X PRIZE Foundation

Google Lunar X PRIZE     Ansari X PRIZE     X PRIZE Cup     Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X PRIZE Challenge     Media     
Revolution Through Competition
JOIN THE REVOLUTION X PRIZE Membership

Acuity Technologies

Team name: Acuity Technologies, Inc.
Vehicle name(s): Hop & Hover Vehicles
Team leader: Robert Clark
Team members: Robert Clark, Kevin Ciocia, Chinmay Patel, Douglas Palmer
Website: www.acuitytx.com
Fuel: Hydrogen Peroxide and Methanol
Level(2): One and Two
Vehicle Weight: 210lbs and 250lbs, respectively
Thrust: 500-900lbs


Led by Robert Clark, Acuity Technologies is based in Menlo Park, California. The team is a returning competitor, and plans to compete in both Levels One and Two with their Hop & Hover Vehicles. Founded in 1992, Acuity Technologies also develops, manufactures, and supports specialized unmanned aerial systems for defense and commercial applications.

Acuity Technologies’ Aerospace Group specializes in bringing experimental aircraft and UAV systems to production-ready reliability levels through rapid design cycles and early prototyping and testing of reduced scale aircraft. Conventional aircraft design and test cycles are no longer able to keep up with the rapid change of pace in avionics, propulsion, sensors, communications, and materials technologies. By integrating existing subsystems with innovative designs which plan for future generations of components, Acuity quickly and effectively proves air vehicle concepts including ground stations, sensors, and other payloads. The Acuity "Tiger" and "Cardinal" use a hydrogen peroxide and alcohol fueled rocket system designed to hover and move vertically and horizontally under remote and autonomous control at altitudes from 0 to 100 meters and speeds from 0 to 8 m/s. The open frame keeps weight to a minimum and gives easy access to flight systems. Pump driven propellant pressurization scales well to large vehicles and long flights. The vehicle is stabilized with a six axis IMU, magnetometer, and GPS. It maneuvers autonomously and also responds to ground pilot control transmitted over a standard RC aircraft radio link. In addition to direct pilot viewing of the vehicle, 2 to 3 video cameras transmit views of the horizon and terrain below the vehicle to ground based displays for pilot assistance. Telemetry including GPS position and altitude AGL is also displayed at the pilot station. Range from the pilot to the vehicle will typically be 100 to 250 meters while the vehicle is in flight.

Find out how Acuity Matches Up against all of the other teams.

You can also download this kmz file to see where the teams are located using Google Earth!

"Exploration is the essence of human nature. Space habitation is the future of human evolution."
-- Robert Clark, on the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge