ASURE has been awarded a contract that could total as much as $42.4 million over the next five years to advance unmanned and robotic technologies and weapons systems.
The Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, awarded $12 million now to the Arizona State University-affiliated applied research lab to solve the initial task and is offering the opportunity for an additional $30.4 million for subsequent tasks. There are nine task groups in total and, according to Naval Postgraduate School, this is the school’s largest task order contract ever awarded for unmanned systems and robotics. It is also the largest contract ASURE has been awarded.
ASURE is a nonprofit organization and exemplifies a new prototype for the academic applied research lab that leverages ASU’s innovative resources to rapidly solve grand challenges with high-impact solutions for local, state and national government agencies and companies. ASURE’s expertise centers on translating ideas into dual-use solutions for technology, engineering, safety and security sectors, meaning they solve for commercial and military problems.
“This collaboration leverages the multidisciplinary expertise that exists within the Fulton Schools and ASURE’s objective of conducting applied research,” said sustainability scientist Kyle Squires, dean of the Fulton Schools at ASU. “Our faculty has made significant progress to achieve broader technological capabilities and understandings of these areas in recent years, so we are eager to work with partners to develop and test robotic and autonomous systems.”