army

FORT HOOD, Texas--Soldiers and civilian contractors braved the heat here this week for the first Robotics Rodeo to view and interact with a long lineup of robot systems and to give feedback on which ones could potentially find a place in the U.S. Army's robo stable.

Despite the hundreds of military robots that show up in concept or as prototypes on company Web sites and corporate reports, humans still do the fighting on the ground and it's likely to stay that way for a while. However, there's a growing niche for "the dirty, the dull, … Read more

FORT HOOD, Texas--John Deere, a household name in the Lone Star state, is hoping the brand will carry over into the market for military unmanned runabouts.

At the Robotics Rodeo taking place this week here at this massive Army post, the company is demonstrating its R-Gator standalone, autonomous mule, which is based on its M-Gator model already in the field. Applications include reconnaissance, patrol, hauling supplies (up to 1,400 lbs.), casualty evacuation, and the "marsupial" capability--namely the ferrying and remote deployment of smaller, specialized robots. (PDF)

The unit uses John Deere's NavCom technology, GPS, and … Read more

Best known for its Roomba vacuums, iRobot also counts the U.S. Army as a top customer. And the latest Army deal is the company's single biggest.

iRobot said Tuesday it has received an order from the U.S. Army for $35.3 million for robots equipped to help soldiers safely evaluate dangerous conditions.

The order, made by the U.S. Army TACOM Contracting Center in Warren, Mich., calls for 486 iRobot PackBot 510 with FasTac Kit robots by March 31, 2010. This single order is part of an overall larger contract worth $286 million, of which $125 million … Read more

The British Army is currently considering a new vehicle that features an interior "survivability" capsule strung from the ceiling and "tunable" armor, both designed to cushion soldiers against improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other blasts.

In addition to the cushy interior, the Ranger sports the now-popular boat-shaped hull, armored belly plates, floating floor, and energy-absorbing suspended seats, providing soldiers with an unprecedented level of protection, according to the producer Universal Engineering.

Hoping to land a sale, Universal is pitching the Ranger as a solution to other problems, which it identifies as redundancy and over-specialization.

"Currently, … Read more

While unmanned air vehicles are putting pilots out of business, a new U.S. Army-funded robot could do the same for rescuers and stevedores.

The humanoid BEAR (Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot) can locate victims in a mine shaft, battlefield, toxic spill, or earthquake-damaged structure. And then it can lift them up and then carry them over long distances to safety, according to the manufacturer Vecna Robotics. And it does this without risking any more lives (PDF).

The challenge was to enhance search and rescue while reducing the time military, police, and emergency response personnel have to risk their lives each day. … Read more

The Excalibur, a new turbine-electric hybrid propelled VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) unmanned attack drone, has successfully completed another test flight after taking on two new onboard computers last week.

Developed by Aurora Flight Sciences Corp. for the U.S. Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate and the Office of Naval Research, the Excalibur is another radical robo-craft concept vying to fill the military's burgeoning demand for specialized UAVs.

The demonstrator model, weighing in at 700 pounds, can hit 520 mph, making it one of the fastest drones around, according to the Aurora. The nearly autonomous flight control system allows … Read more

The U.S. Army on Friday detailed what it expects to be the Department of Defense's largest solar energy project--a 500-megawatt installation at the Fort Irwin base in the Mojave Desert in California.

The solar power will be generated by both photovoltaic panels and solar concentrators, which make heat that is converted into electricity through a turbine. The equipment will be installed in phases, according to Clark Energy Group, which was chosen along with Acciona Solar Power to do the installation. By comparison, the generating capacity of a natural gas or coal power plant could be between 600 megawatts … Read more

The first of three state-of-the-art combat training centers for the Swiss Army is open for business.

The SIMUG live simulation platform for field training, located in Bure, uses laser-based simulators to enable highly realistic training exercises, according to developer RUAG Electronics (PDF).

The training site allows up to company-size units to deploy with their entire combined arms arsenal. Trainees are wired with laser-firing simulators, and both humans and vehicles are connected by transponders and W-LAN to a central control. Their position and status are recorded in real time to be presented in a multimedia debriefing after an exercise. Battlefield effects … Read more

Can robots be more humane than humans in fighting wars? Robotics engineer Ronald Arkin of the Georgia Institute of Technology believes this is a not-too-distant possibility. He has just finished a three-year contract with the U.S. Army designing software to create ethical robots.

As robots are increasingly being used by the U.S. military, Arkin has devoted his lifework to configuring robots with a built-in "guilt system" that eventually could make them better at avoiding civilian casualties than human soldiers. These military robots would be embedded with internationally prescribed laws of war and rules of engagement, such … Read more