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Robotics has been identified by numerous recent Department of Defense (DOD) studies as a key enabling technology for future military operational concepts. The Demo III Program is a multiyear effort encompassing technology development and demonstration on testbed platforms, together with modeling simulation and experimentation directed toward optimization of operational concepts to employ this technology. Primary program focus is the advancement of capabilities for autonomous mobility through unstructured environments, concentrating on both perception and intelligent control technology. The scout mission will provide the military operational context for demonstration of this technology, although a significant emphasis is being placed upon both hardware and software modularity to permit rapid extension to other military missions. The Experimental Unmanned Vehicle (XUV) is a small (approximately 1150 kg, V-22 transportable) technology testbed vehicle designed for experimentation with multiple military operational concepts. Currently under development, the XUV is scheduled for roll-out in Summer 1999, with an initial troop experimentation to be conducted in September 1999. Though small, and relatively lightweight, modeling has shown the chassis capable of automotive mobility comparable to the current Army lightweight high-mobility, multipurpose, wheeled vehicle (HMMWV). The XUV design couples multisensor perception with intelligent control to permit autonomous cross-country navigation at speeds of up to 32 kph during daylight and 16 kph during hours of darkness. A small, lightweight, highly capable user interface will permit intuitive control of the XUV by troops from current-generation tactical vehicles. When it concludes in 2002, Demo III will provide the military with both the technology and the initial experience required to develop and field the first generation of semi-autonomous tactical ground vehicles for combat, combat support, and logistics applications.
Shoemaker et al. (Thu,) studied this question.