June 28, 2018 | International, C4ISR
By Matthew Cox
Army robotics officials at Fort Benning, Georgia are trying to give individual soldiers the capability to control swarms of air and ground robotic systems for missions that often require large numbers of troops to accomplish.
U.S. ground forces have used small ground robots and unmanned aerial systems for years, but only on a small scale, said Don Sando, director Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate at Benning.
"To really get a large benefit from robotic systems, we have to break the one-soldier, one-robot link, because right now, you generally need one operator for one robotic system and that is effective and interesting, but when I can have dozens of robotic systems controlled by one soldier, now I have a significant advantage," Sando told a group of defense reporters today on a conference call.
A single soldier could conduct reconnaissance over "large areas with fewer soldiers and many dozens of robotic systems," Sando said.
"That starts to matter especially in conditions such as dense urban environment," Sando said. "The problem with urban environments is they consume soldiers ... limited lines of sight, tunnels, buildings -- all the things that just take manpower to overcome and control.
"If we can expand that with robotic systems, both air and ground, then that has significant impact."
The concept could be developed to enhance communications battlefields when networks are hampered by enemy activity as well as natural obstacles.
"If our communications infrastructure is going to be contested, as we know it will, then how can I regenerate quickly and effectively in a given area with robotic systems, both air and ground, to create that network?" Sando said.
CDID officials are developing a common controller that can control air and ground robots regardless of the model.
"We are very close on that; we did some assessment last year. We proved the feasibility of about three different versions of controllers that can effectively control air and ground robotic systems," Sando said. "The advantage to that is a soldier only has to learn one system as opposed to every robot has its own unique controller."
The goal is to make a decision on a common controller by late fiscal 2019, Sando said.
But the problem is more than just choosing the right controller.
"How do you train a soldier, and how do you train leaders to do that? Sando said. "It's one thing to have two hands on your rifle -- one soldier, one system. It's one thing to be a small unit leader, to have a few subordinate leaders under your control -- it's something else to have dozens of under your control."
Organizations continue to come to Benning to "practice and develop algorithms to employ swarming unmanned aerial systems," Sando said.
"The next thing beyond that is OK, how do I swarm ground robotic systems? How can I do that?" he said. "That is the thing we are least developed on and that's the thing we want to start trying to emphasize.
"We are going to continue to develop that and test that and I think that poses the next really large return on investment as we expand robotic systems."
September 7, 2022 | International, Naval
The U.S. Navy's climate strategy paints climate change as one of the 'most destabilizing forces of our time,' aggravating other national security issues.
April 21, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Nathan Strout The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has issued nine new contracts to companies developing drone swarm technologies, the agency announced April 13. Through the agency's Offensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics program, or OFFSET, it hopes to foster technology developments that will enable 250 small unmanned air or ground robots to work together in support of the war fighter. The program works in five main areas: swarm tactics, swarm autonomy, human-swarm teaming, virtual environment and physical test bed. The agency has hosted multiple swarm sprints to encourage rapid innovation in one or more of those areas. The nine awards mark the fifth such swarm sprint, with this one focused on swarm tactics and physical test beds in an urban environment. “The urban environment presents compelling challenges such as tall buildings, tight spaces, and limited sight lines,” Timothy Chung, the OFFSET program manager in DARPA's Tactical Technology Office, said in an agency news release. “Enhancing the Swarm Physical Testbeds that tackle those unique challenges is a desired goal of the OFFSET program.” Four of the participants will be tackling the swarm tactics portion of the sprint, where they will be asked to solve problems such as “disrupting the opposition's decision making, obfuscating swarm intent, updating maps of a dynamic environment, and maintaining the swarm's communications indoors.” The remaining five performers will work on the physical test bed thrust area, which includes reducing deployment times, utilizing new navigation sensors, incorporating fixed-wing aircraft into the swarm and enhancing mobility for robotic, wheeled vehicles in urban settings. Participants will incorporate their technologies into the OFFSET swarm systems architecture to demonstrate their respective solutions, with field tests taking place in December 2020. The recipients are as follows: Thrust area: Physical test bed Michigan Technological University/Michigan Tech Research Institute Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory HDT Expeditionary Systems, Inc. Sentien Robotics Texas A&M University Thrust area: Swarm tactics Michigan Technological University/Michigan Tech Research Institute Charles River Analytics, Inc. Soar Technology, Inc. Northwestern University https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2020/04/20/darpa-to-foster-urban-drone-swarm-tech-with-nine-new-contracts/
November 4, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
