re2, Inc. Wins Sub-Contract to Investigate the Feasibility of Establishing an Experimentation Center
Project Funding Provided by the National Center for Defense Robotics and the Pennsylvania State University’s Electro-Optics Center
PITTSBURGH, PA - May 12, 2005 - re2, Inc. (Robotics Engineering Excellence), a Carnegie Mellon spin-off company specializing in mobile defense robotics, announced today that The National Center for Defense Robotics, an initiative of The Technology Collaborative, in conjunction with The Pennsylvania State University’s Electro-Optics Center, has selected re2, Inc. to conduct a six-month research study to determine the feasibility of establishing an indoor and/or outdoor Experimentation Center for Electro-Optic Sensors in Western Pennsylvania to assess the performance of various sensors on unmanned vehicles and other applications.
re2, Inc. was selected to conduct this research due to the Company’s extensive experience with teleoperated and autonomous unmanned systems, which require a multitude of sensors for automation. Such sensors include LADAR, RADAR, CCD Cameras, SONAR and FLIR cameras. The main advantage of having re2, Inc. perform the requirements study for an Experimentation Center is that the Company is not vested in any one sensing modality. A requirements study must remain unbiased, and re2, Inc. can provide the talent, experience and objectivity needed to conduct a successful research study.
“Not only are we proud to have been selected to lead this important research project, we are also excited about the potential addition of an electro-optics experimentation center in Western Pennsylvania,” said Jorgen Pedersen, president and CEO of re2, Inc. “By establishing a state-of-the-art experimentation facility in the region, we will be able to improve our R&D and product development efforts, ensuring that the sensors that we employ have been thoroughly tested and proven before we integrate them into our unmanned systems.”
“re2’s project is a key first step towards establishing an integrated indoor/outdoor sensor experimentation center for unmanned vehicles that would enable the capture of standardized test data under controllable conditions,” remarked Bill Thomasmeyer, President of the NCDR and Executive Vice President of The Technology Collaborative. “Such a center would be unique, would represent significant cost savings for the government, and would likely prove invaluable in helping form, grow, and locate robotic companies in the region.”
For more information, contact Jessica Jordan Pedersen at (412.681.1697).
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