Braintech Enters New Industry Sector.NORTH VANCOUVER North Vancouver, city (1991 pop. 38,436), SW British Columbia, Canada, on Burrard Inlet of the Strait of Georgia, opposite Vancouver, of which it is a suburb. Shipbuilding, woodworking, and the shipping of grain, lumber, and ore are the chief industries. , B.C. -- Contract with Battelle Energy Alliances to Develop Vision Guided Robotic Applications for use in Spent Nuclear Fuel Spent nuclear fuel, occasionally called used nuclear fuel, is nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor (usually at a nuclear power plant) to the point where it is no longer useful in sustaining a nuclear reaction. Waste Package Closure Process Braintech, Inc. (OTCBB OTCBB See OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB). :BRHI), a leading Vision Guided Robotic ("VGR VGR Vector Group Ltd. (stock symbol) VGR Voyager (Star Trek: Voyager) VGR Voice of God Recordings VGR Variable Geometry Rotor VGR Voice Gateway Router VGR Virtual Geographic Routing VGR Ventura Graphics ") software company, today announced it has received an initial contract from Battelle Energy Alliance, ("BEA BEA - Basic programming Environment for interactive-graphical Applications, from Siemens-Nixdorf. ") to supply a VGR software application for use in closing spent nuclear fuel waste package containers. For decades robots have operated blindly and have required their surroundings to be highly structured and controlled. This has often taken the form of expensive, dedicated fixturing and positioning devices that have greatly hindered the usefulness of robots. In an unprecedented manner, VGR liberates robots from their reliance on fixtures and enables them to work in natural environments where change is present. New Market Sector Entry BEA personnel at the Idaho Nation Laboratory, ("INL INL Idaho National Laboratory INL Inner Nuclear Layer INL Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie INL Integral Non-Linearity INL International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau (US Department of State) ") are developing and constructing a prototype Waste Package Closure System, ("WPCS WPCS Wireless Personal Communication System (cellular phone) WPCS Window Primary Coolant System ") for the Yucca Mountain repository for Spent Nuclear Fuel in Nevada. One of the functions of the WPCS system is the control of a Remote Handling System ("RHS RHS Royal Horticultural Society RHS Right Hand Side RHS Rural Housing Service RHS Rickards High School (Tallahassee, FL) RHS Red Hat Society RHS Ridgewood High School (New Jersey) ") that moves robotic tools between their storage locations and the waste package to perform various functions. Braintech's VGR software analyzes images from a radiation resistant camera mounted on the RHS to determine the exact 3D location of each tool and the waste package in the non-fixtured environment of the closure cell. Owen Jones, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Braintech, Inc. stated, "Working closely with ABB n. 1. Among weavers, yarn for the warp. Hence, Noun 1. ABB - an urban hit squad and guerrilla group of the Communist Party in the Philippines; formed in the 1980s we successfully introduced VGR to the automotive industry and the benefits are undeniable. VGR is a technological breakthrough that is rapidly freeing industry from legacy manufacturing systems requiring costly fixturing as well as virtually eliminating health and safety issues associated with manual operations." Jones continues, "From a business point-of-view, HAZMAT handling offers a new and untapped market for our products and services." Braintech Software and Guidance Systems More Reliable and Efficient Rodney Shurtliff, BEA Waste Package Closure System controls engineer, states, "Experience has shown that fixtured tools and end-effectors require repeated calibration of robotic systems to ensure reliable operation. The Braintech machine vision for robot guidance system using a single camera provides an economical approach to robust picking and placing of equipment requiring calibration only if components of the system are exchanged. In the WPCS, multiple tools and equipment trays must be cycled in and out of the closure cell by means of a transfer cart. Precise fixturing of this equipment on the cart would be difficult. The Braintech system will allow us to pick and place these unfixtured closure tools and equipment reliably and efficiently. Other systems investigated involved multiple cameras which are difficult to implement in our application. We see potential for future opportunities to team with Braintech to enhance the reliability of robotic pick and place operations." About BEA BEA consists of Battelle Memorial Institute The Battelle Memorial Institute is a private not-for-profit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The institute opened in 1929 but traces its origins to the 1923 will of Ohio industrialist Gordon Battelle which provided for its , BWXT BWXT BWX Technologies Services Inc., Washington Group International, Electric Power Research Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at Cambridge; coeducational; chartered 1861, opened 1865 in Boston, moved 1916. It has long been recognized as an outstanding technological institute and its Sloan School of Management has notable programs in business, . BEA was awarded a 10 year contract, (estimated value of $4.8 billion) to establish the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) as the Nation's premier laboratory for nuclear energy research, development, demonstration and education. About Braintech Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Braintech, Inc. (OTC OTC See: Over-the-counter. OTC See over-the-counter market (OTC). : BRHI) (www.braintech.com) is a leader in the development of Vision Guided Robotic software. VGR applications have significant impact on manufacturing and other automated processes. For example, use on assembly lines of major automotive manufacturers. By licensing its eVisionFactory (eVF) software platform for integration into assembly systems and other robotic applications, Braintech provides its customers with truly strategic advantages in the delivery of robotic tasks. Statements in this document that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and reflect the current views of management with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties such as technical difficulties in developing the products; competition from other suppliers of similar products; pricing that may not be acceptable to potential markets; and many other known and unknown factors. Readers should also refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's 10-KSB and 10-QSB Forms filed from time to time with the SEC.
Contacts:
On behalf of Braintech,
Laura Van Eperen
Baldacci Communications, LLC
1921 Gallows Road - Suite 540
Vienna, VA 22182
Office - 703.556.4200
Cellular - 240.994.7541
Laurave@bcworldwide.com
On behalf of Battelle Energy Alliance,
Colleen Shelton-Davis
Waste Package Closure System Project Manager
Battelle Energy Alliance
2525 Fremont Avenue
Idaho Falls, Idaho 83415
Office - 208.526.3344
Colleen.Shelton-Davis@inl.gov
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