NewsSept 19, 2010
MacroUSA Corporation Wins the United States West Coast SME Category of the Global Security Challenge Competition 2010
Macro USA wins the United States West Coast finals in the Best Security Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME) category of the Global Security Challenge Competition 2010 and will go through to the finals. The finals will be held University of London and this year’s Summit will be held on the 11th and 12th November 2010. Six regional finalists from around the world will complete for the grand price of $300,000.00.
“Well the hot news is that the West Coast regional final was held today and Macro triumphed in the SME sector (amazing robots!)” Richard Wilson, Global Security Challenge.
The Global Security Challenge (GSC) runs international competitions to find and select the most promising security technology startups in the world. The GSC holds regional selection events and a Security Summit in London to bring together innovators with government, industry and investors.
The “Global Security Challenge received a record number of submissions, and every submission is judged by three online judges” Richard Wilson, Global Security Challenge.
Last year, 42% of applications originated from universities, 12% from corporate spin-outs, 29% from unaffiliated entrepreneurs and 17% from other sources. Geographically, the split of entries was 23% from Asia, 44% from Europe and 33% from the Americas.
The GSC was founded by MBA students of London Business School in spring 2006; the first competition took place in summer 2006. By 2007, the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), an interagency group of the US Government sponsored the annual grant award of $500,000 Dollar for the winning security startup. The GSC runs regional finals in Singapore at the National University of Singapore, in Washington DC at The University of Maryland and Brussels at the Brussels School of International Studies ahead of the GSC London Security Summit in autumn, hosted by London Business School.
GSC finalists and winners from the last three annual competitions have subsequently raised over $78 million in new venture funding and grants. The top-selected startups also have secured large contracts with government clients, such as the US Department of Energy, the US Navy and the US Department of Defense, and with industry behemoths, such as Siemens and Bayer AG from Germany.
June 9, 2010
MacroUSA is Awarded “Innovation” Award at M-ELROB
MacroUSA Corporation was awarded the Special Jury’s “Innovation” award at the sixth biannual Military European Land Robot Trial 2010 (M-ELROB 2010) for their Armadillo V2 micro unmanned ground vehicle (MUGV). ELROB is a trial that allows companies and universities to demonstrate and compare the capabilities of unmanned systems in realistic scenarios and terrain in trials organized and setup by Military users. It is as close as possible to the typical military deployment scenario today.
MacroUSA is located in McClellan, California, and specializes in Micro and Small Unmanned Vehicles and Surveillance Devices.
“MacroUSA is quickly becoming the industry leader in Micro Unmanned Ground Vehicles,” Jim Malone, NuComm.
“The Armadillo V2 is the smallest, lightest, and most rugged MUGV on the market utilizing COFDM video links,” David Gomes, Ironhawk Technologies.
The ELROB “philosophy” is to provide an overview of the current state of affairs in European unmanned system technology and to evaluate commercial off-the-shelf products for military use. In this context the focus is on systems or modules that can be realized in the short to medium-term. The participation of universities, institutes, companies and capability developers not only of European armed forces allows users, developers as well as representatives of trade and industry to congregate as a community.
In attendance from MacroUSA was Mr. Robin Castelli (Executive VP of Business Development), Mr. Chris Vilter begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting (VP), and Mr. Peter Stolwerk begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting (MacroEurope). Mr. Castelli, team leader for MacroUSA, commented on the ELROB trials:
“It is both a pleasure and honour to participate in what is, personally, my third ELROB event. The organization was impeccable and I wish to thank the organizers and Jury for a truly magnificent event bringing together the most advanced robotics technology from academia and industry. The ELROB has been a great tool to bridge the gap between universities, industry and users and instrumental in developing UGV platforms that can respond to the real needs of our troops deployed in the different theatres of operation. We will definitely attend future ELROB events!”
June 8, 2010
Macro USA is selected to participate in the TARDEC Robotics Rodeo.
Fort Benning, Georgia – July 8, 2010, MacroUSA Corporation’s Armadillo Micro Unmanned Ground Vehicle (MUGV) was selected to participate in the Robotics Rodeo. The Armadillo MUGV is a light-weight, man-packable, rugged, and versatile ground robot.
The Robotic Technology Observation, Demonstration and Discussion (RTOD2) are limited to only twenty five (25) technologies. The focus of the 2010 Robotics Rodeo is; improvements to small robotic systems, manned/unmanned teaming, unmanned air systems and unmanned ground vehicle collaboration, and general robotics.
