 20108:2017 (max. 500ms). h) Platform shall provide for grid of video feeds that can be shown on the screen at the same time, including selection of full screen video of current speaker. i) Participants should be able to play out requested video/audio and presentation media files. j) Platform Operator and/or participant should be able select how many video feeds will be shown at the screen and select a layout. The full technical requirements and details will be provided within a formal solicitation document (Request for Proposal) to be issued at a later stage soon after the closing date for this EOI. It is anticipated that a systems contract for the provision of the RSI services will be established for a period of three (3) years.