Army Looks Toward Fully Autonomous Tactical Vehicle

May 4, 2015

The U.S. Army is working toward developing a fully autonomous tactical vehicle, a robotics expert said. "When you start looking at the mid-term, five to 10 years, we start talking about tapping into external systems," said Mark Mazzara, robotics interoperability lead for the Army's Program Executive Office - Combat Support and Combat Service Support at Detroit Arsenal, Michigan.

Mark Mazzara, center, robotics interoperability lead for the Army's Program Executive Office - Combat Support and Combat Service Support at Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, speaks during the National Defense Industrial Association Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference and Exhibition in Arlington, Va., April 8, 2015. (Photo: Lisa Ferdinando, ARNEWS Org Page)

Autonomous vehicles will be able to operate without direct human supervision and are a step up from unmanned vehicles, which are typically controlled remotely. Today, unmanned aerial systems, for instance, have remote operators. In contrast, autonomous vehicles would be operated robotically.

The process to reach the goal of autonomous capabilities is a three-phase approach, Mazzara said, starting with driver-safety and driver-assist technologies that are upgrades to vehicles. Mazzara explained that is followed by basic autonomy capabilities, which then lay the foundation for the third phase, a fully autonomous tactical vehicle.

The Army wants its Unmanned Ground Vehicle Interoperability Profile, or IOP, to enable this "evolutionary approach toward tactical vehicle autonomy," said Mazzara. "In the far term, we start talking about more ubiquitous interoperability between the robots and external systems."

Today, semi-autonomous systems are used to clear mines, provide surveillance, convoy supplies and acquire targets, among many other things. To reach autonomous capability, the Army needs incremental hardware and software enhancements to existing systems/chassis; sensor and payload upgrades; modularity; open architecture in IOP, or, in- and out-processing software; standardization; miniaturization and light weight; and, intelligent behavior.

Opinions on how long it could take to develop a fully autonomous tactical vehicle range from 10 to 30 years, due to the level of complexity involved. To reach that point, Mazzara recommended coordination with stakeholders, keeping industry informed and stressing the value of IOP development.

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