QinetiQ press release
June 25, 2009. The Tarsier™ automatic foreign object debris (FOD) detection system has received significant praise and recognition for its contribution to British engineering innovation at the 200 Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Awards.
The MacRobert Award is one of the country’s most prestigious engineering prizes and represents the very best in current British engineering achievements. This year the theme was ‘Celebrating Innovators in Engineering’.
From a vast number of entrants, Tarsier was awarded a place as one of the final four entrants after the judges were suitably impressed with the innovation behind the system and the benefits it creates for airports.
The MacRobert Award judging panel was taken to the QinetiQ-managed site at Boscombe Down to experience a live demonstration of Tarsier in operation. The demonstration captured Tarsier identifying FOD on the runway, visually confirming the FOD and sending GPS coordinates to the operator for a safe and prompt retrieval.
The award was won by Arup Group Ltd for the Water Cube at the Beijing National Aquatics Centre built for the 2008 Olympics.