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The interest in autonomous surveillance has increased due to advances in autonomous systems and sensor theory. This thesis is a preliminary study of the cooperation between UGVs and stationary sensors when monitoring a dedicated area. The primary focus is the path planning of a UGV for different initial intrusion alarms. Cell decomposition, i.e., spatial partitioning, of the area of surveillance was utilized, and the objective function is based on the probability of a present intruder in each cell. These probabilities were modeled through two different methods: ExpPlanner, utilizing an exponential decay function. Markov planner, utilizing a Markov chain to propagate the probabilities. The performance of both methods improves when a confident alarm system is utilized. By prioritizing the direction of the planned paths, the performances improved further. The Markov planner outperforms the ExpPlanner in finding a randomly walking intruder. The ExpPlanner is suitable for passive surveillance, and the Markov planner is suitable for ”aggressive target hunting”.

In recent years, militaries have strengthened efforts to integrate unmanned technologies to improve manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) capabilities. As some countries’ fighting-age populations are decreasing, militaries are turning to readily available, cost efficient, and sophisticated unmanned technologies. MUM-T holds great potential not only to alleviate manpower shortages in militaries, but also to improve combat capabilities. This thesis studies the effectiveness of MUM-T at the frontline, down to infantry teams supporting offensive operations in urban terrain. An agent-based simulation is used to model a MUM-T combat operation with and without an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to support an infantry company. An analysis was conducted on more than 76,800 simulated battles. It was observed that MUM-T concepts could dramatically increase combat effectiveness, as assessed by increased enemy casualties. The UGV reloading time, weapon accuracy, and own force structure were also observed to significantly impact the infantry’s lethality and survivability. This analysis concludes that implementation of MUM-T at the small-unit tactical level has great potential to enhance overall combat performance. Moving forward, combat models could be integrated into future military exercises such that the findings from simulations can be verified and validated., Major, Singapore Army, Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

The interest in autonomous surveillance has increased due to advances in autonomous systems and sensor theory. This thesis is a preliminary study of the cooperation between UGVs and stationary sensors when monitoring a dedicated area. The primary focus is the path planning of a UGV for different initial intrusion alarms. Cell decomposition, i.e., spatial partitioning, of the area of surveillance was utilized, and the objective function is based on the probability of a present intruder in each cell. These probabilities were modeled through two different methods: ExpPlanner, utilizing an exponential decay function. Markov planner, utilizing a Markov chain to propagate the probabilities. The performance of both methods improves when a confident alarm system is utilized. By prioritizing the direction of the planned paths, the performances improved further. The Markov planner outperforms the ExpPlanner in finding a randomly walking intruder. The ExpPlanner is suitable for passive surveillance, and the Markov planner is suitable for ”aggressive target hunting”.

Unmanned ground vehicles are considered semi-autonomous or autonomous machines that perform complex operations of transport and monitoring of physical and environmental variables; to mention a few. These vehicles allow for the customization, optimization, and flexibility of the demands and challenges of innovation in multiple industry applications such as mapping, agriculture, security, mining, telemetry, military, geoscience, environmental, and logistics; therefo-re, we believe that consolidating the scientific information published around this topic allows readers to understand the connections between different approaches, applications, and enabling technologies to determine the direction in which they wish to take their research; and, at the same time, promotes more discussion about the fusion of mobile robotics into the internet applications of things that are emerging in today’s industry. In this article, the web tool Tree of Science and the Systematic Review for information analysis were implemented, Los vehículos terrestres no tripulados son considerados máquinas semi autónomas o autónomas que realizan operaciones complejas de transporte y monitoreo de variables físicas y ambientales, por mencionar algunas. Estos vehículos permiten personalizar, optimizar y dar flexibilidad a las demandas y desafíos de innovación en múltiples campos de aplicación en la industria como cartografía, agricultura, seguridad, minería, telemetría, militar, geociencia, ambiental y logística, por tanto se cree que consolidar la información científica publicada alrededor de este tema permite a los lectores comprender las conexiones entre los diferentes enfoques, aplicaciones y tecnologías habilitadoras para determinar el rumbo al cual desean llevar su investigación, y, al mismo tiempo, promover más debates sobre la fusión de la robótica móvil en las aplicaciones de internet de las cosas que están emergiendo en la industrial actual. En este artículo se implementó la herramienta web Tree of Science y la Revisión Sistemática para el análisis de la información.

Unmanned ground vehicles are considered semi-autonomous or autonomous machines that perform complex operations of transport and monitoring of physical and environmental variables; to mention a few. These vehicles allow for the customization, optimization, and flexibility of the demands and challenges of innovation in multiple industry applications such as mapping, agriculture, security, mining, telemetry, military, geoscience, environmental, and logistics; therefo-re, we believe that consolidating the scientific information published around this topic allows readers to understand the connections between different approaches, applications, and enabling technologies to determine the direction in which they wish to take their research; and, at the same time, promotes more discussion about the fusion of mobile robotics into the internet applications of things that are emerging in today’s industry. In this article, the web tool Tree of Science and the Systematic Review for information analysis were implemented, Los vehículos terrestres no tripulados son considerados máquinas semi autónomas o autónomas que realizan operaciones complejas de transporte y monitoreo de variables físicas y ambientales, por mencionar algunas. Estos vehículos permiten personalizar, optimizar y dar flexibilidad a las demandas y desafíos de innovación en múltiples campos de aplicación en la industria como cartografía, agricultura, seguridad, minería, telemetría, militar, geociencia, ambiental y logística, por tanto se cree que consolidar la información científica publicada alrededor de este tema permite a los lectores comprender las conexiones entre los diferentes enfoques, aplicaciones y tecnologías habilitadoras para determinar el rumbo al cual desean llevar su investigación, y, al mismo tiempo, promover más debates sobre la fusión de la robótica móvil en las aplicaciones de internet de las cosas que están emergiendo en la industrial actual. En este artículo se implementó la herramienta web Tree of Science y la Revisión Sistemática para el análisis de la información.

