Robotics Company Targets IPFW For Research

March 19, 2017

FORT WAYNE – Fort Wayne-based robotics company Targamite LLC has inked a research sponsorship agreement with Purdue University. The partnership involves artificial intelligence research to be conducted at IPFW.

Targamite makes robotic, adaptive-behavior targets used for firearm training. The agreement involves developing, testing and implementing artificial intelligence algorithms for controlling the robotic targets. Research will take place at IPFW’s Analogical Constructivism and Reasoning Lab, with support from the IPFW Information, analytics and Visualization Center.

The research will be incorporated into Targamite’s next generation of TARGABOT products. The goals are to enhance the robots’ situational awareness, experiential learning and adaptive behavior responsiveness as well as engagement capabilities and real-time decision making.

Targamite Chief Executive Officer Gary Kaufman says the company sees the partnership “as just the beginning of a very productive collaboration with Purdue.” The company says the effort will not only boost shooting accuracy and improve judgment of military and law enforcement personnel, it will increase safety by reducing deaths and injuries of non-combatants and innocent bystanders.