Oxford Metrics Regulatory News (OMG)

18 Dec 2007 07:02

OMG PLC18 December 2007 18 December 2007 OMG plc Contract win OMG plc, Oxford Metrics Group (LSE: OMG), ("OMG" or "the Group") the technologygroup providing image understanding products for the entertainment, defence,life science and engineering industries, is pleased to announce that it has beenawarded a large-scale integrating project ("IP") by the EU. This is a contractunder the EU's Seventh Framework Programme for Research and TechnologicalDevelopment, in the call for Cognitive Systems, Interaction and Robotics. OMG is part of a consortium working on dextrous robotic manipulation. OMG's rolewill be primarily in acquiring accurate hand motion data for transfer to robothands performing complex manipulation tasks. The project is a 4 year project andOMG has been awarded a budget of €491,000 (£350,000). The project is expected tostart in February 2008. This is the second EU IP win for OMG. The first one started in October 2006 andwill last for 5 years with a budget of €305,000 (£218,000). The main goal ofthis IP is to improve ways of transferring skills in medicine, rehabilitation,robot programming by demonstration and sport, with OMG developing new motioncapture technologies as part of the project. Both projects are being carriedout by the Vicon research unit in Oxford. Nick Bolton, CEO of OMG plc, noted, "These grant-aided projects provide an excellent opportunity for Vicon to engagein medium term research and development, with a view to new product development,with the high profile support of the EU." Exchange rate is £1: €1.398 -ends- Contacts OMG plc 01865 261800Nick Bolton, Chief ExecutivePeter Wharton, Finance Director Financial Dynamics 020 7831 3113Juliet Clarke / Hannah Sloane Evolution Securities 020 7071 4300Jeremy Ellis About Seventh Framework Programme The Seventh Framework Programme for research and technological development (FP7)is the European Union's main instrument for funding research in Europe. FP7,which applies to the years 2007-2013, is the natural successor to the SixthFramework Programme (FP6), and is the result of years of consultation with thescientific community, research and policy making institutions, and otherinterested parties. Since their launch in 1984, the Framework Programmes haveplayed a lead role in multidisciplinary research and cooperative activities inEurope and beyond. FP7 continues that task, and is both larger and morecomprehensive than earlier Framework Programmes. Running from 2007 to 2013, theprogramme has a budget of 53.2 billion euros over its seven-year lifespan, thelargest funding allocation yet for such programmes.http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp7/pdf/fp7-brochure_en.pdf About OMG OMG plc (Oxford Metrics Group. LSE: OMG) is a group of technology companiesproducing image understanding products and services for the entertainment,defence, life science and engineering industries. Be it for capturing themovements of actors (for the movie industry), sportsmen (for video games orimproving team performance), children with Cerebral Palsy, rehab patients andanimals (for medical, life science and research industries) or virtual realitydisplays (for engineering and development), the Group has the world leadingmarket position and a strong international reputation for precision instruments. Founded in 1984, the Group's headquarters are in Oxford, UK, and it has officesin California and Colorado, USA. It has customers in over 50 countries and is aquoted company listed on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange.The Group trades through three operating subsidiaries - Vicon, the world'sbiggest motion capture and movement analysis company, 2d3, a manufacturer ofspecialised image understanding software for entertainment and defenceapplications and Yotta, our 3D mapping business, which collects and analyseshighway data and street level imaging and which, following the acquisition ofDCL in July 2007, offers the most accurate and complete highway surveyavailable. Oxford Metrics' global clients in science, medicine, sport, engineering, gaming,film, broadcast and 3D mapping include major hospitals and research facilitiessuch as Guy's Hospital, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and Loughborough University,engineering industry leaders including Ford Motor Company, BMW, Airbus andToyota, and in the entertainment sector, Sony, Industrial Light and Magic, TheMoving Picture Company (MPC), Sega, Nintendo, UbiSoft, EA, Square Enix and in 3Dmapping and highway surveys: Mouchel Parkman, Atkins, and Oxfordshire, Cumbria,Derbyshire and Pembrokeshire County Councils as well as many others. For more information about OMG and its subsidiaries, visit www.omg3d.com,www.vicon.com, www.2d3.com or www.yotta.tv This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange