SAN DIEGO and MCLEAN, Va. , Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Science
Applications International Corporation (NYSE: SAI) today announced it has been
awarded a contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Defense Sciences Office to design and develop a sensor inspired by a canine's
olfactory system, or sense of smell. The new contract has a fifteen month base
period of performance, one six month option, a single one-year option, and a
total contract value of
The goal of DARPA's RealNose program is to build an artificial "nose" to create a breakthrough detection system with capabilities beyond that of the dog. Under the contract, SAIC will model, design, and develop this sensor, which will include subsystems for air/odor intake, detection using olfactory receptors, signal transduction, and pattern recognition to identify odors. The sensor could help protect U.S. forces in war zones by detecting explosives and chemical or biological weapons. By faithfully simulating all components of the canine sense of smell, a revolutionary detection capability could be created that detects and identifies thousands of chemicals with precision and high sensitivity.
"There is a critical need for sensitive detection and accurate identification of chemicals and mixtures of chemicals, such as explosives and chemical weapons that threaten our deployed troops," said John Fratamico , SAIC senior vice president and business unit general manager. "This is a challenging project at the interface between biology and chemistry, and we look forward to working with DARPA make this dramatic new technology a reality."
About SAIC
SAIC is a FORTUNE 500(R) scientific, engineering, and technology
applications company that uses its deep domain knowledge to solve problems of
vital importance to the nation and the world, in national security, energy and
the environment, critical infrastructure, and health. The company's
approximately 44,000 employees serve customers in the Department of Defense,
the intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, other
U.S. Government civil agencies and selected commercial markets. SAIC had
annual revenues of
SAIC: From Science to Solutions(R)
Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward- looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in SAIC's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 31, 2008 , and other such filings that SAIC makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.
Contact: Melissa Koskovich Laura Luke (703) 676-6762 (703) 676-6533 [email protected] [email protected]SOURCE SAIC
