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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
×

Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles

Committee on Army Unmanned Ground Vehicle Technology

Board on Army Science and Technology

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C. www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by Contract/Grant No. DAAD 19-01-C-0051 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of Defense. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
×

COMMITTEE ON ARMY UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY

MILLARD F. ROSE, Chair,

Radiance Technologies, Inc., Huntsville, Alabama

RAJ AGGARWAL,

Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Idaho

DAVID E. ASPNES,

North Carolina State University, Raleigh

JOHN T. FEDDEMA,

Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico

J. WILLIAM GOODWINE, JR.

University of Notre Dame, Indiana

CLINTON W. KELLY III,

Science Applications International Corporation, McLean, Virginia

LARRY LEHOWICZ,

Quantum Research International, Arlington, Virginia

ALAN J. McLAUGHLIN,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington

ROBIN R. MURPHY,

University of South Florida, Tampa

MALCOLM R. O’NEILL,

Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bethesda, Maryland

ERNEST N. PETRICK,

General Dynamics Land Systems (retired), Detroit, Michigan

AZRIEL ROSENFELD,

University of Maryland, College Park

ALBERT A. SCIARRETTA,

CNS Technologies, Inc., Springfield, Virginia

STEVEN E. SHLADOVER,

University of California, Berkeley

Board on Army Science and Technology Liaisons

ROBERT L. CATTOI,

Rockwell International (retired), Dallas, Texas

CLARENCE W. KITCHENS,

IIT Research Institute, Alexandria, Virginia

National Research Council Staff

ROBERT J. LOVE, Study Director

JIM MYSKA, Research Associate

TOMEKA GILBERT, Senior Project Assistant

ROBERT KATT, Technical Consultant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
×

BOARD ON ARMY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

JOHN E. MILLER, Chair,

Oracle Corporation, Reston, Virginia

GEORGE T. SINGLEY III, Vice Chair,

Hicks and Associates, Inc., McLean, Virginia

ROBERT L. CATTOI,

Rockwell International (retired), Dallas, Texas

RICHARD A. CONWAY,

Union Carbide Corporation (retired), Charleston, West Virginia

GILBERT F. DECKER,

Walt Disney Imagineering (retired), Glendale, California

ROBERT R. EVERETT,

MITRE Corporation (retired), New Seabury, Massachusetts

PATRICK F. FLYNN,

Cummins Engine Company, Inc. (retired), Columbus, Indiana

HENRY J. HATCH, Army Chief of Engineers (retired),

Oakton, Virginia

EDWARD J. HAUG,

University of Iowa, Iowa City

GERALD J. IAFRATE,

North Carolina State University, Raleigh

MIRIAM E. JOHN,

California Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore

DONALD R. KEITH,

Cypress International (retired), Alexandria, Virginia

CLARENCE W. KITCHENS,

IIT Research Institute, Alexandria, Virginia

SHIRLEY A. LIEBMAN,

CECON Group (retired), Holtwood, Pennsylvania

KATHRYN V. LOGAN,

Georgia Institute of Technology (professor emerita), Roswell

STEPHEN C. LUBARD,

S-L Technology, Woodland Hills, California

JOHN W. LYONS,

U.S. Army Research Laboratory (retired), Ellicott City, Maryland

JOHN H. MOXLEY,

Korn/Ferry International, Los Angeles, California

STEWART D. PERSONICK,

Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

MILLARD F. ROSE,

Radiance Technologies, Huntsville, Alabama

JOSEPH J. VERVIER,

ENSCO, Inc., Melbourne, Florida

National Research Council Staff

BRUCE A. BRAUN, Director

MICHAEL A. CLARKE, Associate Director

WILLIAM E. CAMPBELL, Administrative Officer

CHRIS JONES, Financial Associate

DEANNA P. SPARGER, Senior Project Assistant

DANIEL E.J. TALMAGE, JR., Research Associate

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
×

Preface

The Army’s strategic vision calls for transformation to a full-spectrum Objective Force that can project overwhelming military power anywhere in the world on extremely short notice. It must be agile, versatile, and lethal, achieving its objectives through the application of dominant maneuver, precision engagement, focused logistics, information superiority, and highly survivable combat systems. The key to transformation is innovative technology, and the future force will be composed of a family of systems that networks advanced air and ground assets, both manned and unmanned, to achieve superiority in ground combat.

