Robotic technology integration for Army ground vehicles

This paper will discuss the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center's (TARDEC's) four (4) axis strategy for integration of robotics into the legacy, interim and objective forces. At the cornerstone of this strategy is the R&D effort concentrating on autonomous perception and navigation, intelligent tactical behavior, command and control, and man-robot interface entailed in the Demo III and Robotic Follower programs. Smart Manned Systems will focus on a systems engineering approach for robotic solutions into the interim force (Vetronics Technology Testbed and Crew integration & Automation Testbed). In the near-term, application of robotics to the legacy force will be achieved through adapting commercial automation technologies, which address military requirements. Finally, Intelligent Mobility will investigate improving intrinsic platform mobility to lessen the burden on robotic sensing performance. The ultimate goal of this strategy is to advance the robotics technology state of the art to achieve off-road full autonomous operations for military systems in support of the objective force.