[Techtaffy Newsdesk]

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) opened its Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research (LASR). The LASR facility will integrate science and technology components into research prototype systems and will become the nerve center for basic research that supports autonomous systems research for the Navy and Marine Corps. The ribbon cutting ceremony was held on March 16, 2012, for the new laboratory, located at NRL Washington, D.C.

LASR provides specialized facilities to support research in intelligent autonomy, sensor systems, power and energy systems, human-system interaction, networking and communications, and platforms. LASR will support a broad range of research related to autonomous systems, from basic, to applied, and for integration across different disciplines.

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the Navy’s full-spectrum corporate laboratory, conducting a broadly based multidisciplinary program of scientific research and advanced technological development. The Laboratory, with a total complement of nearly 2,500 personnel, is located in southwest Washington, DC, with other major sites at the Stennis Space Center, MS, and Monterey, CA.

[Image Courtesy: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory)