TechnoTV.NET

The new company will ensure interoperability for the mobile service robotics community.

BELLEVUE, Wash. (PRWEB via PR Web Direct) July 18, 2005 – Moving to streamline the process of robotic systems integration, CoroWare, Inc. today announced plans to form CoroWare Test Labs, a CoroWare subsidiary whose mission is to provide impartial, objective conformance testing to ensure interoperability and standards compliance among intelligent, mobile service robotics applications.

CoroWare Test Labs, the first company to test for standards comformance in the robotics industry, will be located in Pittsburgh, Penn., a leading center for robotics research and development in the United States. CoroWare Test Labs is funded in part by a grant from The Technology Collaborative (www.techcollaborative.org), which operates various programs and initiatives designed to accelerate digital and robotic innovation in Pennsylvania.

"We’re looking forward to working with CoroWare as they apply their conformance testing expertise to agile robotics," said Chuck Brandt, chief technology officer of The Technology Collaborative. "The CoroWare Test Labs facility is yet another key step in the development of such products and systems, and signals the anticipated growth and acceptance of agile robotics solutions in the defense and early adopter commercial markets."

Slated to open on August 1, CoroWare Test Labs will develop test suites that assess conformance to the JAUS (Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems) standard, which transitioned in 2005 to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) AS-4 standard. JAUS was developed by the military to ensure communications among robots and robot subsystems from different manufacturers. As the SAE AS-4 standard, JAUS will move forward as both a commercial and military standard.

The mission of CoroWare Test Labs is to:

-Accelerate the delivery of interoperable autonomous / robotic solutions to commercial and military users.
-Accelerate the emergence of a standards-based robotics components market so developers can bring new robotics solutions to market faster using existing, proven, interoperable components.
-Verify basic interoperability among robotic platforms, subsystems and control systems.
-Support system level integration and testing processes and reduce risks and cycle times associated with the system level testing process.
-Eliminate variable results and duplicative cost when developers and integrators develop their own conformance and interoperability tests.
-Provide customers, certification bodies and other organizations with a means of verifying that their unmanned systems conform to the JAUS/SAE AS-4 specification.

"Before now, robotics vendors had no way to test their implementations against a fixed standard," said Lloyd Spencer, CEO of CoroWare and of CoroWare Test Labs. "This caused uncertainty among customers and long delays in development and testing time for vendors. With this announcement, we intend to eliminate much of the guesswork at the critical first phases of implementation, giving vendors a jump-start and assuring customers that the robotic systems they buy will interoperate with one another. With the formation of CoroWare Test Labs, we're accelerating the emergence of the standards-based mobile service robotics market."

"We're glad to have a team that knows standards conformance and brings their expertise in network interoperability to the robotics industry," said Todd Jochem, CEO at Applied Perception (www.appliedperception.com), a Pittsburgh-based robotics company. "Interoperability is especially important in military applications, where dozens of manufacturers are supplying robots that must communicate with one another. Having an independent evaluator able to certify each JAUS implementation is crucial as the industry matures. Overall, CoroWare Test Labs will help drive the growth of the mobile service robotics industry."

About JAUS/SAE AS-4:
The JAUS initiative was created to develop a reference architecture that promotes open standard communications with unmanned robotic systems. The JAUS standard has since been transferred to the SAE AS-4 committee for commercial and military uses. The JAUS/SAE AS-4 communication specifications comprise a component-based, message-passing architecture that specifies data formats and protocols for communication among unmanned robotic systems. Moreover, JAUS/SAE AS-4 defines messages and service behaviors that are independent of any specific implementation, including computer hardware, operator use, and vehicle platforms.

CoroWare Test Labs Management:
CoroWare Test Labs is headed by Martin Harvey. Martin has in excess of 30 years experience in the field of program and senior level management in IT development, implementation and consultation. During this time he has managed projects across a range of from one to 70 persons, a maximum value of $85M and profit/loss engagements up to $25M. His clients and employers have included large blue chips, a "Big 4" consultancy, small and medium size corporations, and start-ups -- domestically and internationally. Martin has an extensive background in telecommunications.   

About CoroWare:
CoroWare is an innovative systems and mobile service robotics application integrator that delivers forward-looking solutions and services to help customers and communities realize their IT and business goals. CoroWare’s experienced team of professionals delivers integrated solutions based on Windows, Unix and IBM midrange platforms. CoroWare has depth of knowledge and breadth of experience in robotics integration, embedded/mobile system integration and market development. The company also designs and builds software for platforms that range from mobile handheld devices to mobile service robots. For more information, please visit www.coroware.com/.

Product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

Press Contacts:                       
Steve Genova
CoroWare, Inc.
503-722-5148

# # #

Source :  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/7/prweb260558.htm