TORC Technologies Announces Corporate Name Change to TORC Robotics
New Name More in Line with Business and Future Direction
BLACKSBURG, VA (September 8, 2011) – TORC Technologies is changing its corporate name to TORC Robotics effective immediately, the company announced today.
The company’s ownership, employees, products and services have not changed. The name change is a simple evolution of the company’s identity and better reflects the nature of its business. TORC is also transitioning the domain name of its website and email addresses to torcrobotics.com, with existing web pages and email addresses being forwarded to the new domain.
“TORC Technologies was the name we started with in 2005, with ‘TORC’ originally standing for Tele-Operated Robotic Controls. The company has far surpassed the name’s original meaning, but we have built a strong brand and reputation around the name TORC,” said David Cutter, the company’s marketing manager. “‘Technologies’ was too vague for us and didn’t communicate anything of value about our core business, particularly as we enter new markets. The company will continue to market itself, as it has for the last three years, as TORC.”
For any questions regarding the company’s name change, please contact marketing@torcrobotics.com.
ABOUT TORC
TORC enables engineers to rapidly integrate robotic systems through a suite of modular, customizable products. TORC’s Robotic Building Blocks product line is used by leading academic, commercial and government organizations to shorten the development process, lower costs and mitigate risks. These products have been used on more than 100 mobile robots ranging from 15 pounds to 15 tons. TORC provides solutions for drive-by-wire conversion, emergency stop, power management, autonomous navigation and operator control. For more information, visit http://www.torcrobotics.com.
TORC, TORC Robotics, and Robotic Building Blocks are trademarks of TORC.
TORC to Showcase Blind-Driver Vehicle at AUVSI Conference
BLACKSBURG, Va. (August 9, 2011) – TORC, a leading developer of robotic technologies for unmanned and autonomous vehicles, will showcase the NFB Blind Driver Challenge® blind-drivable vehicle at AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America conference.
The outfitted Ford Escape, which uses TORC’s ByWire XGV™ robotic research platform and other intelligent vehicle technologies from its Robotic Building Blocks product line, will be on display at TORC’s Booth 1133 Aug. 16-19 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
The vehicle was driven by blind person at the Daytona International Speedway as part of the National Federation of the Blind’s Blind Driver Challenge. The blind driver was able to negotiate hairpin turns while avoiding obstacles ranging from cones and barrels to other moving traffic.
For unmanned systems researchers, developers and integrators, the ByWire XGV™ provides an integration-ready drive-by-wire controlled ground vehicle platform with integrated safety and an onboard power management system, enabling developers to stay focused on developing advanced robotic technology.
In addition, TORC’s leadership team is participating on expert panels during the AUVSI conference:
• CEO Michael Fleming will discuss TORC’s experience in a panel called “Driverless Cars, From Conception to Reality.” Fleming will weigh in on what it takes to make driverless cars a reality, including technological advancements being made today and future plans to bring this exciting revolution in transportation to life.
• Andrew Culhane, Business Development Manager for TORC, is presenting a technical session titled “Repurposing of Unmanned Ground Vehicle Perception Technologies to Enable Blind Drivers to Hit the Road.” He will be joined by Dr. Dennis Hong, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, to discuss his research on non-visual interfaces that can provide a blind person with the necessary information to independently operate an automobile.
ABOUT TORC
TORC enables engineers to rapidly integrate robotic systems through a suite of modular, customizable products. TORC’s Robotic Building Blocks product line is used by leading academic, commercial and government organizations to shorten the development process, lower costs and mitigate risks. These products have been used on more than 100 mobile robots ranging from 15 pounds to 15 tons. TORC provides solutions for drive-by-wire conversion, emergency stop, power management, autonomous navigation and operator control. For more information, visit http://www.torcrobotics.com.
TORC to Speak at National Military Robotics Conference
BLACKSBURG, Va. (May 12, 2011) – Andrew Culhane, Business Development Manager for TORC, a leading developer of robotic technologies for unmanned and autonomous vehicles, has been selected to speak at Military Robotics, a national conference featuring some of the industry’s top experts.
Culhane joins a distinguished panel sharing the latest information and insight on military robotics, an industry that’s expected to grow to almost $10 billion worldwide by 2016.
Culhane will present information about the productization of robotic building blocks to enable technology reuse for military and commercial applications.
The conference will be held June 9-10 in Arlington.
About TORC
TORC enables engineers to rapidly integrate robotic systems through a suite of modular, customizable products. TORC’s Robotic Building Blocks product line is used by leading academic, commercial and government organizations to shorten the development process, lower costs and mitigate risks. These products have been used on more than 100 mobile robots ranging from 15 pounds to 15 tons. TORC provides solutions for drive-by-wire conversion, emergency stop, power management, autonomous navigation and operator control. For more information, visit http://www.torctech.com.
