A reference autonomous mobility model

Mobility modeling is a critical aspect of the ground vehicle acquisition process. Mobility modeling for traditional ground vehicles is well-understood; however, mobility modeling tools for evaluating autonomous mobility are sparse. Users do not understand the performance capabilities of autonomous ground vehicles at a mission level because no mission-level mobility model exists for autonomous vehicles. Therefore, this paper proposes a Reference Autonomous Mobility Model (RAMM). The RAMM serves as the mission-level mobility modeling tool that is currently lacking in the unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) community. The RAMM is built on the framework already established by trusted mobility modeling tools to fill the current analysis gap in the autonomous vehicle acquisition cycle. This paper gives a detailed description of the RAMM along with an example application of the RAMM for modeling autonomous mobility. Once fully developed, the RAMM could serve as an integral part in the development, testing and evaluation, and fielding of autonomous UGVs.