Historiskt har soldater till fots burit sin personliga utrustning till fots. Den övriga utrustning som soldaten behövde transporterades ofta i vagnar dragna av olika dragdjur. Då stridstempot och framförallt framryckningshastigheten har ökat, har behovet av att bära med sig all nödvändig utrustning ökat. I takt med att nya system tillförts, har därmed också den burna vikten för den enskilde soldaten ökat. Undersökningen har genomförts som en komparativ studie av olika typer av obemannade markfarkoster, så kallade UGV-system, genom att deras möjligheter och begränsningar har analyserats och jämförts utifrån de krav som ställs av scenariot, och av den militära användaren, vid lösandet av en specifik taktisk uppgift. Kriterierna för jämförelse har med hjälp av konceptet militär nytta, framtaget av Andersson et al (2015), tagits fram ur scenariot. Studien kan konstatera att den militära nyttan med dessa UGV-system är att soldaternas egen rörlighet och uthållighet ökar, samtidigt som den skaderisk som tunga bördor innebär minskar. En soldat som inte är utmattad efter att ha burit tung utrustning har en högre stridsberedskap och agerar med större skärpa. Förbandens operativa rörlighet och uthållighet ökar också och beroende på vilket UGV-system som används återfinns olika grader av militär nytta., Historically, soldiers on foot have carried their personal equipment. Other equipment that the soldier needed was often transported in wagons drawn by different beasts of burden. As the high operational tempo, and above all, forward speed has increased, the need to carry all necessary equipment also has grown. And, as new systems have been added, the load to carry for the individual soldier has thus increased. The survey has been conducted as a comparative study of different types of unmanned ground vehicles, so-called UGV systems, by analyzing their possibilities and limitations based on the requirements of the scenario and also the requirements by the military user in solving a specific tactical task. The criteria for comparison have been developed from the scenario using the concept of military utility, developed by Andersson et al. (2015). The study concludes that the military benefits connected to the UGV systems are that the individual mobility and endurance of the soldiers increases, and that the risk of injuries from carrying heavy loads decreases. A soldier not exhausted from carrying heavy loads has a higher combat preparedness and acts with greater focus. The operational mobility and endurance of the unit also increases and, depending on which UGV systems are used, different degrees of military benefit are to be found.

Historiskt har soldater till fots burit sin personliga utrustning till fots. Den övriga utrustning som soldaten behövde transporterades ofta i vagnar dragna av olika dragdjur. Då stridstempot och framförallt framryckningshastigheten har ökat, har behovet av att bära med sig all nödvändig utrustning ökat. I takt med att nya system tillförts, har därmed också den burna vikten för den enskilde soldaten ökat. Undersökningen har genomförts som en komparativ studie av olika typer av obemannade markfarkoster, så kallade UGV-system, genom att deras möjligheter och begränsningar har analyserats och jämförts utifrån de krav som ställs av scenariot, och av den militära användaren, vid lösandet av en specifik taktisk uppgift. Kriterierna för jämförelse har med hjälp av konceptet militär nytta, framtaget av Andersson et al (2015), tagits fram ur scenariot. Studien kan konstatera att den militära nyttan med dessa UGV-system är att soldaternas egen rörlighet och uthållighet ökar, samtidigt som den skaderisk som tunga bördor innebär minskar. En soldat som inte är utmattad efter att ha burit tung utrustning har en högre stridsberedskap och agerar med större skärpa. Förbandens operativa rörlighet och uthållighet ökar också och beroende på vilket UGV-system som används återfinns olika grader av militär nytta., Historically, soldiers on foot have carried their personal equipment. Other equipment that the soldier needed was often transported in wagons drawn by different beasts of burden. As the high operational tempo, and above all, forward speed has increased, the need to carry all necessary equipment also has grown. And, as new systems have been added, the load to carry for the individual soldier has thus increased. The survey has been conducted as a comparative study of different types of unmanned ground vehicles, so-called UGV systems, by analyzing their possibilities and limitations based on the requirements of the scenario and also the requirements by the military user in solving a specific tactical task. The criteria for comparison have been developed from the scenario using the concept of military utility, developed by Andersson et al. (2015). The study concludes that the military benefits connected to the UGV systems are that the individual mobility and endurance of the soldiers increases, and that the risk of injuries from carrying heavy loads decreases. A soldier not exhausted from carrying heavy loads has a higher combat preparedness and acts with greater focus. The operational mobility and endurance of the unit also increases and, depending on which UGV systems are used, different degrees of military benefit are to be found.

[Resumen] El despliegue de plataformas robóticas como apoyo a la gestión de situaciones de emergencia constituye un reto que persigue mejorar la eficiencia en misiones de búsqueda y rescate. Este artículo propone un planificador estratégico para el rescate de víctimas mediante un equipo de robots terrestres. Este sistema inteligente permitirá planificar las trayectorias para acceder a las víctimas de acuerdo con su ubicación y prioridad de asistencia médica (triaje). Para la planificación se propone una nueva variante del algoritmo “fast marching method” (FMM). En este trabajo se ofrecen resultados preliminares mediante un ejemplo de aplicación en condiciones simuladas., [Abstract] The deployment of robotic platforms in support of emergency management is a challange that seeks to improve efficiency in search and rescue missions. This paper proposes a strategic planner for the rescue of victims with a team of ground robots. The purpose of this intelligent system is planning the routes to access a number of victims according to their location and priority of medical assistance (i.e., triage). In particular, this paper offers work in progress regarding a new anisotropic variant of the fast marching method (FMM). Furthermore, preliminary results illustrate the application under simulated conditions.

The RHEA project (Robot Fleets for Highly Effective Agriculture and Forestry Management), funded by the 7th EC Framework Programme, focused on the configuration of a new generation of automated and robotic systems for both chemical and physical management of pests including weed control. RHEA addresses the crop treatments by a reconfigurable fleet of robots composed of unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) equipped with advanced perception systems, improved end-effectors and enhanced decision-making algorithms. This paper describes the most important aspects of the modules that integrate RHEA and gives some performance results extracted from the trials conducted at the CSIC Experimental Farm (Madrid, Spain), in particular the weed treatment in two winter wheat fields.

Technological innovation brings with it the promise of greater efficiency. This is particularly true for innovations applied to the implements of war. Moreover, at punctuated intervals throughout human history technical and scientific developments have resulted in a nonlinear change of both battlefield tactics and national strategies. Since 2001, the United States and its allies have employed a host of unmanned or remote-operated robotized devices to support military operations both on the ground and in the air. The proliferation of this technology tends to lessen our recognition of its potential to dramatically change the character of warfare. Although much of the world's current experience with ground robots is directly related to the clearing of mines and IEDs, it is not unreasonable to expect that within the lifetimes of current flesh-and-blood soldiers the world will witness the first use of mechanical soldiers. Because of that, and because robotics offer both state and non-state actors a truly bloodless and potentially revolutionary alternative to traditional combat, the arguments presented in the following chapters are both timely and appropriate. The first cooperative publishing effort between the Combat Studies Institute and Les Ecoles de St. Cyr Coetquidan, this volume should spark further discussion between policy-makers and military practitioners, as well as among ethicists, scientists, and acquisition specialists. The theme of robotization of the battlefield is approached here from the angle of social and political sciences. The work does not cover scientific and technical aspects of the question but concentrates on legal, ethical, psychological, sociological, tactical, and strategic issues, in order to provide an overview of how the amazing development of military robots is going to change the conditions under which our armed forces act: preventing conflicts, coming between hostile parties, military intervention, stabilization and reconstruction., Prepared in collaboration with Ecoles de Saint-Cyr Coetquidan, Guer, France.

