During the 6-month Phase I, RE2 will research and design a RoboticDoor-opening Kit (RDK). The goal of the RDK technology is to decreasemission duration of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) performing urbanreconnaissance operations by providing these vehicles with the ability toautonomously open doors and enter rooms or buildings. The modularity andinteroperability of the RDK will allow it to be integrated onto nextgeneration robotic systems and currently fielded UGVs as an upgrade kit,providing a low-cost, autonomous door-opening solution for the existingfleet of fielded UGVs.

"The operation of opening a door using existing UGVs is often timeconsuming due to sensing and control limitations," stated Dr. Patrick Rowe,vice president of research and development for RE2, Inc. "Our goal is todesign a robotic technology that assists the operator with the door openingtask by developing a plug-n-play door opening end-effector and intelligentperception software that will enable the robot to autonomously open doors."

The RDK is a potential dual-use technology that could be utilized for avariety of military reconnaissance missions requiring entrance into andwithin buildings by mobile robots, and for civilian uses such as tacticallaw enforcement/SWAT, security, delivery, maintenance, and human assistiveapplications.

"This project represents the next stage of modular manipulationend-effector research for RE2 and a continued vote of confidence by theArmy for RE2's intelligent manipulation expertise," stated Jorgen Pedersen,president and CEO of RE2, Inc.

About RE2, Inc.

RE2, Inc. is a leading developer of intelligent modular manipulationsystems. The Company's manipulation systems utilize the RE2 JAUS SoftwareDevelopment Kit to ensure interoperability with fielded robotic platforms.RE2's customers include the Army, Navy, Air Force, government labs,universities, and defense prime contractors. RE2's expertise lends itselfto several markets, including defense, law-enforcement, homeland security,and explosive ordnance disposal. To learn more about the RE2 JAUS SDK,visit www.resquared.com/JAUS-SDK.html. For more information, please visitwww.resquared.com or call (412) 681-6382.