Applied Perception begins project to investigate soldier-personal robot system based on the segway platform

Citation

(2005), "Applied Perception begins project to investigate soldier-personal robot system based on the segway platform", Industrial Robot, Vol. 32 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2005.04932eab.004

Applied Perception begins project to investigate soldier-personal robot system based on the segway platform

Applied Perception begins project to investigate soldier-personal robot system based on the segway platform

Keywords: Robotics, Military

Applied Perception, Inc. a Pittsburgh based company that develops and licenses robotics-related technologies to market-leading companies in the fields of defense, transportation, and agriculture, has announced that it has been awarded a contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop robotic capabilities for the Segway mobile base.

For this project, API and its partner, the University of Southern California, will develop JAUS-compliant perception, planning, and control capabilities to enable the Segway platform to support soldier-level tactical and logistics applications. In addition to basic cargo hauling and soldier support capabilities, the team will be exploring other potential applications include hazardous materials exploration, sentry duties, UXO detection, and battlefield wounded soldier transport.

Novel aspects of this project include:

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  The use of “passive” sensing approaches along with traditional “active” ones, allowing for stealthy battlefield operation.

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  Developing basic, but robust perception-driven soldier to robot command and control techniques.

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  A focus on supporting the individual soldier with a portable, multi- function robotic system.

For this project, the Segway platform was chosen because of its ready availability, relatively low cost, high speed and carry capacity, and ease of development use. The team will rely on substantial prior work to quickly develop and demonstrate the prototype system

Todd Jochem, President of Applied Perception says, “We are extremely pleased that our team has been selected for this project and we will have the opportunity to again work with DARPA. Not only does it represent an opportunity to develop ground- breaking technology that can be deployed quickly and cost-effectively, but also represents our first chance to work closely with our colleagues at USC”. He added, “As the agile robotics field continues to emerge, it is important to establish ties to all the leading players and think about the costs associated with deploying the technology. This project represents progress on both fronts”.

In addition to the technical developments required for this project, API will be using their jLib toolkit to add JAUS compliance to the Segway platform. This means that the platform and all the capabilities it provides will be interoperable with other JAUS compliant robots and operator control units. In addition, it allows the team to leverage significant prior investment in technology and infrastructure development, which shortens development time, reduces costs, and makes supportability and maintainability of the system easier.

“For us, the ability to use our previously developed capabilities quickly and easily allows us to be more competitive”, Jochem states. “In the end, this means we can grow the business and add more jobs, further establishing us as a sustainable agile robotics company that leverages DoD investment in the commercial marketplace”.

“The award of this contract is yet another indication of Southwestern Pennsylvania's leadership in agile robotics technology and system integration”, commented William A. Thomasmeyer, President of the National Center for Defense Robotics, an initiative of The Technology Collaborative. “The region's universities and companies are leading the way not only in research and development but in rapidly adapting and integrating these technologies onto low-cost, off-the-shelf platforms such as the Segway. What's particularly interesting about this project is its potential to not only meet government needs but to evolve into a compelling product with significant commercial potential as well”.

For more information, contact: Todd Jochem, Ph.D., of Applied Perception, Inc. Tel: þ1-724-934-8965; E-mail: todd@appliedperception.com; web site: www.appliedperception.com