Joint Ground Robotics Enterprise
Last Update
3 Jun 2010
Robotic Range Clearance Competition
The Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD) in collaboration with the U.S. Army will conduct a Competition (with a cash prize for the winner) in order to foster the ability to clear training ranges of debris and unexploded ordnance using robotic technologies. Experience to date with robotic range clearance suggests a significant potential for time and cost savings as well as increases in the safety for the personnel conducting this activity. The ultimate aim is to return to productive use the millions of acres currently encumbered with spent training rounds and debris. The Department of Defense (DoD) is looking for this Competition to result in viable systems that can be procured and placed into service clearing ranges.
The Letter of Intent (LOI) to compete in the competition has been released and is available on the website for reference. The deadline to receive LOI is by close of business on 3 May 2010. Teams that submit LOIs after the deadline may still be afforded the opportunity to compete based on available resources.
In order to reduce the cost and effort required by teams to participate, the competition has been restructured slightly. The original requirement to participate in qualification trial events at Camp Guernsey in August of this year has been removed. Instead of qualification trials, the competition is now requiring each team to present its proposed system solution at a meeting between the team and the R2C2 Oversight team. This meeting will be treated as an In-Process Review (IPR) in order for the R2C2 Oversight team to make a determination about the proposed solution’s viability in the competition. The IPRs will be hosted by the competitor teams between 1 November 2010 and 19 November 2010. The date will be assigned to the competitor team by the R2C2 Oversight team.
In addition, the Rules and Metrics document for the competition and the competition Q&A document are now posted on the website.
The competition will be held at Camp Guernsey, WY in August and September of 2011.
Please post any questions regarding this announcement through the RoboticRangeClearance.com website using the Question/Comment Form.
Please visit http://www.roboticrangeclearance.com for the latest up to date information.