The problem of roadway navigation and obstacle avoidance for unmanned ground vehicles has typically needed very expensive sensing to operate properly. To reduce the cost of sensing, it is proposed that an algorithm be developed that uses a single visual camera to image the roadway, determine where the lane of travel is in the image, and segment that lane. The algorithm would need to be as accurate as current lane finding algorithms as well as faster than a standard k- means segmentation across the entire image. This algorithm, named IRIS, was developed and tested on several sets of roadway images. The algorithm was tested for its accuracy and speed, and was found to be better than 86% accurate across all data sets for an optimal choice of algorithm parameters. IRIS was also found to be faster than a k-means segmentation across the entire image. IRIS was found to be adequate for fulfilling the design goals for the algorithm. IRIS is a feasible system for lane identification and segmentation, but it is not currently a viable system. More work to increase the speed of the algorithm and the accuracy of lane detection and to extend the inherent lane model to more complex road types is needed. IRIS represents a significant step forward in the single camera roadway perception field.

Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) are increasingly being used for civilian and military applications. Passive sensing, such as visible cameras, are being used for navigation and object detection. An additional object of interest in many environments is text. Text information can supplement the autonomy of unmanned ground vehicles. Text most often appears in the environment in the form of road signs and storefront signs. Road hazard information, unmapped route detours and traffic information are available to human drivers through road signs. Premade road maps lack these traffic details, but with text localization the vehicle could fill the information gaps. Leading text localization algorithms achieve ~60% accuracy; however, practical applications are cited to require at least 80% accuracy [49]. The goal of this thesis is to test existing text localization algorithms against challenging scenes, identify the best candidate and optimize it for scenes a UGV would encounter. Promising text localization methods were tested against a custom dataset created to best represent scenes a UGV would encounter. The dataset includes road signs and storefront signs against complex background. The methods tested were adaptive thresholding, the stroke filter and the stroke width transform. A temporal tracking proof of concept was also tested. It tracked text through a series of frames in order to reduce false positives. Best results were obtained using the stroke width transform with temporal tracking which achieved an accuracy of 79%. That level of performance approaches requirements for use in practical applications. Without temporal tracking the stroke width transform yielded an accuracy of 46%. The runtime was 8.9 seconds per image, which is 44.5 times slower than necessary for real-time object tracking. Converting the MATLAB code to C++ and running the text localization on a GPU could provide the necessary speedup.

Current trends in agricultural equipment have led to an increasing degree of autonomy. As the state of the art progresses towards fully autonomous vehicles, it is important to consider assumptions implicit in the design of these vehicles. Current automation in harvesters have led to increased sensing and automation on current combines, but no published research examines the effect of machine size on the viability of the autonomous system. The question this thesis examines is: if a human is no longer required to operate an individual harvester, is it possible to build smaller equipment that is still economically viable? This thesis examines the appropriateness of automating these machines by developing a conceptual model for smaller, fully autonomous harvesters. This model includes the basic mechanical subsystems, a conceptual software design, and an economic model of the total cost of ownership. The result of this conceptual design and analysis is a greater understanding of the role of autonomy in harvest. By comparing machine size, machine function, and the costs to own and operate this equipment, design guidelines for future autonomous systems are better understood. It is possible to build an autonomous harvesting system that can compete with current technologies in both harvest speed and overall cost of ownership.

The problem of roadway navigation and obstacle avoidance for unmanned ground vehicles has typically needed very expensive sensing to operate properly. To reduce the cost of sensing, it is proposed that an algorithm be developed that uses a single visual camera to image the roadway, determine where the lane of travel is in the image, and segment that lane. The algorithm would need to be as accurate as current lane finding algorithms as well as faster than a standard k- means segmentation across the entire image. This algorithm, named IRIS, was developed and tested on several sets of roadway images. The algorithm was tested for its accuracy and speed, and was found to be better than 86% accurate across all data sets for an optimal choice of algorithm parameters. IRIS was also found to be faster than a k-means segmentation across the entire image. IRIS was found to be adequate for fulfilling the design goals for the algorithm. IRIS is a feasible system for lane identification and segmentation, but it is not currently a viable system. More work to increase the speed of the algorithm and the accuracy of lane detection and to extend the inherent lane model to more complex road types is needed. IRIS represents a significant step forward in the single camera roadway perception field.

Localization and modeling of stairways by mobile robots can enable multi-floor exploration for those platforms capable of stair traversal. No system yet presented is capable of localizing a stairway on a map and estimating its properties, two functions that would enable stairways to be considered as traversable terrain in a path planning algorithm. We propose a system for detecting and modeling an ascending stairway while performing simultaneous localization and mapping. We design a generative model of a stairway as a single object and localize it with respect to the map, as well as estimate the dimensions of its steps. Modeling the stairway as a whole will enable exploration of higher floors of a building by allowing the stairway to be incorporated into path planning by considering it as a portal to new frontiers. Our system consists of two parts: a computationally efficient detector that leverages geometric cues from depth imagery to detect sets of ascending stairs, and a stairway modeler that uses multiple detections to infer the location and parameters of a stairway that is discovered during exploration. We demonstrate the performance of this system when deployed on several mobile platforms., The original document contains color images.

Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) are gaining importance and finding increased utility in both military and commercial applications. Although earlier UGV platforms were typically exclusively small ground robots, recent efforts started targeting passenger vehicle and larger size platforms. Due to their size and speed, these platforms have significantly different dynamics than small robots, and therefore the existing hazard avoidance algorithms, which were developed for small robots, may not deliver the desired performance. The goal of this paper is to present the first steps towards a model predictive control (MPC) based hazard avoidance algorithm for large UGVs that accounts for the vehicle dynamics through high fidelity models and uses only local information about the environment as provided by the onboard sensors. Specifically, the paper presents the MPC formulation for hazard avoidance using a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor and applies it to a case study to investigate the impact of model fidelity on the performance of the algorithm, where performance is measured mainly by the time to reach the target point. Towards this end, the case study compares a 2 degrees-of-freedom (DoF) vehicle dynamics representation to a 14 DoF representation as the model used in MPC. The results show that the 2 DoF model can perform comparable to the 14 DoF model if the safe steering range is established using the 14 DoF model rather than the 2 DoF model itself. The conclusion is that high fidelity models are needed to push autonomous vehicles to their limits to increase their performance, but simulating the high fidelity models online within the MPC may not be as critical as using them to establish the safe control input limits., Submitted to Dynamic Systems and Control Conference 2013.

