UGVs location and movement within its environment through information displays, which typically include:

• Screen display(s) of the TGV’s location using a geolocation system

• Images of the vehicle’s environment based on data transmitted through the communications link from sensors onboard the TGV.

The operator may also have direct line-of-sight observation of the TGV, either with the unaided eye or with optical devices. Missions appropriate for TGV capabilities include minefield breaching, mine and ordnance clearing, tunnel reconnaissance, and some military operations in urban terrain (MOUT). TGVs come in all sizes.

Overarching Concept. The world is becoming increasingly urbanized. The Army will find more and more situations where enemy forces are attacking U.S. forces from urban or rural buildings, tunnels, culverts, caves, and similar confined areas. Dismounted troops will have to clear areas such as these to regain control of the terrain. These close, cramped areas favor the defender and can cause extremely dangerous situations for soldiers tasked with the clearing mission. A teleoperated Ground Vehicle Building and Tunnel Searcher (“Searcher”) could be of significant assistance in accomplishing these tasks. The Searcher would be a small ground vehicle that would carry high-resolution sensors and other lightweight payloads. The soldier-operator would be equipped with visual display and control devices such as a joystick and touch pad. Communications between the soldier and the ground vehicle would be by radio or wire as the situation dictated.

Operational Approach. The Searcher would be small and light so that the ground vehicle and all associated payloads could be carried by a single dismounted soldier. The self-contained power supply would be sufficient for the Searcher to climb stairs and search all hallways and rooms in a typical 10-story urban building. It would also be able to enter and search tunnel, culvert, or cave complexes (out to 1 km and back) that are capable of being traversed by a small adult human. It would be capable of automatically righting itself in the event of a rollover. The Searcher would travel at variable speeds on all surfaces, up to the speed of a running soldier on flat surfaces. The Searcher would be weather resistant, so as to be able to operate in locations exposed to the weather or in buildings in which fire-fighting sprinkler systems have been activated.

Basic Capabilities. At the most basic level, the teleoperated Searcher’s every move would be controlled by an operator. The basic payload would be a package consisting of any mix of infrared (IR), visual, acoustic, or other sensors. The sensor input would be transmitted to a display held by the operator. The display would provide high-level resolution for the operator to quickly identify humans, weapons, booby traps, supplies, and obstacles. At a minimum the Searcher would have an arm and manipulator that would allow it to open unlocked doors, safely detonate booby traps, and move small objects. Additionally, the Searcher would be able to mark areas or rooms that have been searched and deemed clear at the time of the search. The Searcher would be capable of carrying non-lethal payloads that could be detonated by the operator as necessary. The Searcher, upon being directed to do so, would be able to project limited synthetic voice commands either in English or in the appropriate foreign language. If communications were lost with the operator the Searcher would go into a fail-safe mode.

UGV-Human Interface. The Searcher’s “level of initiative” is that it would normally wait until it is told what to do by its operator.¹ The amount of control required from the operator would be continuous. Wire or radio frequency (RF) would allow real-time communications between the operator and Searcher. The Searcher would require one trained dedicated operator during operations. The Searcher would be reliable enough to be maintained by the operator and not more than one additional technician.

Table 2-3 summarizes the basic capabilities of the Searcher UGV.

Like the TGV, semiautonomous preceder/follower (SAP/F) UGVs can come in all shapes and sizes. They are characterized by limits on the scope of autonomous mobility. Follower UGVs are the focus of current Army development and demonstrations. Preceder UGVs are follower UGVs with advanced navigation capability to minimize the need for operator interaction to achieve A-B mobility.

For the purpose of description in this report a SAP/F UGV would traverse its environment by following a trail of markers (often called “breadcrumbs”) left by a “leader,” which could be a dismounted human, a manned vehicle, or an autonomous vehicle. It would use some cognitive processes to select the best route from marker to marker. For example, the onboard processing could determine the heading to the next breadcrumb using geolocation information and simple terrain reasoning. The terrain reasoning might include identifying a road and its edges, traversable paths across open terrain, obstacles to be avoided or negotiated,

Front Matter (R1-R20)

Executive Summary (1-12)

1. Introduction (13-16)

2. Operational and Technical Requirements (17-29)

3. Review of Current UGV Efforts (30-41)

4. Autonomous Behavior Technologies (42-71)

5. Supporting Technologies (72-93)

6. Technology Integration (94-103)

7. Roadmaps to the Future (104-110)

8. Findings and Recommendations (111-115)

References (116-120)

Appendix A: Committee Member Biographical Sketches (121-124)

Appendix B: Meetings and Activities (125-126)

Appendix C: Autonomous Mobility (127-150)

Appendix D: Historical Perspective (151-160)