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Autonomous Solutions, Inc. Awarded Army Contract to Develop an Advanced Robotic Platform for EOD |
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LOGAN, UTAH, June 8, 2007 - Autonomous Solutions today announced it has been awarded a two-year contract from TARDEC to continue its development of a high-speed omnidirectional man-transportable robotic platform for EOD applications. TARDEC is the U.S. Army’s Tank & Automotive Research, Development & Engineering Center - the nation’s laboratory for advanced military ground systems and automotive technology.
Designed to weigh less than 90 lbs, the robot will have a maximum speed of 25 mph for rapid up-range and down-range travel, in contrast to the 5 mph top speeds of existing EOD robots. The robot will be powered by a hybrid generator giving it a continuous mission duration of up to 8 hours. This eases a logistics burden by eliminating the need for spare batteries and chargers. A unique system configuration will enable an operator to operate the robot’s gripper in a way closely approximating the action of a human hand thus enabling EOD technicians to quickly and easily handle and dispose of suspicious objects.
“Time on target”, which is the time it takes an EOD technician to drive a robot down-range, deal with a suspicious object, and drive it back, is the biggest danger EOD technicians face. This robot is being designed to minimize time on target by being fast and easy to use”, said Mel Torrie, CEO of Autonomous Solutions. “It will leverage our omnidirectional drive technology, which we’ve used successfully on our Spector checkpoint inspection robot, as well as our Mobius intelligent software allowing the user to control the robot’s gripper almost as if he were using his own hand.”
About Autonomous Solutions, Inc.
Autonomous Solutions is a market leader in vehicle automation, autonomous operations, and JAUS implementation. ASI designs, programs, and manufactures unmanned vehicles for a variety of military and commercial applications. ASI is one of the largest privately held robotics-focused companies in the world— employing world class computer, electrical, and mechanical engineers and support staff.
Press Contact:
Chris Brown, Business Development Manager, 435.755.2980
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 April 2008 )
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