EYES ON THE ENEMY
IN-THEATER ASSESSMENT About 50 of each of these robots will be deployed with forces in various parts of Afghanistan to assess their capabil- ity to perform across different types of combat terrain. The bots will be placed with infantry, engineering, and explosive ordnance disposal units, among others, Way said.
“What we are going to try to do is give a sampling of every type of system downrange across different regions of Afghanistan. More than likely, there will be more than one system needed to an- swer this JUONS,” said Way. The theater assessment in Afghanistan is aimed at informing the development of require- ments for tasks that the systems will need to perform.
“This OCONUS trial will give us the Sol- dier feedback that we need. This will allow us to go to industry and tell them what we want. JIEDDO can then use those precise requirements to support a rapid
WHAT WE ARE GOING TO TRY TO DO IS GIVE A SAMPLING OF EVERY TYPE OF SYSTEM DOWNRANGE ACROSS DIFFERENT REGIONS OF AFGHANISTAN. MORE THAN LIKELY, THERE WILL BE MORE THAN ONE SYSTEM NEEDED TO ANSWER THIS JUONS.
open competition to then field the final solution or solutions fulfilling the war- fighter need,” said Way.
At the same time, the Army-led RS JPO is coordinating efforts across DoD and is working to develop, purchase, and deploy several of the small, mobile throw- able robots such as iRobot’s FirstLook and ReconRobotics Inc.’s Recon Scout XT throwbot.
”
“This is an area of joint interest. JIEDDO has a large part of this, as does the Army’s Rapid Equipping Force (REF) and the Marine Corps. We are all looking at similar systems. RS JPO is trying to do some coor- dination between all of these organizations and see if we can look at the systems that are out there, look at the requirements, and start to posture ourselves for the sustainment and the maintenance of these systems in the long term,” said Thompson.
The anticipated value of the throwbots is driven in part by the frequency of dismounted small-unit and squad patrols in Afghanistan, during which Soldiers and Marines routinely check areas for im- provised explosive devices and insurgent activity, Thompson explained.
At the moment, many units use the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle 320, a 32-pound tactical robot equipped with video reconnaissance technol- ogy; there is a need for something
BOT OPTIONS
QinetiQ’s Dragon Runner features an optional small manipulator arm that can lift about 10 pounds. (Image courtesy of QinetiQ North America Inc.)
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Army AL&T Magazine
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