HONOLULU – Dec. 14, 2016 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) continues its support for global science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education by sponsoring the 2016 Maritime RobotX Challenge, which engages regional partners around the Pacific Rim to create a robotics community that inspires the next generation of builders, creators and engineers. The event, organized by the AUVSI Foundation, will be held on Sand Island in Honolulu, Hawaii, from Dec. 11-18, 2016.
About the 2016 Maritime RobotX Challenge
Bringing together 13 teams of university students from five countries (United States, Singapore, Republic of Korea, Japan and Australia), RobotX challenges each team to develop and test a highly-capable autonomous surface vessel in the hopes of inspiring innovative thought and unlocking engineering potential. The nearly 200 students will compete in a series of qualifying heats Tuesday, Dec. 13 – Saturday, Dec. 17. The finals will be held Sunday, Dec. 18.
Northrop Grumman’s Participation
Northrop Grumman engineers are mentoring students during the challenge to help the teams as they build and test their autonomous robotic systems for maritime challenges. For example, two engineers from Northrop Grumman helped advise the Osaku University OUXT team, the only Japanese team in this year’s competition, during the development of their autonomous maritime system. Using a common boat platform, the student teams must design and build autonomous vehicles capable of completing a series of detailed tasks that demonstrate effective multi-domain human machine teaming.
“Northrop Grumman is committed to maintaining relationships with the best and the brightest engineering students across the globe,” said Gene Fraser, vice president, programs, quality and engineering, Northrop Grumman and chairman of the board of the AUVSI Foundation. “By sponsoring the Maritime RobotX competition, we support the thought leaders of tomorrow and inspire the innovative thinking that is critical to developing future technologies that will keep us at the forefront of advanced autonomous capabilities as they continue to evolve.”
“Northrop Grumman is pleased to work with the OUXT university team during their entry into an international robotics competition. The event’s mission perfectly matches our long-held goal of supporting Japanese engineers who will push the boundaries of the robotics field,” said Jack Dorsett, chief executive, Northrop Grumman Japan. “We look forward to expanding these initiatives and further contributing to the development of Japan’s robotic technologies.”
About RobotX
RobotX is a part of RoboNation, a robotics community built to represent the force behind the next generation of builders, creators and engineers. RoboNation was created by the AUVSI Foundation, a non-profit, charitable organization established to support the educational initiatives of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).
About Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.
