Unmanned ground vehicle
Encyclopedia
Military robot
Military robots are autonomous robots or remote-controlled devices designed for military applications.Such systems are currently being researched by a number of militaries.-History:...
used to augment the soldiers capability. This type of robot is generally capable of operating outdoors and over a wide variety of terrain
Terrain
Terrain, or land relief, is the vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used...
, functioning in place of humans.
UGVs have counterparts in aerial warfare
Aerial warfare
Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare, including military airlift of cargo to further the national interests as was demonstrated in the Berlin Airlift...
(unmanned aerial vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
) and naval warfare
Naval warfare
Naval warfare is combat in and on seas, oceans, or any other major bodies of water such as large lakes and wide rivers.-History:Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Land warfare would seem, initially, to be irrelevant and entirely removed from warfare on the open ocean,...
(remotely operated underwater vehicles). Unmanned robotics are actively being developed for both civilian and military use to perform dull, dirty, and dangerous activities. Some UGVs are employed in the current War in Iraq.
Armament
An unmanned ground combat vehicleCombat vehicle
A combat vehicle, also known as a ground combat vehicle, is a self-propelled, weaponized military vehicle used for combat operations. Combat vehicles can be wheeled or tracked.- Automation :...
(UGCV) is an autonomous, all terrain unmanned ground vehicle designed for combat
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
.
Guidance
There are two general classes of unmanned ground vehicles: teleoperated and autonomous.Teleoperated
A teleoperated UGV is a vehicle that is controlled by a human operator at a remote location via a communications link. All cognitive processes are provided by the operator based upon sensory feedback from either line-of-sight visual observation or remote sensory input such as video cameras. A basic example of the principles of teleoperation would be a toy remote control car. Each of the vehicles are unmanned and controlled at a distance via a wired or wireless connection while the user provides all control based upon observed performance of the vehicle.
There are a wide variety of teleoperated UGVs in use today. Predominantly these vehicle are used to replace humans in hazardous situations. Examples are explosives and bomb disabling vehicles.
- Unmanned Snatch Land RoverSnatch Land RoverThe Snatch Land Rover is a protected patrol vehicle, based around the Land Rover Defender 110 chassis, intended for general patrolling in low-threat areas and is the successor to the Truck Utility Medium with Vehicle Protection Kit...
. - Frontline Robotics Teleoperated UGV (TUGV)
- Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Ground VehicleGladiator Tactical Unmanned Ground VehicleThe Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicle was a remotely operated unmanned ground vehicle employed by the United States Marine Corps. It is described as the world's first multipurpose combat robot....
(used by the United States Marine CorpsUnited States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
) - iRobotIRobotiRobot Corporation is an American advanced technology company founded in 1990 and incorporated in Delaware in 2000, the iRobot Corporation designs robots such as an autonomous home vacuum cleaner , the Scooba that scrubs and cleans hard floors, and military and police robots, such as the PackBot...
PackBotPackBotPackBot is a series of military robots by iRobot. More than 2000 PackBots are currently on station in Iraq and Afghanistan, with hundreds more on the way.-Current PackBot 510 variants:... - Foster-MillerFoster-MillerFoster-Miller, Inc., is a United States based military robotics manufacturer, a division of the United Kingdom's QinetiQ North America. Its two best-known products are TALON robots and LAST Armor....
TALONFoster-Miller TALONThe Foster-Miller TALON robot is a small, tracked military robot designed for missions ranging from reconnaissance to combat. Over 3000 TALON robots have been deployed to combat theaters. -Overview:... - RemotecRemotecRemotec is a business-to-business provider, operating from Hong Kong and Shenzhen. It was founded in 1988 under the name of .-Timeline:*1988 - Launched the first programmable Universal Remote Control...
ANDROS F6A - Autonomous Solutions Chaos
- Mesa Associates Tactical Integrated Light-Force Deployment Assembly (MATILDAMatilda-People:* Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England* Matilda , list of people named Matilda* Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror* Matilda of Tuscany-Media and entertainment:* Matilda , by Roald Dahl...
) - Vecna Robotics Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot (BEAR)
- G-NIUS Autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicles (Israel Aerospace Industries/Elbit SystemsElbit SystemsElbit Systems Ltd. is one of the world's largest defense electronics manufacturers and integrators. Established in 1967, and based in Haifa, Israel, Elbit employs 11,000 people worldwide....
joint ventureJoint ventureA joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
) GuardiumGuardiumThe Guardium is an Israeli unmanned security vehicle , created by G-NIUS, an Autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicles joint venture company established by Israel Aerospace Industries and Elbit Systems. The unmanned vehicle can guard areas and attack any trespassers using lethal or less-lethal weaponry.-... - Robowatch ASENDRO
- Kairos Autonomi - Pronto4 System
- Ripsaw MS1 http://www.howeandhowe.com/ms1-weaponized.html
- DRDO DakshDRDO DakshDaksh is an electrically powered and remotely controlled robot used for locating, handling and destroying hazardous objects safely. It is a battery-operated robot on wheels and its primary role is to recover improvised explosive devices . It locates IEDs with an X-ray machine, picks them up with a...
