Recent testing at Fort Hood, TX showed state-of-the-art autonomy for critically needed applications for the US Army.
Unmanned operations in snow and rain.
Owners Karl Murphy (L) and Alberto Lacaze (R) in front of an unmanned Stryker vehicle.
Collaborative Technology Alliance (RCTA)
U.S. Army Research Laboratory’s (ARL) Collaborative Technology Alliances (CTA) Program -- Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance (RCTA)
Dr. Jonathan Bornstein, Chief, Army Research Laboratory Robotics Program Office, Collaborative Alliance Manager for the Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance.
General Dynamics Robotic Systems (GDRS) is the Lead Industrial Organization for the U.S. Army Research Laboratory’s Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance (RCTA). Robotic Research, LLC is a member of RCTA.
The Robotics Alliance, comprised of industrial, academic, and government laboratory partners, identifies and investigates critical gaps in unmanned systems technology and develops and tests solutions that will enable an unmanned vehicle to observe its environment, orient itself, make decisions, and act in a way that effectively carries out its assigned mission.
The RCTA has advanced from initial development and assessment of autonomous mobility capability for military operations to transitioning foundational robotic technology to Army programs, such as VTI and ANS. The goal is to enable unmanned vehicles to be co-combatants with teams of Soldiers in complex tactical environments. Key technologies emerging from RCTA research include advanced perception solutions; intelligent control and tactical behaviors algorithms; command, control, and communicate technologies, Soldier-Machine Interfaces, and a better understanding of workload and trust-in-automation issues.
A major dimension of RCTA research is integrating and testing developing technology on experimental platforms so that solutions can be proved before they are transitioned to other military partners. The team’s experimentation allows the members to provide the military with the information necessary to design and develop future unmanned systems.