The Robotics Rodeo is an opportunity for scientists and engineers from government and industry to demonstrate new and innovative unmanned ground systems to the U.S. Army user and research and development communities. The opportunity for industry members to interact with experienced Soldiers and demonstrate their technologies to these end-users has proven to be incredibly valuable.
The Robotics Rodeo is not a competition or sole source justification but, rather, a market research event to see whether new technologies could potentially benefit Army robotics programs. Soldiers see the new technologies, ask questions and provide honest feedback to the industry representatives.
This event has two opportunities for demonstration: the Extravaganza and the Robotic Technology Observation, Demonstration and Discussion (RTOD2). Registration to the Extravaganza is open to the public, and registration is required prior to the event. RTOD2 is closed to the public, and vendors will be required to submit an application to participate.
The 2010 Robotics Rodeo is scheduled for Oct. 12 -15, 2010 at the Maneuver Battle Lab at Fort Benning, GA.
May 14, 2010
Macro USA gets new orders for its surveillance robots
At the north end of McClellan Business Park, it’s not unusual to see engineers with remote controllers testing little two-, four- or six-wheeled robots — the newest spy gadgets from Macro USA Corp.
Macro USA has ramped up its production with some large orders for its tiny robots for police and military use ranging from throwable video cameras to remote-control robots the size of tissue boxes.
The most popular model is the Armadillo, which is smaller than a hard-cover dictionary. The Armadillo is small enough to slip under a sports car, is nearly silent, sees in the dark and moves pretty fast.
Almost as fast the units are shipping out.
Macro USA has orders for 5,000 Armadillo units, said president Bob Ramos, a former Air Force supply officer. The company gets $13,000 for an Armadillo and $10,000 for a display unit. The throw camera, which weighs 500 grams (a little more than a pound), is still only in testing.
The company is demonstrating the Armadillo for U.S. special operations forces in the coming weeks.
The company is under confidentiality agreements with many of its customers, primarily police and military groups, and cannot disclose details about them, said Holly Whitman, executive officer with Macro USA.
One potential customer, the U.S. Army, is testing some Macro USA products, but it is Army policy not to discuss items in testing, said an officer with the Rapid Equipping Force.
Whitman said the Army is testing another of its products, a six-wheeled remote vehicle called a Scorpion, for things such as searching caves and tunnels in Afghanistan. It can be controlled by remote control or with fiber-optic cable in places such as caves or tunnels where radio controls won’t work.
The Scorpion, which weighs about 27 pounds, isn’t the type of thing a soldier or police officer can carry routinely, whereas the Armadillo or the throw camera can be strapped on with other standard gear or carried with a sling.
The Armadillo battery can supply video feeds for about six hours but lasts only 90 minutes if the unit is moving and sending the entire time.
The Armadillo, which weighs about 5 pounds with its case, is far more than just a radio-controlled camera platform. It can withstand being dropped repeatedly onto concrete from 2.5 meters or being thrown horizontally for 8 meters. It and the throw -camera can be hurled through windows. The Armadillo can also be thrown onto a roof, where it can drive across to the other side and drop back to the ground, all while beaming back video to the operator who can be up to 300 meters away.
If either device gets thrown into a concrete building, it can still communicate with its display unit for at least 50 meters.
An Armadillo can see in all directions and it can see without light, said Rich Klosinski, chief engineer with Macro USA. “It offers total situational awareness.”
Macro USA grew out of a federal contract to test and evaluate micro robots, and the company then evolved to creating them in 2008, Ramos said.
The Armadillo has four soft rubber wheels that extend over the slim frame, so the wheels, not the unit, will absorb the impact no matter how and where it lands.
It has four built-in video cameras, providing a 360-degree view of an area with a four-screen view on the controller, or the screen can be focused on one camera. It shows both infrared and standard video.
The unit also senses when it is flipped, and it changes the aspect of the video to be right-side up for the monitor.
“It’s a pretty robust little unit,” said Bob Hughes, vice president with Black I Robotics, a Tyngsboro, Mass., company that makes the Landshark, a 500-pound robotic unit used in military and other applications. One of the scenarios the companies are exploring is having the Landshark bring a group of Armadillos through open ground and then let them out to do surveillance in caves and other tight quarters.