FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Northern Lights Tactical introduces Hydra^® Gen 3

Prescott, AZ - Northern Lights Tactical announced new mission simulation technology to its line of small-arms training robots.  The Hydra^® system expands the capabilities of the renowned TRACS training robot line with a new system for driving pre-programmed routes, GPS, and onboard inertial measurement.  Easy-to-use mission planning software with aerial maps enables instructors to design scenarios featuring multiple robots.

Each robot equipped with Hydra^® technology uses navigation hardware and software to determine its location, heading, and ground speed.  Missions and scenarios with waypoints, turns, and speed created by the user on commonly available Windows PCs or Apple computers are uploaded into the robots’ onboard computer.

Now multiple robots can be operated from a single location each with their own mission.  Real-time progress of the scenario is displayed on the operator’s computer screen.  Scenarios can be replayed over and over to facilitate multiple teams of trainees or to review a team’s performance.

The Hydra^® mission planning software uses aerial imagery as a base map.  The instructor can create no-fly zones around non-navigable structures or terrain features.  As the instructor draws the desired path, a suggested valid route is created and can then be edited before being uploaded into the robot's onboard computer.

Routes can also be converted to more sophisticated scripts where timing, speeds, rate of turn, and other events can be developed.

Telemetry from each robot is reported to the operator’s computer including battery status, RF signal strength, GPS location fix quality, etc.

Hydra^® equipped TRACS robots are now shipping.

About Northern Lights Tactical

Northern Lights Tactical is a division of Birchwood Limited. Since its founding in 2003, the company’s mission has been to develop training and tactical-use products for civilian, law enforcement and military applications. Strong relationships with training facilities such as Gunsite Academy in Paulden, Arizona and with law-enforcement and military professionals gives us the ability to develop and test products in real-world environments based on the needs of people on the ground.