New generation of unmanned ground vehicles

Citation

(2001), "New generation of unmanned ground vehicles", Industrial Robot, Vol. 28 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2001.04928aab.006

New generation of unmanned ground vehicles

New generation of unmanned ground vehicles

Keywords UK Robotics, Teleoperation, Cameras, X-ray

UK Robotics is a collaborative partner in a project with the US Department of Defense and the UK's Ministry of Defence to help develop the next generation of unmanned ground vehicles (UGV). Currently, teams from UK Robotics in Manchester and the Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico are concentrating on a specific type of vehicle used for the disposal of unexploded ordnance.

UK Robotics is known for its groundbreaking expertise in the areas of robotic control and vision systems. The company's advanced teleoperated controller (ATC) is one of the most advanced teleoperated robotic controllers in the world.

The ATC will lie at the heart of the modular technology being developed by the project. The UK's Defence Evaluation Research Association (DERA) hopes that the new system will harness the power of the ATC, allowing the introduction of teleoperation, as well as increased dexterity into the control of the UGV. In addition, the ATC will facilitate advanced behaviours, such as resolved motion of end effectors and semi-autonomy. These technologies will give the vehicle much greater functionality and accuracy in detailed tasks (see Plate 3).

Sandia's SMART modular software system will allow the user to marshal the UK Robotics systems along with other additional systems that might be thought necessary, such as camera and X-ray. This modular concept, which brings together mature and stable technologies, will be demonstrated for the first time in May next year, and should, in the future, be equally applicable to other unmanned vehicles, including those operating underwater.

Plate 3 DERA robot

UK Robotics has also recently developed a revolutionary surveying system known as light form modeller (LFM). LFM produces geometrically accurate computer models of the environment, usually plant or structures, from real world data. The laser scanner at the core of LFM allows it to easily survey these environments quickly and cost-effectively. LFM consists of a mobile laser scanner connected to a workstation containing a powerful graphics package. The mobile laser scanner offers a 360° field of view, and can capture high resolution data points rapidly. These can then undergo interpretation before being merged together, to provide a 3D visual database, and then combined with known CAD parts and downloaded into a CAD package. It should even be possible to develop the LFM derived model into a real-world simulator for training using models derived from real world data.

For further information, please contact: UK Robotics, Derwent House, Clarence Avenue, Trafford Park, Manchester M17 1QS, UK. Tel: +44 (0)161 876 3200; Fax: +44 (0)161 876 3201.