Team TerraMax Completes Historic DARPA Grand Challenge

Oshkosh Truck Corporation (NYSE:OSK) and partners Rockwell Collins(NYSE:COL) and the University of Parma, Italy, announced that theirrobotic truck, TerraMax(TM), has completed the DARPA Grand Challenge.The vehicle was one of five to complete the race.

TerraMax completed the 132-mile desert course with an unofficialrun time of 12 hours and 51 minutes. The team was assigned a startingtime more than two hours behind the first vehicle, and was "paused"numerous times by DARPA officials to accommodate disabled or slowermoving vehicles on the course. As a result, daylight ended beforeTerraMax could complete the course on the first day.

Even though TerraMax was capable of operating autonomously in thedark, race officials paused it in the middle of the desert -- amongsnakes, scorpions and coyotes -- until daybreak for the safety of thechase vehicle drivers.

TerraMax idled in the desert overnight, setting off for the finishline at dawn. About five miles from the course's end, thiseight-foot-wide defense truck passed through Beer Bottle Pass, withjust inches to spare between its bumper and a 200-foot sheer cliff.TerraMax was the largest and widest vehicle to successfully navigatethis narrow, treacherous mountain road, demonstrating the precision ofthe vehicle's numerous sensing systems. The large Oshkosh truckcrossed the finish line just after noon on Sunday, October 9,following more than 30 hours of continuous operation.

"This was a remarkable day for Team TerraMax, for our nation'smilitary, and for the history books," said Robert G. Bohn, OshkoshTruck chairman, president and chief executive officer. "DARPA's goalis to help take our troops out of harm's way by fostering developmentof unmanned vehicles. Completing the race spectacularly indicates howclose we may be to making this a reality."

"The development program associated with completing the GrandChallenge was rewarding in and of itself," said Don Verhoff, Oshkoshexecutive vice president of corporate engineering and technology. "Wegained immense knowledge regarding autonomous vehicle technologiesthat are viable in the rigorous military environment, and we arecommitted to moving this technology forward to aid the men and womenof the U.S. military. That's what this is all about and completing theGrand Challenge was the first milestone."

TerraMax's autonomous systems were optimized for a more difficultenvironment than it faced on the racecourse selected by DARPA. "Wedecided in the beginning that we would design this vehicle toautonomously handle real off-road terrain, actively detect andnavigate around obstacles, and maintain a high-level of confidence invehicle safety," said Scott Uhlir, Rockwell Collins principal programmanager for advanced programs. "While our race time could have beenimproved significantly by altering these parameters, we finished therace believing that we are that much closer to providing a real-worldsolution."

Three years ago the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency(DARPA), the research and development arm of the Pentagon, challengedrobotics experts from across the country to develop an autonomous,driverless vehicle that could traverse a rugged, off-road desertcourse. After no vehicle completed last year's 150-mile DARPA GrandChallenge, 195 teams entered the competition this year. Three levelsof qualifying events narrowed the final field to 23.

DARPA Grand Challenge teams were given the race route just twohours before the start of the race at 6:30 a.m. PDT on Saturday, Oct.8. Team TerraMax members then programmed the course coordinates intotheir vehicle.

TerraMax is a MTVR (Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement) thatOshkosh Truck designed for the U.S. Marine Corps. It has a 15-tonon-road and 7.1-ton off-road payload capacity. The MTVR is a 6x6 cargohauler with Oshkosh Truck's patented TAK-4(R) independent suspensionsystem to accommodate its 70 percent ff-road profile, ideal forterrain similar to the DARPA Grand Challenge course. There are morethan 6,000 Oshkosh MTVRs deployed with the U.S. Marine Corps, and morethan 1,500 operating in the Iraq conflict.

TerraMax's navigational systems were designed and integrated byRockwell Collins and enhanced with a stereo vision navigation systemdeveloped by the Vision Labs at the University of Parma.

In addition to Oshkosh Truck, Rockwell Collins and the Universityof Parma, Team TerraMax sponsors include ArvinMeritor, Fastenal,Oxford Technologies, Parker Hannifin, Ricoh, Landstar, Michelin, MCLIndustries, TransPro, Cat and others. For more information, go towww.terramax.com.

About Rockwell Collins

Rockwell Collins (NYSE:COL) is a worldwide leader in the design,production, and support of communication and aviation electronics forcommercial and government customers. The company's 17,000 employees in27 countries deliver industry-leading communication, navigation,surveillance, display, flight control, in-flight entertainment,information management, maintenance, training and simulationsolutions. Additional information is available atwww.rockwellcollins.com.

About the University of Parma, Italy

The University of Parma, Italy, is an experienced developer ofsynthetic vision systems for the automobile industry. Additionalinformation is available at vislab.ce.unipr.it

About Oshkosh Truck Corporation

Oshkosh Truck Corporation is a leading manufacturer of specialtytrucks and truck bodies for the defense, fire and emergency, concreteplacement and refuse hauling markets. Oshkosh Truck is a Fortune 1000company with products marketed under the Oshkosh(R), Pierce(R),McNeilus(R), Medtec(TM), Geesink, Norba, Jerr-Dan(R), CON-E-CO(R) andLondon(R) brand names. The company is headquartered in Oshkosh, Wis.,and had annual sales of $2.26 billion in fiscal 2004.

To learn more about Oshkosh Truck Corporation, visit its web siteat www.oshkoshtruckcorporation.com.

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