TUCSON, Ariz., Oct. 5, 2006 /PRNewswire/ -- "Team Scorpion," a group of
engineers led by Raytheon Missile Systems and its partners Tucson Embedded
Systems, Preferred Chassis Fabrication, iRobot and the University of
Arizona, has been officially qualified as an "A-track" participant in next
year's DARPA Grand Challenge, a robotic vehicle competition conducted by
the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
The DARPA Grand Challenge is a field test competition aimed at
encouraging the development of autonomous ground vehicle technology that
could eventually be used to save American lives on battlefields.
Unlike past Grand Challenge events, which were held in remote desert
locations, the 2007 event -- the DARPA Urban Challenge -- calls for robotic
vehicles to conduct military-type missions in a mock urban area completing
a 60-mile course through traffic in less than six hours. The vehicles must
also navigate themselves entirely with on-board technology, using no human-
or remote-control.
"Raytheon's sponsorship of this key technology development is an effort
to promote advancement of autonomous vehicles for the battlefield," said
Russell Mikesell, program manager for Missile System's Urban Challenge.
"Raytheon is committed to developing solutions for minimizing casualties,
whether on the battlefield or in complex urban environments."
The fully integrated Team Scorpion vehicle will be built from Preferred
Chassis Fabrication's rock-crawling Scorpion vehicle and powered with a
variety of electronic and digital controls that can be used in military and
homeland security applications as well as a variety of industrial
commercial markets.
The Scorpion vehicle will be built using "best-in-class" products and
components from each partner. Raytheon Company will provide sensor
technology and Tucson Embedded Systems will provide the vehicle management
system. iRobot, based in Burlington, Mass., will equip the Scorpion's
vehicle management system with navigation and control logic, and the
on-board modeling and simulation will be outfitted by the University of
Arizona.
Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) with 2005 sales of $21.9 billion, is an
industry leader in defense and government electronics, space, information
technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft.
With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 80,000 people
worldwide.
For more information on Team Scorpion, visit
http://www.team-scorpion.com/ For more information on DARPA's Urban
Challenge, visit http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/index.asp
Contact:
Sara Hammond
520.794.7810
SOURCE Raytheon Company
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Related links:
http://www.raytheon.com
http://www.team-scorpion.com
CONTACT:
Sara Hammond of Raytheon Company,
+1-520-794-7810
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