Fair Isaac Decision Management Technology to Help Navigate Unmanned Vehicle in 2007 DARPA Grand Challenge
Fair Isaac has again teamed with software provider Perrone Robotics, Inc. to support Team Jefferson, a group of technology specialists that developed a Java-based autonomous ground vehicle to compete in the DARPA Grand Challenge. Perrone Robotics deploys Fair Isaac's Blaze Advisor™ rules management system as an integral part of its Mobile Autonomous X-bot (MAX) robotics software platform to help safely navigate the vehicle across a 60-mile mock urban area course.
Leveraging Perrone Robotics' MAX software platform, Fair Isaac's Blaze Advisor system played a significant role in updating the autonomous vehicle's route plan in the 2005 Grand Challenge competition. Contestants received route information shortly before their runs, and the vehicle, called "Tommy," had to safely navigate a course littered with natural hazards and man-made traps designed to foil standard GPS trip planning. Team Jefferson relied on Fair Isaac's business rules capabilities to optimize the vehicle's route by querying general map data and cross-referencing the information with a route description file provided by DARPA.
"Fair Isaac's Blaze Advisor was an immensely valuable component in Tommy's overall architecture for competing at last year's DARPA Grand Challenge events," said Paul Perrone, CEO and founder of Perrone Robotics. "As a Java-based solution, Blaze Advisor quickly integrated with our MAX robotics platform and provided the analytic horsepower needed to automatically and rapidly plan routes for the vehicle based on a vast amount of information."
"Team Jefferson's unique application of rule technology demonstrates the power, versatility and analytic rigor of Blaze Advisor when used in mission-critical applications," said Mark Layden, vice president and general manager of Enterprise Decision Management technologies at Fair Isaac. "Team Jefferson has already proved itself a viable contestant in the DARPA Challenge, and continued support of leading enterprise-scale technologies could be a deciding ingredient to help the next-generation autonomous vehicle navigate the 2007 Challenge's urban landscape."
The latest release of Blaze Advisor system includes Rete III, Fair Isaac's exclusive rules execution technology that processes and executes complex, high-volume business rules faster and more efficiently than other rules management systems. Blaze Advisor is used by many of the world's leading companies, including Sun Microsystems, AOL/Time Warner, British Telecom, the Dutch Tax Authority, New York Life, AIG, Sony Bank, Toyota, United Health Group, Verizon Wireless, Wells Fargo and Fidelity National Financial.
Fair Isaac is showcasing its Blaze Advisor rules management system at JavaONE in booth #1312. Team Jefferson's autonomous ground vehicle is also being shown at the conference.
About the DARPA Grand Challenge
DARPA has sponsored two previous Grand Challenge competitions in 2004 and 2005, designed as a field test to accelerate defense-related research and development in autonomous ground vehicles. The 2007 DARPA Grand Challenge, which will take place on November 3, requires vehicles to complete the urban course in fewer than six hours, while autonomously obeying traffic laws, negotiating other traffic and avoiding obstacles. Teams will compete for a first prize of $2 million.
About Perrone Robotics
Perrone Robotics, Inc. provides software for robotics. Perrone Robotics' general purpose MAX software platform and toolkit is used to more rapidly and affordably create robotics and automation solutions of all kinds, shapes, and sizes. Perrone Robotics demonstrated how their patent-pending MAX platform could be used to build highly complex robotics applications 'faster and cheaper' by fielding an entry and being selected to participate in the highly competitive and historic DARPA Grand Challenge - an unmanned autonomous vehicle competition sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Perrone Robotics offers packaged solutions and works with original equipment manufacturers to integrate their MAX platform into new and existing robotics and automation products of all types. Perrone Robotics' Web site: www.perronerobotics.com.
About Fair Isaac
Fair Isaac (NYSE:FIC) makes decisions smarter. The company's solutions and technologies for Enterprise Decision Management give businesses the power to automate more processes, and apply more intelligence to every customer interaction. Through increasing the precision, consistency and agility of their decisions, Fair Isaac clients worldwide increase sales, build customer value, cut fraud losses, manage credit risk, reduce operational costs, meet changing compliance demands and enter new markets more profitably. Founded in 1956, Fair Isaac powers hundreds of billions of decisions per year in financial services, insurance, telecommunications, retail, consumer branded goods, healthcare and the public sector. Fair Isaac also helps millions of individuals manage their credit health through the www.myfico.com website.
Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Information
Except for historical information contained herein, the statements contained in this press release that relate to Fair Isaac, including statements regarding its Blaze Advisor rules management system and the relationship described herein, and the benefits to be derived from this product offering, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including any unforeseen technical difficulties related to the implementation, use and functionality of the offering, the risks that customers will not perceive material benefits from the offering, failure of the product to deliver the expected results, the possibility of errors or defects in the offering, regulatory changes applicable to the use of consumer credit and other data, and other risks described from time to time in Fair Isaac's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2005, and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2006. Forward-looking statements should be considered with caution. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes or any of these assumptions proves incorrect, Fair Isaac's results could differ materially from Fair Isaac's expectations in these statements. Fair Isaac disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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