SRI International and ITT Demonstrate New Technologies That Put Battlefield Information in the Hands of Individual Soldiers.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MENLO PARK, Calif. & WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 4, 2001

ITT Industries (NYSE:ITT) and SRI International today announced a successful first step in a new personal information system technology that increases the effectiveness of soldiers: the Situational Awareness and Information Management System (SAIM). The breakthrough SAIM technologies are designed to give soldiers of the future the power of reliable information in their hands when they need it most -- on the battlefield.

Through a strategic relationship between the two organizations, SRI International and ITT Industries conducted the demonstration as part of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) sponsored Small Unit Operations Situational Awareness (SUO-SAS) Program. The SUO program team, led by ITT Industries, also includes Rockwell-Collins, GTE and the Atlantic Aerospace Electronics Corporation.

The SUO-SAS program was established to create and demonstrate core technologies for forming an "information bubble" around soldiers that allows them to navigate hostile terrain and plan their actions in real time. The SUO-SAS program addresses four major areas: all-terrain communications, position and location techniques, information management mechanisms, and a value-based approach to system capabilities that balances performance against size, weight and power. The success of the SAIM software is an early step toward demonstrating a fully-integrated prototype system in September, 2002.

Testing of prototype SAIM software in January of this year demonstrated that in the future, individual soldiers could get the same picture of a battlefield presently available only to commanders. Key to SAIM's success is the use of a fully distributed peer-to-peer intelligent information dissemination and track fusion process that eliminates dependence on fragile client-server information architectures. The peer-to-peer dissemination uses knowledge of soldiers' locations and missions to automatically route the right information to the right user at the right time. The track fusion process (developed under contract by Alphatech Inc.) reduces the cognitive burden on the soldiers by combining multiple sensor reports into entity tracks. Using a man-pack sized programmable computer/radio device, SAIM allows soldiers to see the location and movement of friendly and hostile forces. This information enables soldiers to better coordinate and plan their actions, thereby enhancing their mission effectiveness. While much work remains to be done to transform this vision into a militarily useful system, the core capabilities for peer-to-peer dissemination and track fusion were demonstrated in January.

Work on wideband adaptable software-driven radio and its state-of-the-art networking protocols is already under way. In May, ITT Industries will demonstrate new software that automatically form "islands" of radios to develop a flexible Internet. Common battlefield pictures along with video and voice can then be fused over the Internet and used as part of a collaborative planning process.

About SRI International

Silicon Valley-based SRI International (www.sri.com) is one of the world's leading independent research and technology development organizations. Founded in 1946 as Stanford Research Institute, SRI has been meeting the strategic needs of global markets for more than 50 years. As part of its strategy to bring its technologies to the marketplace, SRI licenses its technologies, forms strategic partnerships and creates spin-off companies.

SRI International's contributions to the SUO-SAS program are being made by SRI's Information, Telecommunications, and Automation Division (ITAD). ITAD's multidisciplinary staff provides leading-edge technology and system development in distributed information processing, mobile and wireless communications, information integration, command and control, and advanced systems for radio frequency, microwave, cellular, satellite and terrestrial applications.

About ITT Industries, Inc.

ITT Industries, Inc. (www.itt.com) supplies advanced technology products and services in key markets including: electronic interconnects and switches; defense communications, opto-electronics, information technology and services; fluid and water management and specialty products. Headquartered in White Plains, New York, the company generated $4.8 billion in 2000 sales, and employs approximately 42,000 people around the world. In addition to the New York Stock Exchange, ITT Industries stock is traded on the Midwest, Pacific, London, Paris and Frankfurt exchanges.