Unmanned vehicles, both air and ground, will play a vital role in such a force structure. There are many tasks that unmanned systems could accomplish more readily than humans, and both civilian and military communities are now developing robotic systems to the point that they have sufficient autonomy to replace humans in dangerous tasks, augment human capabilities for synergistic effects, and perform laborious and repetitious duties.

Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) have the potential to provide a revolutionary leap ahead in military capabilities. If UGVs are developed to their full potential, their use will reduce casualties and vastly increase combat effectiveness. To achieve this potential, however, they must be capable of “responsible” autonomous operation. Human operators may always be needed to make the critical decisions, even to take control of critical events, but it is impractical to expect soldiers to continuously control the movement of unmanned systems. Technologies needed to enable autonomous capabilities are still embryonic. Given technical success, there will be “cultural” programs as soldiers learn to trust robot counterparts.

Presentations to the committee and the Demo III demonstrations clearly show that the Army has started down that path and is pursuing many of the enabling technologies. However, without specific requirements to focus the technology base and without funding emphasis, the Army’s efforts are less likely to translate into tactically significant unmanned ground vehicle systems. It is particularly important that there be high-level advocacy to coordinate the generation of requirements and the evaluation and acceptance of system concepts.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Research and Technology) requested that the National Research Council’s Board on Army Science and Technology conduct this study to evaluate the readiness of UGV technologies. The study was specifically tasked to examine aspects of the Army UGV program, review the global state of the art, assess technology readiness levels, and identify issues relating to implementing UGV systems as part of the Future Combat Systems program. In addition, the committee was tasked with projecting long-term UGV developments of value to the Objective Force.

The committee approached its task by organizing its efforts around the specific technologies and specific charges in the statement of task, subdividing into working groups that could proceed in parallel. Because expertise in many disciplines was necessary to effectively cover all of the elements of robotic vehicles, participants representing many fields were picked from academia and industry (see Appendix A for the biographies of committee members). Several of the committee members had relevant experience in the development, acquisition, testing, and evaluation of combat systems. These members played a vital role, given that concepts for the Future Combat Systems and Objective Force imply many capabilities that have not yet been translated into system requirements.

I want to express my personal gratitude to the members who donated their time to this study. They adhered to a demanding schedule, attended numerous meetings and

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
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demonstrations, and had to review copious quantities of material necessary to effectively carry out the task. The report is theirs and represents the committee’s collective consensus on the current state of technology development for unmanned ground vehicles.

Any study of this magnitude requires extensive logistical and administrative support, and the committee is grateful to the excellent NRC staff for making its job easier.

Millard F. Rose, Chair

Committee on Army Unmanned Ground Vehicle Technology

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
×

Acknowledgments

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Harold S. Blackman, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory,

Johann Borenstein, University of Michigan,

Roger W. Brockett, Harvard University,

Jagdish Chandra, George Washington University,

Paul Funk, LTG, USA, General Dynamics,

Jasper Lupo, Applied Research Associates,

Larry H. Matthies, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and

Robert E. Skelton, University of California San Diego.

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Thomas Munz. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
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Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
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Figures, Tables, and Boxes

FIGURES

ES-1

 

UGV technology areas,

 

4

ES-2

 

Time lines for development of example UGV systems,

 

10

1-1

 

Army transformation to the Objective Force,

 

15

4-1

 

Areas of technology needed for UGVs,

 

43

4-2

 

Autonomous behavior subsystems,

 

44

4-3

 

Perception zones for cross-country mobility,

 

46

4-4

 

User interface for controlling a formation of robot vehicles,

 

63

4-5

 

User interface for perimeter surveillance,

 

63

4-6

 

User interface for a facility reconnaissance mission,

 

64

4-7

 

Probability of success,

 

65

5-1

 

Areas of technology needed for UGVs,

 

73

5-2

 

Schematic of typical hybrid electric power train for UGVs,

 

86

5-3

 

System mass as a function of mission energy requirements,

 

87

5-4

 

Hybrid UGV 50-watt to 500-watt systems,

 

87

6-1

 

Life-cycle cost decisions,

 

98

7-1

 

Evolution of UGV systems,

 

105

7-2

 

