Autonomous military ground robots hunted targets during a demonstration at Fort Knox, Kentucky, while human supervisors maintained remote control.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency tested four uncrewed ground vehicles last month to map terrain and gather intelligence without GPS.
The demonstration formed part of the Robotic Autonomy in Complex Environments with Resiliency program, known as RACER. Officials want to understand how uncrewed ground vehicles handle contested environments where signals face interference.
“We’re moving sensors and effectors forward to the tactical edge while keeping the operator in safety out of harm’s way,” said Jason Gregory, technical advisor at DARPA, Business Insider reported.
Human operators supervised the robots using satellite imagery during the Kentucky exercise. One uncrewed vehicle stopped after locating a target inside a closed box, prompting the human operator to launch a simulated rocket.
Testing movement without global positioning systems
Ground robots relied entirely on onboard sensors and newly developed software to move without GPS signals. The system allowed vehicles to build terrain maps while moving across obstacles.
“We developed this new software so that ground vehicles could use only their onboard sensors to make decisions to move as fast as possible,” Gregory said.
Engineers tested the autonomy software on both four-wheel all-terrain vehicles and tracked systems. The RACER program incorporated five years of artificial intelligence research and drew observations from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Operating challenges in varied terrain
Autonomous ground systems face severe environmental hurdles depending on climate and geography. Desert heat strains batteries and communication equipment while vehicles move through sand and rocks.
Forests, swamplands, muddy fields, and snow require rapid adaptation from autonomous movement algorithms. DARPA shares its operational lessons with the wider United States military and commercial industry partners.
Questions about DARPA vehicle testing
What vehicles did DARPA use in the test?
Engineers tested four-wheel all-terrain uncrewed ground vehicles and tracked robotic systems during the demonstration.
Where did the demonstration take place?
The testing occurred at Fort Knox in Kentucky last month.
How do the robots move without GPS?
The uncrewed vehicles use onboard sensors and newly developed software to build terrain maps dynamically while moving.
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