A press release from TORC Technologies, a VT KnowledgeWorks member company:
Blacksburg -- May 18, 2009 -- TORC Technologies announced today that it was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to research and develop new path planning algorithms for use in dynamic and unstructured environments. Leveraging their existing experience in developing autonomous vehicle solutions, TORC will develop new autonomous path planning technology that increases the capability and reliability of autonomous vehicles.
As the United States Military works towards the goal of having one-third of its vehicles unmanned by 2015, autonomous vehicles will be called upon to operate in increasingly dangerous and dynamic situations. It is important that the algorithms for these vehicles be able to adapt accordingly. TORC hopes to build upon its proven experience in the DARPA Urban Challenge to develop and demonstrate the next generation of autonomous algorithms.
In Phase I of the contract TORC will design a new path planning algorithm to navigate through dynamic, GPS denied environments. Subsequently, TORC will perform a feasibility study using simulated models of the environment. If successful, a proof of principal prototype could be built under Phase II.
About TORC Technologies
TORC Technologies is a robotics engineering and product development company focused on unmanned and autonomous systems. TORC is automating dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks by commercializing intelligent robotic technologies into modular, interoperable, off-the-shelf products that enable customers to rapidly integrate and deploy robotic-based solutions.
Contact: David Cutter, cutter@torctech.com, 540-443-9262
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