The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has extended its Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance (CTA) with General Dynamics Robotic Systems for an additional three years.
The contract, which continues General Dynamics' role as the lead for a robotics-focused consortium, has a value of approximately $28 million and will run through fiscal year 2009. General Dynamic Robotic Systems is part of General Dynamics Land Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics.
"This three-year extension to the Robotics CTA program is a vote of confidence from senior Army leadership," said Charles Shoemaker, director of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory's Robotics Office and Robotics Collaborative Alliance Manager.
"In particular, the Army acknowledged the team's research progress and products and noted how critical its autonomous systems products are to the Army's transformation efforts."
Initiated in 2001, the Robotics CTA is a consortium of academic, industrial and government partners focusing cutting-edge robotics research on the core autonomous systems capabilities that will provide soldiers and other DoD personnel with revolutionary new tactical capabilities.
General Dynamics' initial funding for the Robotics CTA was $42 million for robotics research, with an additional time and materials agreement capped at $60 million for transitioning research products.
