The Bot Board (BOTS)

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MULE Passes Autonomous-Navigation Tests

By KRIS OSBORN


A barrier-climbing, machine-gun shooting, 10-foot robot called the Multifunction Utility Logistics Equipment Vehicle (MULE) exceeded expectations by guiding itself around obstacles during a recent test of its autonomous navigation systems at Camp Gruber, Okla., said U.S. Army officials.
The MULE climbed over large objects, made fast decisions and avoided obstacles without needing human direction, said U.S. Army Maj. David Byers, assistant program manager for the MULE. “It cleared a quarter-meter step to get up on a platform. Then it perceived a gap, crossed the gap, then cleared the ramp. It is not just going from point A to point B, it is ‘I have a problem; how do I solve it?’”
The MULE keeps itself on course with GPS and inertial navigation systems.
“Essentially, the system will have a terrain map in it, and the sensors will look out and compare what it sees with what it thinks it knows and correlate that information together. It has a constant knowledge of where it is on the battlefield,” said Don Nimblett, manager for business development for unmanned systems at Lockheed Martin.
But MULE developers say it may be several years until the robot can function by itself in a hostile combat environment alongside troops.
Designed to fly underneath a UH-60 Blackhawk, the 7,000-pound MULE will come in three variants: a cargo variant to carry ammo and supplies, a sensor variant to sniff out explosive, and a fighting version armed with 7.62mm machine guns and up to four Javelin fire-and-forget anti-tank missiles, said Byers.
The fighting MULE will use computers to find and track several targets simultaneously, but will not fire without a human’s command.
“With its automatic target recognition, it can identify, target, track and monitor several different battle space objects so you can tell it to kill one of several targets at any one time,” said Byers. “There will still be a man-in-the-loop to fire the weapons on this platform. That will not change. There will have to be somebody to clear that fire to make sure that it is okay to shoot.”
Being developed by Lockheed Martin in a $61 million deal, the MULE is slated to enter service by 2014 as part of the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems program. Lockheed plans to deliver 17 to 19 prototypes, beginning in 2010. The MULE’s autonomous navigation systems are made by General Dynamic’s Robotics Systems.
A loaded MULE will be tested at the Dallas Naval Air Station this August, said Byers.
“The next big milestone [in August] is fully integrating the autonomous navigation system and then loading the vehicle down with a payload and then seeing how it handles the payload,” Byers said.
Each of the robot’s six wheels is mounted on an articulating leg that can extend 270 degrees to allow the MULE to stretch, crawl, and pull itself over objects.
“Essentially, the system will have a terrain map in it, and the sensors will look out and compare what it sees with what it thinks it knows and correlate that information together. It has a constant knowledge of where it is on the battlefield,” said Don Nimblett, manager for business development for unmanned systems at Lockheed Martin.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=2835047&C=america