- VIPeRVIPeRVIPeR is a military robot developed by the Israeli company Elbit Systems and intended for use in warfare. It was unveiled in March, 2007.- Testing :...
- DOK-INGDOK-INGDOK-ING d.o.o is a large Croatian producer of unmanned multi-purpose vehicles established in 1992. DOK-ING is also developing a small electric city car called the XD.-Mine Clearance Vehicles:*MV-4*MV-10-International Users:-External links:* *...
mine clearing, firefighting, and underground mining UGV's - MacroUSA Armadillo V2 Micro UGV (MUGV) and Scorpion SUGV
- Nova 5Nova 5Nova 5 is an autonomous robot designed for intelligent search and rescue applications by two electronics engineers and brothers Fady and Sami Khaled. Unlike remote-controlled robots, Nova 5 uses artificial intelligence to interpret its surroundings, process the information and then navigate...
- RC Rover® Unmanned Ground Systems
Autonomous
An autonomous UGV is essentially an autonomous robot
Autonomous robot
Autonomous robots are robots that can perform desired tasks in unstructured environments without continuous human guidance. Many kinds of robots have some degree of autonomy. Different robots can be autonomous in different ways...
but is specifically a vehicle that operates on the surface of the ground.
A fully autonomous robot in the real world has the ability to:
- Gain information about the environment.
- Work for extended durations without human intervention.
- Travel from point A to point B, without human navigation assistance.
- Avoid situations that are harmful to people, property or itself, unless those are part of its design specifications
- Repair itself without outside assistance.
- Detect objects of interest such as people and vehicles.
A robot may also be able to learn autonomously. Autonomous learning includes the ability to:
- Learn or gain new capabilities without outside assistance.
- Adjust strategies based on the surroundings.
- Adapt to surroundings without outside assistance.
Autonomous robots still require regular maintenance, as with all machines.
Some examples of autonomous UGV technology are:
- Google's autonomous car project
- Mobile Detection Assessment and Response System (MDARS)
- VisLab's autonomous car
- Family of Integrated Rapid Response Equipment TAGS UGV
- Army Research Lab eXperimental Unmanned Vehicle (XUV)
- TAGS-CX
- Kairos Autonomi - Pronto4 System
- CMU's Crusher UGV
- Future Combat Systems MULE UGV
- Robowatch OFRO
- SPAWAR Urban Exploration System
- SPAWAR Man-portable Robotic System
See also
- 4D-RCS Reference Model Architecture4D-RCS Reference Model ArchitectureThe 4D/RCS Reference Model Architecture is a reference model for military unmanned vehicles on how their software components should be identified and organized.4D/RCS has been developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology...
- Autonomous logisticsAutonomous logisticsAutonomous logistics describes systems that provide unmanned, autonomous transfer of equipment, baggage, people, information or resources from point-to-point with minimal intervention...
- Black Knight (Unmanned Combat Vehicle)Black Knight (Unmanned Combat Vehicle)The Black Knight is a prototype Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle designed by BAE Systems. Similar in size and appearance to a tank, it is armed with a turret-mounted 30mm gun and a coaxial machine gun...
- CrusherCrusher (robot)Crusher is a autonomous off-road Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle developed by researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center for DARPA. It is a follow up on the previous Spinner vehicle...
- Driverless carDriverless carAn autonomous car, also known as robotic or informally as driverless, is an autonomous vehicle capable of fulfilling the human transportation capabilities of a traditional car. As an autonomous vehicle, it is capable of sensing its environment and navigating on its own...
- Goliath tracked mineGoliath tracked mineThe Goliath tracked mine - complete German name: Leichter Ladungsträger Goliath - was a remote controlled German-engineered demolition vehicle, also known as the beetle tank to Allies....
- JAUSJAUSJoint Architecture for Unmanned Systems , formerly known as Joint Architecture for Unmanned Ground Systems , was originally an initiative by the United States Department of Defense to develop an open architecture for the domain of unmanned systems.In order to ensure that the architecture is...
, a popular message set for controlling UGVs - MillenWorksMillenWorksMillenWorks, known as Rod Millen Motorsports until 2005, is an automotive technology company started by Rod Millen in 1980. The company began by preparing Millen's rally cars, and evolved into designing and building them...
- Multifunctional Utility/Logistics and EquipmentMultifunctional Utility/Logistics and EquipmentThe Multi-Mission Unmanned Ground Vehicle, previously known as the Multifunction Utility/Logistics and Equipment vehicle , was an autonomous unmanned ground combat vehicle developed by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control for the United States Army's Future Combat Systems and BCT Modernization...
- Remotely operated underwater vehicle
- Unmanned aerial vehicleUnmanned aerial vehicleAn unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
- VisLabVisLabThe Artificial Vision and Intelligent Systems Laboratory of the University of Parma is the artificial vision research laboratory of University of Parma, Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione....
, preparing their unique VIACVIACVIAC, the VisLab Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge, is the challenge conceived by VisLabas an extremetest ofautonomous vehicles.It ran from July 26, 2010 to October 28, 2010, involving four driverless vehicles driving with...
challenge (driving from Italy to China with autonomous vehicles)