Possible evolution of UGV system capabilities,

 

105

7-3

 

Notional FCS acquisition program,

 

106

7-4

 

Time lines for development of sample UGV systems,

 

107

7-5

 

Technology development roadmap for the Searcher,

 

107

7-6

 

Technology development roadmap for the Donkey,

 

108

7-7

 

Technology development roadmap for the Wingman,

 

108

7-8

 

Technology development roadmap for the Hunter-Killer,

 

109

7-9

 

Technology roadmap for development of generic “entry-level” systems in capability classes,

 

110

C-1

 

Pedestrian detection,

 

133

C-2

 

Demo III vehicle and PerceptOR vehicle,

 

136

C-3

 

Perception of traversable slope as an object,

 

136

C-4

 

Color-based terrain classification,

 

137

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
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C-5

 

Tree-line detection,

 

139

C-6

 

Geometric challenge of negative obstacles,

 

141

C-7

 

Negative obstacle detection using stereo video,

 

141

D-1

 

Autonomous land vehicle (ALV),

 

153

D-2

 

ALV and Demo II operating areas,

 

154

D-3

 

Demo II vehicle and environment,

 

156

D-4

 

Stereo obstacle detection results,

 

157

TABLES

ES-1

 

Example Systems Postulated by the Committee,

 

3

ES-2

 

Estimates of When TRL 6 Will Be Reached for Autonomous Behavior and Supporting Technology Areas,

 

5

ES-3

 

Capability Gaps in Autonomous Behavior Technologies,

 

6

ES-4

 

Capability Gaps in Supporting Technology Areas,

 

8

2-1

 

UGV Capability Classes, Example Systems, and Potential Mission Function Applications,

 

20

2-2

 

Relative Dependence of Technology Areas for Each UGV Class,

 

20

2-3

 

Searcher: Basic Capabilities for an Example of a Small, Teleoperated UGV,

 

22

2-4

 

Donkey: Basic Capabilities for an Example of a Medium-Sized, Preceder/Follower UGV,

 

24

2-5

 

Wingman: Basic Capabilities for an Example of a Medium-Sized to Large Platform-Centric UGV,

 

27

2-6

 

Hunter-Killer Team: Basic Capabilities for a Small and Medium-Sized Marsupial Network-Centric UGV Team,

 

29

4-1

 

Criteria for Technology Readiness Levels,

 

44

4-2

 

Perception System Tasks,

 

45

4-3

 

Technology Readiness Criteria Used for Perception Technologies,

 

49

4-4

 

TRL Estimates for Example UGV Applications: On-Road/Structured Roads,

 

49

4-5

 

TRL Estimates for Example UGV Applications: On-Road/Unstructured Roads,

 

50

4-6

 

TRL Estimates for Example UGV Applications: Off-Road/Cross-Country Mobility,

 

50

4-7

 

TRL Estimates for Example UGV Applications: Detection of Tactical Features,

 

50

4-8

 

TRL Estimates for Example UGV Applications: Situation Assessment,

 

50

4-9

 

Estimates for When TRL 6 Will Be Reached for Autonomous Behavior Technology Areas,

 

68

4-10

 

Capability Gaps in Autonomous Behavior Technologies,

 

69

5-1

 

Desired Criteria for a High-Mobility UGV Weighing Less Than 2,000 Pounds,

 

76

5-2

 

Current Options for Army UGV Mobility Platforms,

 

77

5-3

 

Summary of Power/Energy Systems,

 

85

5-4

 

Estimates for When TRL 6 Will Be Reached in UGV Supporting Technology Areas,

 

91

5-5

 

Capability Gaps in Supporting Technology Areas,

 

92

C-1

 

Sample Environments and Challenges,

 

129

C-2

 

Imaging Sensor Trade-offs,

 

143

C-3

 

Sensor Improvements,

 

143

C-4

 

Impact of Feature Use on Classification,

 

146

D-1

 

Performance Trends for ALV and Demo II,

 

158

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
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BOXES

1-1

 

A Glimpse of the Future,

 

14

3-1

 

Task Statement Question 2.a,

 

31

3-2

 

Task Statement Question 2.b,

 

31

3-3

 

Task Statement Question 2.c,

 

39

3-4

 

Task Statement Question 3.c,

 

41

4-1

 