Perception is a key feature in how any creature or autonomous system relates to its environment. While there are many types of perception, this thesis focuses on the improvement of the visual robotics perception systems. By implementing a broadband passive sensing system in conjunction with current perception algorithms, this thesis explores scene reconstruction and world modeling. The process involves two main steps. The first is stereo correspondence using block matching algorithms with filtering to improve the quality of this matching process. The disparity maps are then transformed into 3D point clouds. These point clouds are filtered again before the registration process is done. The registration uses a SAC-IA matching technique to align the point clouds with minimum error. The registered final cloud is then filtered again to smooth and down sample the large amount of data. This process was implemented through software architecture that utilizes Qt, OpenCV, and Point Cloud Library. It was tested using a variety of experiments on each of the components of the process. It shows promise for being able to replace or augment existing UGV perception systems in the future.

Unmanned ground vehicles are increasingly employing a combination of active sensors such as LIDAR with passive sensors like cameras to perform at all levels of perception, which includes detection, recognition and classification. Typical cameras measure the intensity of light at a variety of different wavelengths to classify objects in different areas of an image. A polarimetric camera not only measures intensity of light, but can also determine its state of polarization. The polarization of light is the angle the electric field of the wave of light takes as it travels. A polarimetric camera can identify the state of polarization of the light, which can be used to segment highly polarizing areas in a natural environment, such the surface of water. The polarimetric camera designed and built for this thesis was created with low cost in mind, as commercial polarimetric cameras are very expensive. It uses multiple beam splitters to split incoming light into four machine vision cameras. In front of each machine vision camera is a linear polarizing filter that is set to a specific orientation. Using the data from each camera, the Stokes vector can be calculated on a pixel by pixel basis to determine what areas of the image are more polarized. Test images of various scenes that included running water, standing water, mud, and vehicles showed promise in using polarization data to highlight and identify areas of interest. This data could be used by a UGV to make more informed decisions in an autonomous navigation mode.

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) signed into law a mandate directing the Department of Defense (DoD) to develop and procure Unmanned Systems through FY 2030. These unmanned air, ground, and sea systems are being designed to support Full Spectrum Operations (FSO) in a hybrid-threat environment. The impact for the 2020 Joint Task Force (JTF) is that it will operate with unmanned systems that will revolutionize the way it conducts its operations. Furthermore, the 2020 JTF will be required to leverage cutting-edge information technologies that will ensure a secure and collaborative command and control network in a security environment that is increasingly competitive due to the proliferation of advanced unmanned systems. The challenge then is to posture the 2020 JTF to integrate these revolutionary unmanned systems. The essential tasks are to ensure operational reach and establish operational access throughout operations that are increasingly ready to be accomplished with revolutionary unmanned systems in lieu of manned systems., The original document contains color images.

Obemannade markfarkoster är ännu ganska ovanliga i den svenska Försvarsmakten men borde kunna bli allt vanligare. UGV:er används traditionellt till att utföra smutsiga, tråkiga och farliga arbetsuppgifter. Kan de då vara användbara i Afghanistan mot den motståndare som FM möter där idag? I studien undersöker författaren möjligheterna för obemannade markfarkoster att bidra med militär nytta inom området logistiktransporter. De obemannade transportfordonen kan från grunden utgöras av standardlastbilar i FM som har utrustats med så kallade UGV-kit. Dessa UGV-kit har till uppgift att göra standardfordonen fjärrstyrda, autonoma eller både och. Samma princip gäller för eskortfordonen som följer med till stöd för logistiktransporten, en Galt ska exempelvis kunna agera UGV. Den irreguljära och lågteknologiska motståndaren använder ofta IED:er vid eldöverfall vilket har gjort landsvägstransporter till riskfylld verksamhet för personal ute på vägarna. Personalsäkerhet är prioriterad verksamhet i Försvarsmakten och författarens antagande är att UGV:er kan bidra till att göra logistiktransporter och eskortförfaranden till mindre riskabel verksamhet., Unmanned ground vehicles are still quite rare within in the Swedish Armed Forces but they should become more common. UGV´s are used traditionally for performing dirty, dull and dangerous tasks. Could they also be usefull against the enemy in Afghanistan that the Swedish Armed Forces are confronting there today? In this study the author investigates the possibilities for unmanned ground vehicles to contribute with military benefits to the area of logistics transportation. The unmanned transport vehicles can be ordinary standard trucks from the beginning which have been equipped with a so called UGV-kit. This UGV-kit´s task is to make the standard vehicles remotely controlled, autonomous or both. The same principle applies to the escorting vehicles, a Galt should for example also be able to act as a UGV. The irregular and low technology enemy often uses IED’s when attacking, which have made road transportation to hazardous activities for the personnel on the road. Personnel safety are prioritized activity within the Swedish Armed Forces, and the authors assumtion is that UGV’s can help making logistics transportation and escorting procedures in to less risky activities.

The shift of the world's population to the cities has caused the military to increase its focus on urban terrain. The same Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures that are effective on an unconstrained battlefield are not effective in an urban environment. Using technological advances, it may be possible to replace flesh and blood soldiers and marines with metal and plastic surrogates to perform the Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition mission. Since these unmanned vehicles and the tactics to employ them are still in the concept development phase, they are not widely tested yet for their utility in tactical scenarios. This thesis will examine the detection capability and survivability of a Tactical Unmanned Vehicle Light in an urban environment. The data is generated through multiple combat simulations using the Janus combat model and is analyzed using statistical techniques. The result benefits the Unmanned Ground Vehicle/System Joint Project Office in their acquisition process and both the United States Army and Marine Corps in their development of Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for employment of unmanned tactical systems in urban warfare, http://archive.org/details/annalysisoftacti109457955, Captain, United States Marine Corps, Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

