Apr 30 2013
Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) and Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) were honored with a Gold Edison Award at the Edison Awards Annual Gala held on April 25, 2013, at historic Navy Pier in Chicago, IL. Celebrating 26 years of honoring innovation, the Edison Awards have become one of the highest accolades a company can receive in the name of innovation and business.
Paint stripping robots
The CTC-NREC team won the Gold Edison award in the Material Science category for the Advanced Robotic Laser Coating Removal System (ARLCRS). Created for the U.S. Air Force, the award-winning laser coating removal system uses a continuous wave laser to strip paint and other coatings from aircraft. It replaces the abrasives or chemical paint removers used in traditional coating removal processes, which are labor intensive and generate significant hazardous wastes and air emissions. The laser can selectively remove coatings so maintenance personnel do not need to physically mask areas that should not be stripped, and a custom HEPA system safely collects debris as it is removed from the aircraft, minimizing its impact on human health and the environment.
"We are extremely proud and honored to be listed among the winners of the 2013 Edison Awards, a prestigious national body recognized for honoring first class innovators and innovations, said Dr. Vicki A. Barbur, CTC Senior Vice President & Chief Technical Officer. "This award recognizes not only CTC's technical competencies in material science and engineering processes as applied to real-world problems, but, once again, our ability to deliver innovative, creative and robust solutions for our clients."
CTC has been at the forefront of the laser coatings removal field since 1999. In addition to the Gold Edison Award, the laser coatings removal program has received the 2005 and 2009 Environmental Security Technology Certification Program Project of the Year Awards and the 2011 Society of Automotive Engineers' Environmental Excellence in Transportation Award.
"The majority of Edison Awards were presented to single companies, but the CTC-NREC team proved to be an exception—exemplifying the power of partnerships and the opportunity to bring innovative mindsets together to develop a creative solution from unique, specialized skill sets," concluded Dr. Barbur.