Task Statement Question 4.a (Perception),

 

51

4-2

 

Task Statement Question 4.a (Navigation),

 

54

4-3

 

Task Statement Question 4.a (Planning),

 

59

4-4

 

Task Statement Question 4.b (Tactical Behaviors),

 

61

4-5

 

Task Statement Question 4.b (Cooperative Behaviors),

 

66

4-6

 

Task Statement Question 4.a (Learning/Adaptation),

 

68

4-7

 

Task Statement Question 3.d (Autonomous Behavior Technologies),

 

71

4-8

 

Task Statement Question 4.c (Autonomous Behavior Technologies),

 

71

5-1

 

Task Statement Question 4.b (Human–Robot Interaction),

 

75

5-2

 

Task Statement Question 4.b (Mobility),

 

79

5-3

 

Task Statement Question 4.b (Communications),

 

82

5-4

 

Task Statement Question 4.b (Power/Energy),

 

88

5-5

 

Task Statement Question 4.b (Health Maintenance),

 

91

5-6

 

Task Statement Question 3.b,

 

91

5-7

 

Task Statement Question 3.d (Supporting Technology Areas),

 

93

6-1

 

Task Statement Question 5.c,

 

99

7-1

 

Task Statement Question 5.a,

 

110

8-1

 

Task Statement Question 3.a,

 

113

8-2

 

Task Statement Question 5.b,

 

115

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
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Acronyms and Abbreviations


AADL

Avionics Architecture Definition Language

ACC

adaptive cruise control

ACN

assign commercial network

ACS

agile combat support

ALN

adaptive logic networks

ALV

autonomous land vehicle

ALVINN

autonomous land vehicle in a neural network

AMCOM

Army Aviation and Missile Command

AMUST-D

Airborne Manned/Unmanned System Demonstration

AOE

automated ordnance excavator

ARL

Army Research Laboratory

ARTS-FP

All-purpose Remote Transport System-Force Protection

ARTS-RC

All-purpose Remote Transport System-Range Clearance

ARV

armed reconnaissance vehicle

ASA (ALT)

Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology)

