An Affordable Personal Watercraft Based Ship Deployable Surface Target System

The Navy requires a low cost, expendable surface target to train for the increasing surface craft threat in littoral waters. RoboTek Engineering has invented and constructed a low cost guidance "proof of concept" system called the RoboSki. Based on a personal watercraft, its systems and components are similar to those that will be required by the target. This system has been delivered to the Navy to support a low cost site survey vessel contract and has been tested successfully. This experience base positions RoboTek as the industry leader in the successful integration of state-of-the-art and breakthrough technologies such as Global Positioning System receivers and microcontroller electronics into complex systems and delivering those systems to the Navy. A user friendly architecture under consideration for the control station uses a laptop computer and a mother ship GPS sensor, allowing computer controlled automatic navigation of the target relative to the ship's changing position. RoboTek Engineering, a woman owned small business, has the expertise to perform the requirements analysis and system design required to prove the feasibility of the concept in Phase I, as well as the proven development, prototyping, and production capabilities necessary for Phase II and III.