Blind Driver Challenge Gets Mainstream Media Coverage
The NFB Blind Driver Challenge was recently a feature story on both the TODAY show and MotorWeek. Both segments cover the story from a different angle, with MotorWeek providing a more in-depth look into background of, and technology used in, the Challenge. The TODAY clip is slightly more entertaining, as NBC’s anchor Jenna Wolfe gets “SafeStopped” (new verb for getting emergency stopped with the TORC SafeStop) a few times and maxes out at 4 mph!
Visit the ByWire XGV product page to learn more about the research vehicle (modified Ford Escape Hybrid) used in developing the Blind Drive Challenge vehicles.
MotorWeek episode
TODAY Show segment
NFB Blind Driver Challenge Team Chooses TORC’s ByWire XGV as Base Research Platform
Next Generation of Blind-Drivable Vehicles Using TORC Robotic Building Blocks Product Line
BLACKSBURG, VA (October 13, 2010) – TORC, a leading provider of modular unmanned vehicle technologies, is pleased to announce its products are being used in developing the next generation of NFB Blind Driver Challenge vehicles. The ByWire XGV vehicle, driven by a blind driver, will be demonstrated during the 2011 Rolex 24 at the Daytona International Speedway.
Mark Riccobono, Executive Director of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Jernigan Institute, says, “The National Federation of the Blind issued our Blind Driver Challenge to encourage partnerships with universities and technology manufacturers to develop nonvisual interface technologies that convey essential information about the driving environment to a blind driver in real-time. Having nonvisual access to this information will empower the blind driver to use his/her capacity to safely and independently operate an automobile. On January 29, as part of the pre-race activities of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the resulting evolution of nonvisual driving interface technologies will be demonstrated using a Ford Escape that has been converted to the next generation blind-driver vehicle. A blind driver will independently operate the vehicle, in front of tens of thousands of spectators, to demonstrate that a blind person can safely perform various driving functions. This monumental milestone that brings us ever closer to the development of a road-ready vehicle for the blind is a direct result of the partnership between the National Federation of the Blind, Virginia Tech, and TORC.”
The NFB Blind Driver Challenge was taken on by Dr. Dennis Hong and the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) at Virginia Tech, which successfully demonstrated a prototype blind-drivable dune buggy in May of 2009. In June 2010, RoMeLa partnered with TORC to develop the next generation of NFB Blind Driver Challenge vehicles. New and improved versions of RoMeLa’s nonvisual interfaces will be integrated into a ByWire XGV; TORC’s modified Ford Escape Hybrid with its ByWire drive-by-wire conversion modules, SafeStop wireless emergency stop system and PowerHub power distribution modules. The ByWire XGV, which is based around TORC’s success in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, provides a thoroughly tested vehicle configuration from which the team can add more advanced technologies.
“The ByWire XGV base vehicle has enabled the RoMeLa team to focus on the research and development of nonvisual interfaces for the blind. We have chosen the ByWire XGV for its performance, ease of integration with our system, and most importantly, for its reliability as safety is most important. By leveraging TORC’s commercial-off-the-shelf products, our team of graduate and undergraduate students will enable the blind to drive at the 2011 Rolex 24 and beyond,” said Dr. Dennis Hong, Director of RoMeLa.
While many autonomous vehicle technologies will be used, the goal is not to develop an autonomous vehicle to drive the blind, but rather a vehicle that enables a blind person to drive. The sensing and perception data that would normally be used to autonomously carry out the appropriate driving behaviors will instead be passed to the blind driver through several nonvisual interfaces. The blind driver can then reason about the environment, make control decisions, and directly execute these decisions from behind the wheel. The novel interfaces being developed at RoMeLa include DriveGrip, a pair of vibrating gloves that relay steering information, SpeedStrip, a vibration-based device that relays speed information, and AirPix, a device that uses compressed airflow patterns to create tactile images.
For more information about the NFB Blind Driver Challenge visit www.blinddriverchallenge.org and to learn more about RoMeLa visit www.romela.org.
About TORC
TORC enables engineers to rapidly integrate robotic systems through a suite of modular, customizable products. TORC’s Robotic Building Blocks product line is used by leading academic, commercial and government organizations to shorten the development process, lower costs and mitigate risks. These products have been used on over a hundred mobile robots ranging from 15 pounds to 15 tons. TORC provides solutions for drive-by-wire conversion, emergency stop, power management, autonomous navigation and operator control. The ByWire XGV, a drive-by-wire Hybrid Escape with integrated SafeStop safety and PowerHub distribution systems, provides an integration-ready base platform for autonomous system development. For more information, visit www.torctech.com.
TORC, Robotic Building Blocks, ByWire XGV, SafeStop, and PowerHub are trademarks of TORC.
Additional Information on the NFB Blind Driver Challenge