The Robotics Technology Consortium Inc. (RTC) yesterday announced its launch with over 70 initial organizations. The consortium was established to meet a need identified by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Joint Ground Robotics Enterprise (OSD/JGRE) and held its first member meeting on June 20 in Arlington, Va.
The RTC was created to support top-tier research within the robotic technology community to speed the deployment of technology from the lab to operational deployment. To meet this goal, the RTC consists of traditional and non-traditional government contractors, small and large businesses, for-profit and not-for-profit entities, and academic organizations. Members will perform research and development and provide input on strategies for government agencies executing ground robotics programs.
“Ground robots are proven life savers for our service members and industry has offered a first class response to our need for advancing robotics with the establishment of this consortium,” Ellen Purdy, enterprise director, Joint Ground Robotics, said. “The Department looks forward to partnering with the RTC as it enables us to work with the best and brightest in industry and academia.”
RTC is a non-profit, supporting organization of the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Membership to the Robotics Technology Consortium is open. The RTC has entered into an Other Transactions Agreement (OTA) with the Government to better enable nontraditional defense contractors to undertake technical projects on behalf of the Government.
The RTC consists of large and small commercial companies, academic institutions, and non-profit organizations.
The RTC seeks to solicit and engage companies and organizations that may not have historically performed work for the DoD and other government organizations in addition to traditional defense contractors. For more information: http://www.roboticstechc.org/.