Published: October 15, 2008
SAIC Awarded $18 Million Contract by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
SAN DIEGO andMCLEAN, Va., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Science
Applications International Corporation (NYSE: SAI) today announced it has been
awarded a contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Defense Sciences Office to design and develop a sensor inspired by a canine's
olfactory system, or sense of smell. The new contract has a fifteen month base
period of performance, one six month option, a single one-year option, and a
total contract value of $18 million if all options are exercised. The effort
is part of DARPA's RealNose Program. Work will be performed primarily inSan
Diego and is expected to be completed by December of 2010.
The goal of DARPA's RealNose program is to build an artificial "nose" to
create a breakthrough detection system with capabilities beyond that of the
dog. Under the contract, SAIC will model, design, and develop this sensor,
which will include subsystems for air/odor intake, detection using olfactory
receptors, signal transduction, and pattern recognition to identify odors. The
sensor could help protect U.S. forces in war zones by detecting explosives and
chemical or biological weapons. By faithfully simulating all components of the
canine sense of smell, a revolutionary detection capability could be created
that detects and identifies thousands of chemicals with precision and high
sensitivity.
"There is a critical need for sensitive detection and accurate
identification of chemicals and mixtures of chemicals, such as explosives and
chemical weapons that threaten our deployed troops," said John Fratamico, SAIC
senior vice president and business unit general manager. "This is a
challenging project at the interface between biology and chemistry, and we
look forward to working with DARPA make this dramatic new technology a
reality."
About SAIC
SAIC is a FORTUNE 500(R) scientific, engineering, and technology
applications company that uses its deep domain knowledge to solve problems of
vital importance to the nation and the world, in national security, energy and
the environment, critical infrastructure, and health. The company's
approximately 44,000 employees serve customers in the Department of Defense,
the intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, other
U.S. Government civil agencies and selected commercial markets. SAIC had
annual revenues of $8.9 billion for its fiscal year ended January 31, 2008.
For more information, visit www.saic.com.
SAIC: From Science to Solutions(R)
Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and
information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results,
performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the
results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-
looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the
risk factors set forth in SAIC's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period
ended January 31, 2008, and other such filings that SAIC makes with the SEC
from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date hereof.
Contact: Melissa Koskovich Laura Luke
(703) 676-6762 (703) 676-6533
Melissa.l.koskovich@saic.com laura.luke@saic.com
SOURCE SAIC
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