Obemannade markfarkoster är ännu ganska ovanliga i den svenska Försvarsmakten men borde kunna bli allt vanligare. UGV:er används traditionellt till att utföra smutsiga, tråkiga och farliga arbetsuppgifter. Kan de då vara användbara i Afghanistan mot den motståndare som FM möter där idag? I studien undersöker författaren möjligheterna för obemannade markfarkoster att bidra med militär nytta inom området logistiktransporter. De obemannade transportfordonen kan från grunden utgöras av standardlastbilar i FM som har utrustats med så kallade UGV-kit. Dessa UGV-kit har till uppgift att göra standardfordonen fjärrstyrda, autonoma eller både och. Samma princip gäller för eskortfordonen som följer med till stöd för logistiktransporten, en Galt ska exempelvis kunna agera UGV. Den irreguljära och lågteknologiska motståndaren använder ofta IED:er vid eldöverfall vilket har gjort landsvägstransporter till riskfylld verksamhet för personal ute på vägarna. Personalsäkerhet är prioriterad verksamhet i Försvarsmakten och författarens antagande är att UGV:er kan bidra till att göra logistiktransporter och eskortförfaranden till mindre riskabel verksamhet., Unmanned ground vehicles are still quite rare within in the Swedish Armed Forces but they should become more common. UGV´s are used traditionally for performing dirty, dull and dangerous tasks. Could they also be usefull against the enemy in Afghanistan that the Swedish Armed Forces are confronting there today? In this study the author investigates the possibilities for unmanned ground vehicles to contribute with military benefits to the area of logistics transportation. The unmanned transport vehicles can be ordinary standard trucks from the beginning which have been equipped with a so called UGV-kit. This UGV-kit´s task is to make the standard vehicles remotely controlled, autonomous or both. The same principle applies to the escorting vehicles, a Galt should for example also be able to act as a UGV. The irregular and low technology enemy often uses IED’s when attacking, which have made road transportation to hazardous activities for the personnel on the road. Personnel safety are prioritized activity within the Swedish Armed Forces, and the authors assumtion is that UGV’s can help making logistics transportation and escorting procedures in to less risky activities.

This paper presents a new approach to semi-autonomous vehicle hazard avoidance and stability control, based on the design and selective enforcement of constraints. This differs from traditional approaches that rely on the planning and tracking of paths. This emphasis on constraints facilitates "minimally-invasive" control for human-machine systems; instead of forcing a human operator to follow an automation-determined path, the constraint-based approach identifies safe homotopies, and allows the operator to navigate freely within them, introducing control action only as necessary to ensure that the vehicle does not violate safety constraints. The method evaluates candidate homotopies based on "restrictiveness", rather than traditional measures of path goodness, and designs and enforces requisite constraints on the human's control commands to ensure that the vehicle never leaves the controllable subset of a desired homotopy. Identification of these homotopic classes in off-road environments is performed using geometric constructs. The goodness of competing homotopies and their associated constraints is then characterized using geometric heuristics. Finally, input limits satisfying homotopy and vehicle dynamic constraints are enforced using threat-based feedback mechanisms to ensure that the vehicle avoids collisions and instability while preserving the human operator's situational awareness and mental models. The methods developed in this work are shown in simulation and experimentally demonstrated in safe, high-speed teleoperation of an unmanned ground vehicle. © 2012 IEEE.

Teleoperated vehicles are playing an increasingly important role in a variety of military functions. While advantageous in many respects over their manned counterparts, these vehicles also pose unique challenges when it comes to safely avoiding obstacles. Not only must operators cope with difficulties inherent to the manned driving task, but they must also perform many of the same functions with a restricted field of view, limited depth perception, potentially disorienting camera viewpoints, and significant time delays. In this work, a constraint-based method for enhancing operator performance by seamlessly coordinating human and controller commands is presented. This method uses onboard LIDAR sensing to identify environmental hazards, designs a collision-free path homotopy traversing that environment, and coordinates the control commands of a driver and an onboard controller to ensure that the vehicle trajectory remains within a safe homotopy. This system's performance is demonstrated via off-road teleoperation of a Kawasaki Mule in an open field among obstacles. In these tests, the system safely avoids collisions and maintains vehicle stability even in the presence of "routine" operator error, loss of operator attention, and complete loss of communications.

Due to. the unique demands of Irregular Warfare (lW), a variety of technological shortfalls, and the legal, moral, and ethical issues surrounding armed unmanned system capabilities, Unmanned Ground Vehicle development should be focused at meeting the challenges associated with future warfare as a Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) platforms, not as systems capable of employing lethal force on the battlefields of tomorrow.

In April 2009, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that he intended to significantly restructure the Army's Future Combat System (FCS) program. The FCS was a multiyear, multibillion dollar program that had been underway since 2000 and was at the heart of the Army's transformation efforts. It was to be the Army's major research, development, and acquisition program, consisting of 18 manned and unmanned systems tied together by an extensive communications and information network. Secretary Gates also recommended cancelling the manned ground vehicle (MGV) component of the FCS program, which was intended to field eight separate tracked combat vehicle variants built on a common chassis. As part of this restructuring, the Army was directed to develop a Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) that would be relevant across the entire spectrum of Army operations and would incorporate combat lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan. As part of the FCS program the Army had been spinning out selected FCS technologies to brigade combat teams (BCTs) that were deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. Secretary Gates's April 2009 restructuring decision included provisions to continue these efforts, and the Army decided that initially these technologies would be provided to Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs); the Army designated this effort as the Early Infantry Brigade Combat Team (E-IBCT) program. Congressional interest in these two programs has been significant, as both the GCV and E-IBCT programs directly impact 64 of the Army's 73 BCTs and could be expanded to other types of units if they prove successful. Given the Army's relatively poor track record of developing and fielding major combat systems over the past three decades, some analysts believe that the GCV program, in particular, could be the Army's last opportunity to prove that it should be in charge of developing and managing its own weapon systems programs., CRS Report for Congress.

Today, Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) provide significant supporting capabilities in military operations worldwide. When UGVs are used to their full potential, the number of casualties is decreased and the combat effectiveness of warfighters is increased. UGVs are being developed in different sizes to meet different mission capability requirements. The employment of available UGVs and the development of new UGV capabilities have been rising steadily. Countries have started giving more importance to UGVs, and they are now being employed all over the world. The Turkish Ministry of National Defense (MND) can use the advantages of UGVs in a number of ways to assist in its efforts against terrorist activities. The purpose of this MBA project is to conduct an analysis of the best available UGV in the current market with respect to the requirements of the Turkish MND. After providing some background and market research on UGVs, we will explore their capabilities and their capability gaps in regard to the requirements of the Turkish MND. In the end, this project will determine the best available near-term UGV for the Turkish MND by employing the Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) method of the U.S. Defense Acquisition System., MBA Professional Report

This final report describes the technologies designed and developed by the University of Florida (UF) in support of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). An off road vehicle (Fig. 1) and a hybrid Toyota Highlander (Fig. 2) have been automated and instrumented with pose estimation (GPS and inertial) and object detection (ranging (LADAR), vision and light detection) sensors. The control architecture consists of four primary elements, i.e. Planning Element, Perception Element, Intelligence Element, and Control Element. The architecture is implemented on a system distributed over ten single-board computers that intercommunicate via the Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems (JAUS) version 3.2 protocol.

