Country for PR: China
Contributor: PR Newswire Asia (China)
Thursday, November 12 2020 - 13:28
AsiaNet
SOR Licenses CSIRO Technology for Robotic Security Teams
PERTH, Australia, Nov. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

Strategic Elements Ltd (ASX:SOR) subsidiary Stealth Technologies has licensed 
world leading CSIRO technology that enables robots to work together in teams. 
The parties will initially focus on security applications and work under an 
Early Adopter Program (EAP) that will assist Stealth to integrate and 
commercialise the technology.

The Wildcat SLAM technology leverages more than ten years of research and 
development at CSIRO's Data61, the digital specialist arm of Australia's 
national science agency. Wildcat enables autonomous robots to simultaneously 
navigate and build high-definition maps, and gather other sensor data in 
locations they are being exposed to for the first time (ie: with no 
pre-existing maps). In addition, robots can automatically share and combine 
information with other robots without human intervention to build a collective 
understanding of their global environment. 

Wildcat is a key enabling technology in 'robot perception', a system that 
endows the robot with the ability to perceive, comprehend and reason about the 
surrounding environment. When one robot encounters an obstacle or new context 
and learns, the entire team of robots can instantaneously learn. Wildcat also 
works underground and in GPS-denied environments.

Stealth Autonomous Security Solutions
Stealth Technologies is developing the Autonomous Security Vehicle (ASV) for 
perimeter security in sectors such as transport, energy, defence, government 
and utilities providing critical services. The Global Perimeter Security Market 
is forecast to be reach USD 282.26 Billion by 2025[1]. 

The Company is also exclusively collaborating with giant US Fortune 100 Company 
Honeywell[2]to build autonomous security vehicles for the correctional justice 
sector. The parties are currently working with the WA Department of Justice to 
build a fully autonomous and robotic security vehicle for the Eastern 
Goldfields Regional Prison in Kalgoorlie to inspect, test and confirm the 
integrity of the secure perimeter.

The CSIRO's Data61 technology can provide Stealth with a key technological 
advantage in enabling its ASV's to work in teams and provide enhanced security 
and surveillance solutions to its customers. Stealth also recently formed a 
collaboration with leading US based Company Planck AeroSystems to enable drones 
to launch and land from its ground based ASV.

Wildcat SLAM
Deploying teams of robots often requires them to operate reliably in 
unstructured and dynamically changing environments, where there are no external 
positioning systems such as GPS, or pre-existing localisation maps. In these 
environments, robots must use their on-board sensors and perception algorithms 
to simultaneously build detailed maps of the world whilst determining their 
location at the same time. This technology is referred to as SLAM, or 
Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping. Whilst there are many approaches, and a 
few commercially available solutions, none of them are sufficiently robust or 
accurate without GPS, nor directly support the operation of robot teams through 
map sharing and cooperative localisation. 

Wildcat is the world's most versatile, robust and accurate SLAM solution. It 
won the most accurate object detection prize in the global DARPA robotics 
competition for underground exploration and mapping by robot teams, where CSIRO 
competed against the best field robotics groups in the world in GPS-denied 
environments.

SOR Managing Director Charles Murphy said: "The Wildcat SLAM technology can 
potentially provide game changing features to our autonomous robotics platform. 
This could be where for example large scale facilities require multiple ground 
based security vehicles, facilities where ground plus airborne based autonomous 
security provides enhanced benefits, facilities that have poor coverage of 
satellite signal for GPS or in new applications for defence. Wildcat fits 
directly with the technology roadmap we are developing for our next generation 
Autonomous Security Solutions using teams of robots for enhanced patrol and 
surveillance capabilities. 

Early Adopter Program
Wildcat has been designed as a research and development platform for autonomous 
field robots and a commercially ready solution for industrial applications. 
Stealth will incorporate the Wildcat technology into its ASV research and 
development program and investigate the potential to provide team based 
autonomous mapping and navigation commercial solutions for security 
applications. Features will be progressively implemented into the Stealth AxV 
Autonomous Robotics Platform over the next several quarters.

- The term of the EAP is 12 months. During the EAP the license is non-exclusive 
and global. No consideration will be paid up front by Stealth Technologies. 
- Stealth may sell products and solutions to distributors or end users that 
contain the Wildcat technology during the term of the EAP. 
- Commercial gains received by Stealth Technologies from utilisation of the 
Wildcat technology during the EAP will attract a fee to be paid to CSIRO. 
- After 12 months it is intended that the EAP will cease and the parties may 
choose to transition this arrangement to a full commercial licence. 
- Stealth will receive access to new Wildcat Technology features released by 
CSIRO during the EAP. 
- CSIRO will provide basic integration support, training and ongoing support 
for data processing and de-bugging. Additional ongoing support will be 
negotiated between the parties. 
- Stealth will share data with CSIRO to assist further development of the 
Wildcat Technology.

Wildcat Background 
The Robotics and Autonomous Systems Group within CSIRO's Data61 have built a 
world-wide reputation for pioneering the development of extremely accurate and 
robust 3D LiDAR-based SLAM solutions since 2008. Wildcat builds on more than a 
decade of experience to provide a new benchmark in accuracy, robustness and 
processing speed, and is optimized for robotics applications. Wildcat was 
purpose-built for multi-robot coordinated mapping and allows the maps from 
multiple sources to be merged in real-time during capture to produce a unified, 
globally optimised dataset and map.

The AxV Autonomous Robotics Platform
Although the first release is in the form of the ASV for security, the 
underlying AxV technology platform is scalable to a range of vehicle shapes and 
sizes and custom robotics are adaptable to perform a variety of physical 
actions and tasks. Further releases from the platform could be deployed for 
industries such as mining, agriculture and logistics.

Strategic Elements
The Australian Federal Government has registered Strategic Elements as a Pooled 
Development Fund which enables most shareholders to pay no tax on capital gains 
or dividends. Strategic Elements operates as a 'venture builder' where it 
generates ventures and projects from combining teams of leading scientists or 
innovators in the technology or resources sectors. The Company is listed on the 
ASX under the code "SOR". More information on the Pooled Development Program 
should be read on the Company's website. For Company Information: Mr Charles 
Murphy, Managing Director Phone: +61 8 9278 2788 
admin@strategicelements.com.au   www.strategicelements.com.au 

This announcement was authorised for release by Strategic Elements' Board of 
Directors.

[1]https://dataintelo.com/report/perimeter-security-market/ [2]Announced to the 
ASX on 16/10/2020

SOURCE: Strategic Elements Ltd

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