The NARA audio/video preservation laboratory, located in College Park, Md., stores videotape made by almost every agency of the federal government — from the military, to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to the Department of Agriculture. Made as long as 30 years ago, generations of videotapes have begun to deteriorate. The overall goal of the project is to forestall further losses swiftly and cost effectively and to enable easier access to the content.

Front Porch Digital’s SAMMA robot will provide an easy, automated means of creating preservation-quality digital files from the videotapes. Because it can work day and night unattended, the SAMMA robot is well-suited for a high-volume job like this one.