This paper describes work to develop a hands-free, heads-up control system for Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) under an SBIR Phase I contract. Industry is building upon pioneering work that it has done in creating a speech recognition system that works well in noisy environments, by developing a robust key word spotting algorithm enabling UGV Operators to give speech commands to the UGV completely hands-free. Industry will also research and develop two sub-vocal control modes: whisper speech and teeth clicks. Industry is also developing a system that will enable the Operator to drive a UGV, with a high level of fidelity, to a location selected by the Operator using hands-free commands in conjunction with image segmentation and video overlays. This Phase I effort will culminate in a proof-of-concept demonstration of a hands-free, heads-up system, implemented on a small UGV, that will enable the Operator have a high level of fidelity for control of the system., Presented at the NDIA Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium, held in Dearborn, MI on 9-11 August 2011. Published in the Proceedings of the NDIA Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium, August 2011.

This paper examines the systems, hardware, and software engineering efforts required to overcome the challenges of operating autonomously around dynamic objects in complex environments. To detect these dynamic objects, the SOURCE ATO will utilize ARL/GDRS developed moving obstacle detection algorithms that will run on the Autonomous Navigation System (ANS) hardware. These algorithms use data from multiple sensors including laser detection and ranging (LADAR), Electro-optic, and Millimeter-Wave Radar (MMWR) to produce detections. This limits erroneous identifications that occur when using only one sensor. This paper describes co-development of Safe Operation Technologies between the SOURCE ATO and the ANS development program. This approach allows a more rapid development cycle, which will enable both current and future ground combat vehicle systems the flexibility to readily adopt emerging software, process hardware, and sensor technologies., Presented at SPIE 25-29 April 2011 Orlando, Florida, USA. The original document contains color images.

The real world is too complex and variable to directly program an autonomous ground robot's control system to respond to the inputs from its environmental sensors such as LIDAR and video. The need for learning incrementally, discarding prior data, is important because of the vast amount of data that can be generated by these sensors. This is crucial because the system needs to generate and update its internal models in real-time. There should be little difference between the training and execution phases; the system should be continually learning, or engaged in "life-long learning". This paper explores research into incremental learning systems such as nearest neighbor, Bayesian classifiers, and fuzzy c-means clustering., Presented at SPIE 25-29 April 2011 Orlando, Florida, USA, The original document contains color images.

Headquartered in Warren, Michigan, the Robotic Systems Joint Project Office (RSJPO) is the materiel solution provider for U.S. Army and Marine Corps unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) needs. The office began in 1988 when the Department of Defense, Army, and Marine Corps facilitated an initiative to combine their development efforts of UGVs. Initial acquisitions were used by explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) personnel to assist in the investigation and neutralization of improvised explosive device (IED) threats. Due to non-EOD mission shortfalls, additional robotic requirements were developed, including the capability to support combat engineers during route and area clearance missions. Since its inception, RSJPO has developed -- and maintains -- working relationships with all Army and Marine Corps laboratories, the other uniformed Services, and various agencies. The current Fort Leonard Wood (FLW) office was established in July 2007 as part of an organizational restructuring of RSJPO to better align itself within its three functional development areas: maneuver, maneuver support, and sustainment. RSJPO FLW mission includes, but is not limited to the following: (1) Conducting all operational assessments on new engineer robotic systems and payloads; (2) Managing all joint engineer program-of-record (POR) systems; (3) Conducting contingency and new POR system operator training; and (4) Supporting doctrine and tactics training development by the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence (MSCoE) Capabilities Development Integration Directorate. To meet these mission requirements, RSJPO FLW is organized into a headquarters element, two robot training divisions, and a joint robotic repair detachment (JRRD). RSJPO FLW conducts operator certification courses on all robotic systems currently fielded and intended for use by maneuver support elements., Published in Engineer: The Professional Bulletin of Army Engineers, v40 p66-67, May-August 2010.

Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) have become increasingly popular for many intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions and explosive-ordnance disposal missions in the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In these roles, UGVs are credited with saving countless lives. Given the success in missions undertaken so far, there is an interest in arming these UGVs and using them for strike missions. This paper presents three arguments against using unmanned ground vehicles for strike missions in the counterinsurgency operations the U.S. military is conducting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The arguments are based on the Laws of Armed Conflict, the principles of counterinsurgency operations, and the professional military ethic. A counter-argument based on the similarity to Predator strikes is presented and refuted, as are counter-arguments based on saving money and personnel. Finally, this paper recommends that combatant commanders not employ lethally-armed ground robots in the current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan., The original document contains color images.

This work introduces a new information-centric pseudospectral optimal control-based algorithm for autonomous trajectory planning and control of unmanned ground vehicles with real-time information updates. It begins with a comprehensive study and comparison of the various path planning methods currently in use. It then provides an analysis of the optimal control method, including vehicle and obstacle modeling techniques, several different problem formulations, and a number of important insights on unmanned ground vehicle motion planning. The new algorithm is then utilized on a collection of motion planning scenarios with varying levels of information; the performance of the planner and the solution accuracies under these varying levels of information are studied for both single and multi-vehicle scenarios. The multi-vehicle scenarios compare and contrast centralized, decentralized, decoupled, coordinated, cooperative, and prioritized control methods. Finally, the versatility of the planner (and the optimal control technique) is demonstrated, as it is used as both a path follower and trajectory planner in a collection of scenarios, including multi-vehicle formations and sector keeping., The original document contains color images.

As a result of technological maturation, Congressional mandate, and battlefield use, the U.S. Army is currently involved in a tremendous amount of activity surrounding the development of unmanned systems (UMS). While current systems require near-constant supervision, the research and development community is developing capabilities that will greatly increase the autonomy of future UMS. The payoff of employing autonomous unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) in the Army is potentially high in a number of areas. However, the second or third order effects could have negative consequences. This monograph analyzes current U.S. Army efforts surrounding the development of autonomous UGVs. Though the Army's investment of time, money, and manpower in autonomous UGVs has been enormous, the potential benefits of these systems to our Soldiers are too great to refuse to make the investment., The original document contains color images.

Geospatially enriched synthetic environments are needed for development and assessment of unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) performance to support sensor fusion and sense making. This work will address how the high-fidelity/resolution environment is achieved and integrated to inform simulations addressing critical questions. We will investigate a multi-resolution modeling capability to inform development of a high-fidelity synthetic environment (HFSE) testbed and to link to other models and simulations. This report will discuss results and lessons learned in developing an engineering- and operational-level experiment for proof of concept.

This thesis integrates stereo-vision into existing NPS robot architecture. It demonstrates that image cross correlation can be used to measure ranges as theory predicts. It also demonstrates that objects can be ranged and stored into a database map for later use as common reference points in position determination. Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV), developed using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies are of particular interest for this robotic vision application. To perform their designated missions, these devices require accurate position information. Most devices will determine that position using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver; however, the signal is vulnerable to jamming and becomes degraded when not provided a clear view of the sky. Similarly, the error in dead reckoning (DR) systems increases with time if not reset using a known reference. The fusion of stereo vision technology with GPS and DR systems is ideal for use in the design of a command and control module of an unmanned vehicle that is capable of operating autonomously in an environment where traditional position determination loses satellite signals or requires a known reference point to reset uncertainty in position.

