A SBIR Phase II contract was awarded to ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGIES OF TENNESSEE in August, 2018 for $599,892.0 USD from the U.S. Department of Defense and United States Navy.
The United States Marine Corps (USMC) spends tens of millions annually on foreign object debris (FOD) damages related to the AV-8B Program and the DOD up to $100 million in total on FOD related problems. RTT proposes to create mechanized, semi-automated and autonomous solutions to clear and maintain FOD free workspace areas in the three targeted FOD problem areas. This Phase 2 effort focuses on creating commercial ready systems based on early “alpha prototypes” demonstrated in Phase 1. RTT addresses FOD removal in a multi-part strategy that combines (1) scheduling; (2) removal tools; (3) manipulation of these tools and (4) coverage maps.