December 2, 2004
For Immediate Release

HRL Laboratories Awarded Contract for National Airspace Visualization Concepts

LOS ANGELES, December 2, 2004�HRL Laboratories, LLC announced today the award of a $300,000 contract for Visualization for Insight into the Overall National airspace (VisION). This effort is funded by Air Force Rome Labs in conjunction with the NASA VAMS (Virtual Airspace Modeling and Simulation) program. HRL will develop visualization concepts that can generate deep insight and understanding of large amounts of data without creating clutter and without relying on geographic displays. The effort is for one year with Raytheon as a subcontractor to provide data and insight into customer needs.

Standard geographic displays are not easy to understand because of the data density: 5,000 to 10,000 aircraft are airborne at a time. Moreover, smaller subsets of the data do not effectively reveal workings of the overall structure. HRL Laboratories will explore and suggest concepts to help VAMS users understand National Airspace System (NAS) simulations and generate insights into the air transportation system as well.

Virtual Airspace Modeling and Simulation is a research and development project designed to create the first stages in defining and assessing the next-generation air transportation system. According to NASA (www.as.nasa.gov/vams/) the current National Airspace System (NAS) is on the verge of insufficient capacity and will not be able to accommodate the projected growth in air transportation operation, passenger, and cargo carrying demands of the next 15 to 25 years. The VAMS project is developing a national airspace modeling and simulation capability that will enable comprehensive evaluation and assessment of the system-wide effects of new air transportation concepts.

HRL Laboratories, LLC is a corporate R&D laboratory owned by Boeing, General Motors, and Raytheon. HRL provides R&D services for its three owners, for the U.S. government, and for other commercial entities.