The main body of this thesis consists of six appended papers. In the first two, different cooperative surveillance problems are considered. The second two consider different aspects of the trajectory planning problem, while the last two deal with observer design for mobile robotic and Euler-Lagrange systems respectively.In Papers A and B, a combinatorial optimization based framework to cooperative surveillance missions using multiple Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) is proposed. In particular, Paper A considers the the Minimum Time UGV Surveillance Problem (MTUSP) while Paper B treats the Connectivity Constrained UGV Surveillance Problem (CUSP). The minimum time formulation is the following. Given a set of surveillance UGVs and a polyhedral area, find waypoint-paths for all UGVs such that every point of the area is visible from a point on a waypoint-path and such that the time for executing the search in parallel is minimized. The connectivity constrained formulation extends the MTUSP by additionally requiring the induced information graph to be kept recurrently connected at the time instants when the UGVs perform the surveillance mission. In these two papers, the NP-hardness of both these problems are shown and decomposition techniques are proposed that allow us to find an approximative solution efficiently in an algorithmic manner.Paper C addresses the problem of designing a real time, high performance trajectory planner for an aerial vehicle that uses information about terrain and enemy threats, to fly low and avoid radar exposure on the way to a given target. The high-level framework augments Receding Horizon Control (RHC) with a graph based terminal cost that captures the global characteristics of the environment. An important issue with RHC is to make sure that the greedy, short term optimization does not lead to long term problems, which in our case boils down to two things: not getting into situations where a collision is unavoidable, and making, QC 20100622, TAIS, AURES

The main body of this thesis consists of six appended papers. In the first two, different cooperative surveillance problems are considered. The second two consider different aspects of the trajectory planning problem, while the last two deal with observer design for mobile robotic and Euler-Lagrange systems respectively.In Papers A and B, a combinatorial optimization based framework to cooperative surveillance missions using multiple Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) is proposed. In particular, Paper A considers the the Minimum Time UGV Surveillance Problem (MTUSP) while Paper B treats the Connectivity Constrained UGV Surveillance Problem (CUSP). The minimum time formulation is the following. Given a set of surveillance UGVs and a polyhedral area, find waypoint-paths for all UGVs such that every point of the area is visible from a point on a waypoint-path and such that the time for executing the search in parallel is minimized. The connectivity constrained formulation extends the MTUSP by additionally requiring the induced information graph to be kept recurrently connected at the time instants when the UGVs perform the surveillance mission. In these two papers, the NP-hardness of both these problems are shown and decomposition techniques are proposed that allow us to find an approximative solution efficiently in an algorithmic manner.Paper C addresses the problem of designing a real time, high performance trajectory planner for an aerial vehicle that uses information about terrain and enemy threats, to fly low and avoid radar exposure on the way to a given target. The high-level framework augments Receding Horizon Control (RHC) with a graph based terminal cost that captures the global characteristics of the environment. An important issue with RHC is to make sure that the greedy, short term optimization does not lead to long term problems, which in our case boils down to two things: not getting into situations where a collision is unavoidable, and making, QC 20100622, TAIS, AURES

This paper presents large, accurately calibrated and time-synchronised datasets, gathered outdoors in controlled environmental conditions, using an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), equipped with a wide variety of sensors. It discusses how the data collection process was designed, the conditions in which these datasets have been gathered, and some possible outcomes of their exploitation, in particular for the evaluation of performance of sensors and perception algorithms for UGVs.

This work aims to promote reliability and integrity in autonomous perceptual systems, with a focus on outdoor unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) autonomy. For this purpose, a comprehensive UGV system, comprising many different exteroceptive and proprioceptive sensors has been built. The first contribution of this work is a large, accurately calibrated and synchronised, multi-modal data-set, gathered in controlled environmental conditions, including the presence of dust, smoke and rain. The data have then been used to analyse the effects of such challenging conditions on perception and to identify common perceptual failures. The second contribution is a presentation of methods for mitigating these failures to promote perceptual integrity in adverse environmental conditions.

The main body of this thesis consists of six appended papers. In the first two, different cooperative surveillance problems are considered. The second two consider different aspects of the trajectory planning problem, while the last two deal with observer design for mobile robotic and Euler-Lagrange systems respectively.In Papers A and B, a combinatorial optimization based framework to cooperative surveillance missions using multiple Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) is proposed. In particular, Paper A considers the the Minimum Time UGV Surveillance Problem (MTUSP) while Paper B treats the Connectivity Constrained UGV Surveillance Problem (CUSP). The minimum time formulation is the following. Given a set of surveillance UGVs and a polyhedral area, find waypoint-paths for all UGVs such that every point of the area is visible from a point on a waypoint-path and such that the time for executing the search in parallel is minimized. The connectivity constrained formulation extends the MTUSP by additionally requiring the induced information graph to be kept recurrently connected at the time instants when the UGVs perform the surveillance mission. In these two papers, the NP-hardness of both these problems are shown and decomposition techniques are proposed that allow us to find an approximative solution efficiently in an algorithmic manner.Paper C addresses the problem of designing a real time, high performance trajectory planner for an aerial vehicle that uses information about terrain and enemy threats, to fly low and avoid radar exposure on the way to a given target. The high-level framework augments Receding Horizon Control (RHC) with a graph based terminal cost that captures the global characteristics of the environment. An important issue with RHC is to make sure that the greedy, short term optimization does not lead to long term problems, which in our case boils down to two things: not getting into situations where a collision is unavoidable, and making, QC 20100622, TAIS, AURES

The main body of this thesis consists of six appended papers. In the first two, different cooperative surveillance problems are considered. The second two consider different aspects of the trajectory planning problem, while the last two deal with observer design for mobile robotic and Euler-Lagrange systems respectively.In Papers A and B, a combinatorial optimization based framework to cooperative surveillance missions using multiple Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) is proposed. In particular, Paper A considers the the Minimum Time UGV Surveillance Problem (MTUSP) while Paper B treats the Connectivity Constrained UGV Surveillance Problem (CUSP). The minimum time formulation is the following. Given a set of surveillance UGVs and a polyhedral area, find waypoint-paths for all UGVs such that every point of the area is visible from a point on a waypoint-path and such that the time for executing the search in parallel is minimized. The connectivity constrained formulation extends the MTUSP by additionally requiring the induced information graph to be kept recurrently connected at the time instants when the UGVs perform the surveillance mission. In these two papers, the NP-hardness of both these problems are shown and decomposition techniques are proposed that allow us to find an approximative solution efficiently in an algorithmic manner.Paper C addresses the problem of designing a real time, high performance trajectory planner for an aerial vehicle that uses information about terrain and enemy threats, to fly low and avoid radar exposure on the way to a given target. The high-level framework augments Receding Horizon Control (RHC) with a graph based terminal cost that captures the global characteristics of the environment. An important issue with RHC is to make sure that the greedy, short term optimization does not lead to long term problems, which in our case boils down to two things: not getting into situations where a collision is unavoidable, and making, QC 20100622, TAIS, AURES

