re2, Inc. Licenses Robotic Controller Components of Carnegie Mellons PerceptOR Unmanned Ground Vehicle

re2, Inc. (Robotics Engineering Excellence), a Carnegie Mellon spin-off company specializing in mobile defense robotics, announced today that it has licensed the robotic controller technology developed at Carnegie Mellons National Robotics Engineering Consortium for The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agencys (DARPA) PerceptOR (Perception for Off-Road Mobility) program. The robotic controller technology encompasses both hardware and software to control mobility functions of an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). Mobility functions include throttle control, steering, braking and gear shifting for remote control or autonomous navigation. re2, Inc. plans to utilize this technology in its own commercial UGV robotic platform.

PITTSBURGH, PA (PRWEB) July 22, 2004 -- re2, Inc. (Robotics Engineering Excellence), a Carnegie Mellon spin-off company specializing in mobile defense robotics, announced today that it has licensed the robotic controller technology developed at Carnegie Mellons National Robotics Engineering Consortium for The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agencys (DARPA) PerceptOR (Perception for Off-Road Mobility) program. The robotic controller technology encompasses both hardware and software to control mobility functions of an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). Mobility functions include throttle control, steering, braking and gear shifting for remote control or autonomous navigation. re2, Inc. plans to utilize this technology in its own commercial UGV robotic platform.

DARPAs PerceptOR program was developed to improve the performance of extended unmanned vehicle teleoperation by embedding autonomous perception, reasoning, and planning systems within unmanned ground vehicles. The PerceptOR vehicles have undergone extensive field-testing over a three-year period in a variety of operationally relevant terrain and weather conditions. The program was successfully completed in May 2004.

re2, Inc. played a significant role in the development of Carnegie Mellons PerceptOR vehicles. The Company was subcontracted to supply the Carnegie Mellon team with two semi-automated all-terrain vehicles. It also provided a wireless radio pendant system to control the vehicles and an ethernet interface to allow higher-level control from Carnegie Mellons autonomous navigation system.

I am extremely proud to be able to utilize the robust technology developed by Carnegie Mellons PerceptOR team for our UGV robotic platform," said Jorgen Pedersen, president and CEO of re2, Inc. Both research universities and commercial companies will benefit from this platform, which can be used as a foundation to test advanced hardware and software technologies for unmanned vehicles, such as perception and autonomous navigation systems."

I am excited to see the NREC-developed and proven technologies for automated vehicle control move to the commercial marketplace where they will make a dramatic difference in the productivity and safety of various applications," said John Bares, director, National Robotics Engineering Consortium.

Carnegie Mellon has subcontracted re2, Inc. to provide electrical, mechanical and software engineering expertise on several other defense related robotic projects, including DARPAs Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle (UGCV), the Marine Corps Dragon Runner man-portable surveillance robot and the Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicle (TUGV).

re2, Inc. has begun the commercialization process and anticipates that its UGV robotic platform will be available for research and commercial use prior to the end of the 2004 calendar year.

About re2, Inc.
re2, Inc. (Robotics Engineering Excellence), located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a Carnegie Mellon spin-off company specializing in mobile defense robotics with an emphasis on unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). re2, Inc. has partnered with universities and industry leaders, such as Carnegie Mellon and Exponent, Inc., to develop and support robotic technologies. As a defense subcontractor, re2, Inc. has contributed to the development of mobile robotic technologies for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Armys Rapid Equipping Force (REF), The Office of2Naval Research (ONR), and The Marine Corps. For more information, visit www.resquared.com or call (412) 681-6382.

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re2, Inc. Media Contact   
Jessica Jordan Pedersen
(412) 681-6382
jessica@resquared.com