ASB

Army Science Board

ASTMP

Army Science and Technology Master Plan

ATD

Advanced Technology Demonstration

ATR

automated target recognition

ATV

all-terrain vehicle

AVRE

Armored Vehicle Royal Engineers


BAST

Board on Army Science and Technology

BDA

battle damage assessment

BLOS

beyond line of sight

BUGS

Basic UXO Gathering System


C2

command and control

CAT

crew integration and automation testbed

CCD

camouflage concealment deception

CECOM

Communications Electronics Command

CET

combat engineer tractor

CIS

communications interface shelter

CJCS

Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

CMU

Carnegie Mellon University

COP

common operation picture

COTS

commercial off-the-shelf

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CTA

Collaborative Technology Alliance

CVA

canonical variate analysis


DARPA

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

DGPS

differential global positioning system

DOD

Department of Defense

DOE

Department of Energy

DRP

dynamic remote planning

DSP

digital signal producer

DSRC

dedicated short-range communications

DTED

digital terrain elevation data

DUECE

deployable universal combat earthmover


EEA

essential elements of analysis

EOD

explosive ordnance disposal

EWLAN

enhanced wireless local area network


FCC

Federal Communications Commission

FCS

Future Combat Systems

FDIR

fault detection, identification, and recovery

FFN

friend, foe, or neutral

FLIR

forward looking infrared radar

FOC

Future Operational Capabilities

FOLPEN

foliage penetration

FPGA

field programmable gate arrays

FY

fiscal year


GIPS

giga instructions per second

GIS

geographical information systems

GLOMO

global mobile

GOPS

giga operations per second

GPS

Global Positioning System


HAZMAT

hazardous materials

HCI

human–computer interface

HMI

human–machine interface

HMMWV

high-mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle

HRI

human–robot interaction


IFF

identification of friend or foe

IFFN

identifying friends, foes, and noncombatants

IFOV

instantaneous field of view

IMU

inertial measurement unit

INS

inertial navigation system

IR

infrared


JAUGS

Joint Architecture for Unmanned Ground Systems

JFCOM

Joint Forces Command

JPL

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

JRP

Joint Robotics program

JTRS

Joint Tactical Radio System

JVB

Joint Virtual Battlespace


LADAR

laser detection and ranging

LAN

local area network

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
×

LORAN

long-range navigation

LOS

line of sight

LPD

low probability of detection

LPI

low probability of intercept

LSI

lead system integrator


M&S

modeling and simulation

MARDI

Mobile Advanced Robotics Defense Initiative

MARS

Mobile Autonomous Robot Software

MC2C

multisensor command and control constellation

MDARS-E

Mobile Detection Assessment Response System-Exterior

MDARS-I

Mobile Detection Assessment Response System-Interior

MEP

Mobility Enhancement program

MFLIR+R

monocular forward looking infrared plus radar

MILS

multiple independent levels of security

MIPS

million instructions per second

MNS

mission needs statement

MOE

measure of effectiveness

MOP

measures of performance

MOPS

million operations per second

MOUT

military operations in urban terrain

MOV

measure of value

MPRS

Man-Portable Robotic System

MURI

Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative

MV+R

monocular video plus radar


NASA

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NBC

nuclear, biological, chemical

NC-AGV

network-centric autonomous ground vehicle

NIST

National Institute of Standards and Technology

NLOS

non–line of sight

NLP

natural language processing

NRL

Naval Research Laboratory


OAR

organic air vehicle

ODIS

Omni-Directional Inspection System

OMG

Object Management Group

OO

object-oriented

OP

observation post

ORD

operational requirements document

OSD

Office of the Secretary of Defense


PC-AGV

platform-centric autonomous ground vehicle

PerceptOR

Perception off-road

PM

program manager

PRIMUS

Program of Intelligent Mobile Unmanned Systems


QoS

quality of service


RACS

robotics for agile combat support

RAIM

receiver autonomous integrity monitoring

RALPH

rapidly adapting lateral position handler

RBF

radial basis function

RCRV

remote crash rescue vehicle

RCSS

Robotics Combat Support System

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
×

RDA

Research, Development, and Acquisition

RF

radio frequency

RGB

red, green, blue

RONS

Remote Ordnance Neutralization System

RSTA

reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition


S&T

science and technology

SA

situational awareness

SAE

Society of Automotive Engineers

SAF-UGV

semiautonomous follower unmanned ground vehicle

SAP/F-UGV

semiautonomous preceder-follower

SARGE

Surveillance and Reconnaissance Ground Equipment

SDD

system development and demonstration

SEAD

suppression of enemy air defenses

SFLIR

stereo forward looking infrared

SLOC

source lines of code

SOP

standard operating procedure

SORC

statement of required capabilities

SPC

software process control

SRS

Standardized Robotics System

STO

science and technology objective

STRICOM

Simulation, Training, and Instrumental Command

SV

stereo video

SWAT

special weapons and tactics

SYRANO

Systeme Robotise d’Acquisition pour la Neutralisation d’Objectifs


TACOM

Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command

TARDEC

Tank-Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center

TGV

teleoperated ground vehicle

TMR

tactical mobile robot

TRAC

TRADOC Analysis Center

TRADOC

Training and Doctrine Command

TRL

technology readiness level


UAV

unmanned air vehicle

UCAV

unmanned combat air vehicle

UDS

UCAV Demonstration System

UGCV

unmanned ground combat vehicle

UGV

unmanned ground vehicle

UOS

UCAV Operating System

URPR

University Research Program in Robotics

USD-AT&L

Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics

USDOT

U.S. Department of Transportation

UUV

unmanned underwater vehicle

UWB

ultra-wide band

UXO

unexploded ordnance


VCI

vehicle cone index

VTOL

vertical takeoff and landing


XUV

experimental unmanned vehicle

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10592.
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Technology Development for Army Unmanned Ground Vehicles Get This Book
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Unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) are expected to play a key role in the Army’s Objective Force structure. These UGVs would be used for weapons platforms, logistics carriers, and reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition among other things. To examine aspects of the Army’s UGV program, assess technology readiness, and identify key issues in implementing UGV systems, among other questions, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology asked the National Research Council (NRC) to conduct a study of UGV technologies. This report discusses UGV operational requirements, current development efforts, and technology integration and roadmaps to the future. Key recommendations are presented addressing technical content, time lines, and milestones for the UGV efforts.

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