The U.S. Department of Defense has come a long way in the last 5 years when it comes to fielding and employing unmanned ground vehicles. In 2003 with operations in Afghanistan, three Packbots were sent to the theater of operations to support cave reconnaissance. The systems worked so well that there were calls for more. Then came the idea of using ground robots to defeat improvised explosive devices. Experiences with these robots in theatre proved such a success that today there are more than 6,000 unmanned ground vehicles in the inventory, the majority of them serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. No doubt about it, ground robotics are and forever more will be part of the materiel that enables our Service members to conduct their missions. With such a rapid adoption of this technology, most of which was acquired through rapid means, it is worth taking some time to consider whether the Department is fully prepared to test and evaluate the new robotic systems that will be called for in the future. Key words, Published in the ITEA Journal, v29 n4 p329-331, Dec 2008.

The Army is on the cusp of a paradigm shift. It has been mandated that one-third of Army vehicles are to be robotic beginning in 2015. So what progress is the Army making? Just around the corner is a new breed of robots that will impact how the Army moves and fights. This journal article describes the MULE. The MULE is the multifunctional vehicle developed by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control (LM MFC) as part of the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. The MULE is a family of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) that will be in the 7,000 pound class of medium robots. Within 20 years, the MULE will be commonplace in every brigade in the Army. What makes these systems unique is the mobility, processing power, networked connectivity, and robot size. The MULE family consists of three robotic vehicles: the MULE Transport (MULE-T), the MULE Countermine (MULE-C), and the Armed Robotic Vehicle-Assault (Light) (ARV-A(L)). Each variant will lighten Soldier burdens in the near future. The MULE family is based on a common mobility platform that serves as the vehicle's backbone. The common mobility platform is a 6-wheeled chassis housing power and propulsion systems, computers, Autonomous Navigation System (ANS) hardware, and vehicle cooling components. By using this common mobility platform, maintenance will be simplified and common across formations. This will ease logistics burdens for multiple spare parts as well as decrease the amount of training Soldiers will need to conduct repairs. Power and propulsion within the common mobility platform will provide a vehicle that has extreme capabilities for its weight. With its engineering model, the Engineering Evaluation Unit (EEU), the MULE has demonstrated power to tow a vehicle 3.5 times heavier than itself. This flexibility will allow the robot to support limited vehicle recovery operations within brigades, freeing Soldiers and equipment from these dull and sometimes dangerous tasks., Published in Army AL&T, p27-29, Apr-Jun 2008.

To help guide alternative assessments and experiments for the development of a high fidelity synthetic environment (HFSE), an initial set of Use Cases was developed based on Capability Gaps identified in the U.S. Army/U.S. Marine Corps Ground Robotics Master Plan (Robotics Systems Joint Project Office (RS JPO), 2007). Four specific scenarios were developed in which an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is employed to contribute to a mission. The Use Cases are narrative descriptions of a sequence of actions a Warfighter equipped with a UGV, would undertake to accomplish a goal. The Use Cases do not identify requirements, but rather imply them in the stories they tell, leaving it up to an analyst to identify the requirements. The Use Cases avoid identifying or describing specific platforms, but rather create opportunities for analysts to identify capabilities. The Use Cases developed will provide the structure in which we can analyze both the HFSE and the UGV performance in the HFSE., Sponsored by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics/Portfolio Systems Acquisition, Land Warfare and Munitions, Joint Ground Robotics Enterprise.

This paper addresses the problem of concurrent task- and path planning for a number of surveillance Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) such that a user defined area of interest is covered by the UGVs' sensors in minimum time. We first formulate the problem, and show that it is in fact a generalization of the Multiple Traveling Salesmen Problem (MTSP), which is known to be NP-hard. We then propose a solution that decomposes the problem into three subproblems. The first is to find a maximal convex covering of the search area. Most results on static coverage use disjoint partitions of the search area, e.g. triangulation, to convert the continuous sensor positioning problem into a discrete one. However, by a simple example, we show that a highly overlapping set of maximal convex sets is better suited for minimum time coverage. The second subproblem is a combinatorial assignment and ordering of the sets in the cover. Since Tabu search algorithms are known to perform well on various routing problems, we use it as a part of our proposed solution. Finally, the third subproblem utilizes a particular shortest path sub-routine in order to find the vehicle paths, and calculate the overall objective function used in the Tabu search. The proposed algorithm is illustrated by a number of simulation examples., QC 20100622

This paper presents a method to forecast terrain trafficability from visual appearance. During training, the system identifies a set of image chips (or exemplars) that span the range of terrain appearance. Each chip is assigned a vector tag of vehicle-terrain interaction characteristics that are obtained from on-board sensors and simple performance models, as the vehicle traverses the terrain. The system uses the exemplars to segment images into regions, based on visual similarity to the terrain patches observed during training, and assigns the appropriate vehicle-terrain interaction tag to them. This methodology will therefore allow the online forecasting of vehicle performance on upcoming terrain. Currently, we are using fuzzy c-means clustering and exploring a number of different features for characterizing the visual appearance of the terrain., Published in Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2007), p895-900, 2007. ISBN: 978-1-4244-0912-9. The original document contains color images.

This thesis was part of the ongoing research conducted at the Naval Postgraduate School to achieve greater collaboration between heterogeneous autonomous vehicles. The research addresses optimal control issues in the collaboration between an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Autonomous Ground Vehicles (AGV). The scenario revolves around using the camera onboard the UAV to extend the effective field of view of the AGV. For military operations, this could be helpful in improving security for convoys and riverine patrols. There were three main problems addressed in this thesis. The first problem dealt with the design of a UAV control law that takes into consideration the relative speed differences between the UAV and the AGV. The UAV was assumed to have a greater speed compared to the AGV in this thesis. The second was the keystone field of view projection effect of the UAV's onboard camera onto the earth. The image captured by the camera was distorted due to the view angle of the camera from a high elevation. The third problem addressed was control of the location of the UAV to ensure the reliability of the communication network between the UAV and the AGV. The communication was assumed to be a linear function of the relative positions of the UAV and the AGV., The original document contains color images.