ARMY RC Construction Co. and Millstone Weber JV, Greenwood, Mississippi, was awarded an $81,499,929 firm-fixed-price contract for removal and replacement of existing electrical equipment, including airfield lighting and lighting vault equipment, and the reconstruction of Runway 05-23 at Pope Army Airfield. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with an estimated completion date of May 1, 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $81,499,929 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W912HN-21-C-3001). Phylway Construction LLC, Thibodaux, Louisiana, was awarded a $59,310,781 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of hurricane protection features in Plaquemines Parrish, Louisiana. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work will be performed in New Orleans, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 10, 2024. Fiscal 2020 civil construction funds in the amount of $59,310,781 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Mississippi, is the contracting activity (W912P8-21-C-0002). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Medtronic USA Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been awarded a maximum $62,658,150 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for spinal orthopedic procedural packages. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods. Location of performance is Minnesota, with a Nov. 2, 2021, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DE-21-D-0001). NAVY Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Chandler, Arizona, is awarded a $57,096,626 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract provides for the manufacture and delivery of 19 full rate production Lot 14 GQM-163A Coyote supersonic sea skimming targets; 16 for the Navy and three for the government of Japan. Additionally, this contract procures associated technical and administrative data. Work will be performed in Camden, Arkansas (43%); Chandler, Arizona (35%); Vergennes, Vermont (8%); Cincinnati, Ohio (4%); Oconomowoc, Wisconsin (4%); Lancaster, Pennsylvania (4%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (2%), and is expected to be completed in December 2023. Fiscal 2020 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $48,081,369; and Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $9,015,257 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-21-C-0005). Detyens Shipyards, Charleston, South Carolina, is awarded an $18,144,376, 76-calendar day, firm-fixed-price contract (N32205-21-C-4015) for the regular overhaul dry-docking availability of the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Leroy Grumman (T-AO 195). The contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the total contract value to $18,144,376. Funds will be obligated Nov. 3, 2020. Work will be performed in Charleston, South Carolina, and is expected to begin Jan. 20, 2021, and be completed by April 5, 2021. Contract funds in the amount of $17,554,850, excluding options, are obligated for fiscal 2021 using working capital funds (Navy). This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the beta.sam.gov website and three offers were received. The Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. HDR Engineering Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina, is awarded a firm-fixed-price task order modification (N40085-19-F-6080) at $8,492,340 under architect/engineer, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for post award construction services in support of Hurricane Florence Recovery Package 2, located at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Hurricane Florence Recovery Package 2 consists of eight separate military construction projects. Work will be performed in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and is expected to be completed by October 2024. Fiscal 2020 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $8,144,376 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-18-D-0601). Sealift Inc. of Delaware, Oyster Bay, New York, is awarded an $8,030,000 option for the fixed-price portion of previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N32205-17-C-3510 with reimbursable elements to exercise a one-year option period to support Military Sealift Command's Sealift program for U.S.-flagged container vessel M/V MAJ Bernard F. Fisher to support the Air Force for the prepositioning and transportation of cargo. The contract includes one 116-day firm period of performance, four one-year option periods, and one 212-day option period, which if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $42,579,948. Work will be performed worldwide and is expected to be completed, if all options are exercised, by June 11, 2022. Transportation working capital funds in the amount of $7,238,000 are obligated for fiscal 2021 and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. Contract funds in the amount of $792,000 for the remainder of Option Four are to be provided for fiscal 2022 and are subject to the availability of funds in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.232-18. This contract was a small business set-aside with more than 50 companies solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website and four offers received. The Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N32205-17-C-3510). AIR FORCE Supertel Network Inc., Melbourne, Florida, has been awarded a $9,099,694 cost-plus-award-fee contract for the Minuteman III Remote Visual Assessment program. Work will be performed in Ogden, Utah; Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana; Minot AFB, North Dakota; and F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 3, 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,181,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Hill AFB, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8214-21-C-0001). *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2403972/source/GovDelivery/