Augusta Systems Awarded $10M Navy Contract for Battlefield Network

Oct. 9, 2007

MORGANTOWN, W.Va., Oct. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Augusta Systems, Inc. has received a three-year, competitively awarded contract from the U.S. Navy, valued at up to $10 million, for technologies that will enable a distributed, intelligent network of battlefield sensors and unmanned vehicles.

"The capabilities of military personnel can be greatly enhanced by a network-centric approach to data collection, processing, and communication," said Patrick Esposito , president and chief operating officer of Augusta Systems, Inc. "Under a network-centric approach, every sensor, device or vehicle becomes a node in a distributed, intelligent network. Instead of relying upon centralized processing and communication, or laborious data integration, this next-generation network cuts out the middle man, so to speak, and gets critical information wherever it needs to go as quickly and efficiently as possible."

Augusta Systems(R) technologies provide the U.S. Navy's Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) with the infrastructure and architecture for a decentralized, intelligent network of multiple sensors, devices, cameras and vehicles (the so-called "nodes" in the network) that will provide persistent battlefield intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. This Augusta Systems-driven network enables data processing at the point of, or on-board, the node; node-to-node and multi-hop communications and relay; data fusion and data distribution from multiple nodes to multiple end users; and the use, on a distributed basis, of advanced algorithms and software that enable unmanned vehicles to "swarm," operating autonomously, with limited intervention by human operators, as well as to autonomously detect targets, a capability known as automatic target recognition.

"This is a significant advancement for the battlefield network," said Esposito. "Thanks to our technologies, sensors and other nodes in the network can operate with limited human intervention, and, in the case of unmanned vehicles, decisions can be made by the vehicle system itself. The network can process, share and communicate critical data in the field, not at a centralized location removed from the end user. The end result is better information, in real-time or near real-time, for troops in the field."

The Augusta Systems technologies that enable the distributed, intelligent network are SensorBridge(TM), EdgeFrontier(TM), and SensorPort(TM). SensorBridge is an award-winning suite of Microsoft Visual Studio software components for building and managing intelligent networks, systems and applications -- featuring data from edge assets -- within an integrated development environment. EdgeFrontier provides an extensible edge application server and enterprise service bus for distributed, intelligent networks. SensorPort is a reconfigurable network appliance for distributed, intelligent processing at the edge of the network.

A next-generation network built upon these technologies has already been developed and demonstrated for NAVAIR. During a series of recent tests and demonstrations, the Augusta Systems technologies were utilized with other technologies to demonstrate an advanced network-centric system. The other technologies included: mesh networking technologies from Motorola and ITT Corporation; four unmanned ground vehicles; two Aerosonde Mk III unmanned aerial vehicles from AAI Corporation, a United Industrial Corporation subsidiary; collaborative control algorithms for unmanned vehicle "swarming," developed by NewVectors LLC, a division of TechTeam Government Solutions, Inc., a TechTeam Global subsidiary; as well as geospatial displays and user/operator interfaces developed using SensorBridge and geographic information system software.

"By utilizing our core technologies for building and managing distributed, intelligent networks, with other commercial-off-the-shelf technologies, the military can achieve enhanced battlefield intelligence," said Esposito. "We've essentially provided the tools to enable the network of sensors and other devices to act with intelligence. The nodes no longer act alone, as rudimentary data collection points, but as intelligent systems in a collaborative, networked environment."

About Augusta Systems

Augusta Systems, Inc. powers intelligent enterprise networks. Augusta Systems products enable collaboration and communication between enterprise networks and edge assets -- sensors, actuators, wireless sensor networks, RFID systems, imagery devices, and other edge-of-network systems and devices -- which have existed beyond the reach of these networks. With platforms for building and managing solutions featuring data from edge assets, Augusta Systems provides simplified data integration, processing, correlation, and communication capabilities for Network 2.0-enabled enterprises.

Augusta Systems technologies and integration services -- including core products SensorBridge, EdgeFrontier, and SensorPort -- support security, monitoring, automation, asset tracking, and other enterprise applications. These technologies reduce the total cost of ownership for intelligent enterprise networks and maximize return on investment for enterprise networks and edge assets.

Through key partnerships, Augusta Systems also offers integrated monitoring and control products, including ThreatViewer(TM), which provides remote monitoring capabilities for industrial, military, and homeland security.

For more information please visit www.augustasystems.com.

SOURCE Augusta Systems, Inc.

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