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RRAI is proud to support the US Army's Robotic Combat Vehicle "RCV" team by bringing autonomy to the forefront of modern formations. While the original design for the Government’s autonomy efforts centered around teleoperation and remote operation, anyone who has ever done a road-trip across windy and undulating terrain can tell you operating a gaming device from the backseat of a moving vehicle is a recipe for a lost lunch. That’s why we are passionate about bringing reliable and operator-centric autonomy to robotic platforms.

Autonomous systems are coming to every conflict, in all domains. Ground combat systems present a preponderance of Western force's arsenals and are heavily reliant on humans for everything from indirect fires to logistics. RRAI and the commercial industry are pushing the boundaries of delivering autonomy to these systems by leveraging private funding to develop, test, and harden “tomorrow’s technologies” (i.e., things in the realm of science and technology programs) for warfighters today.

Within the Army, the RCV is the first of a fleet of new combat vehicles which will not only operate in these conflicts but also present the most efficient means of deterring major wars. Soldiers' lives in Ukraine and in future conflicts can be preserved and protected by augmenting formations with robotic partners that can project the threat of force. Future programs using the robotic concept need to overcome the long times that typically exist between concept development, materiel design, production, and the ultimate deployment. Put simply, rapid innovation is difficult, but not impossible.

The base platform design for RCV is a novel uncrewed ground vehicle equipped with an integrated drive-by-wire system.  Designed to host modular payloads, the RCV is a multi-role sensing and weapons platform which could service mechanized and cavalry formations. The Department's approach – pairing the best of vehicle hardware systems with the best of autonomy hardware and software – enables the program to address emerging threats and requirements without taking the design back to a “blank sheet” or initial design. More importantly, it is a phenomenal solution to rapid innovation, development, and fielding.

RRAI’s AutoDrive^® is form-fitted to the base platform and represents the full capabilities of our dual-use approach to autonomy. We recognize that it can’t take a PhD to operate the system, yet needs to be capable of operating in complex environments. Soldiers and operators need to trust, both deeply and implicitly, that their robotic teammate will carry out its portion of the mission without consuming their mental shelf-space with supervision and control. We do this by building autonomy to meet the harsh conditions of non-pristine roadways. Often, the commercial industry hears that the commercial industry does not build to the requirements of the DOD. However, RRAI has been building these systems for decades and we see the same problem sets in both defense and commercial applications. Thus we built a platform from the ground up to address both.

RRAI is excited to continue work with the RCV team on Phase II of the Ground Vehicle Autonomy Pathways program where we will continue demonstrations of AutoDrive^® against DOD’s and Defense Innovation Unit’s stringent design and performance requirements. We’re confident that our position puts us at the front of software development for the program both in terms of funding and pace to ultimately deliver production-ready level software in time to meet fielding requirements in 2027.

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Achieving Milestones: Autonomous Military Convoy Demonstrations in Kuwait

By Britten Warner, Mission Operations Lead, RRAI

Recently, RRAI (Robotic Research Autonomous Industries) had the honor of demonstrating our autonomous capabilities for high-ranking US and Kuwaiti military officials.  Over a three-week period, on both military and civilian roads, the success of these demonstrations highlighted the rapid progress and utility of autonomous vehicle technology for military operations for today, not tomorrow.

As part of the demonstration, RRAI teammates trained new soldiers on how to use our ATVS system.  It only took these soldiers two weeks to become operators for our autonomous convoys of PLS trucks.  And within a week later, the operators successfully conducted five separate demonstrations for three generals.

A demonstration for Lieutenant General Pat Frank, the commanding general for US Army Central Command, even included him serving as the safety driver for one of the autonomous PLSs.  

In addition, the demonstrations included high ranking Kuwaiti military officials testing the autonomous capabilities, reported on by the Kuwaiti media.

The demonstrations offered several key takeaways beginning with realizing that even in the stage of development, the autonomous capability enables an operational utility to reduce the number of people in vehicles; meaning requiring less people to do more right now.  In addition, the performance of the autonomous PLS trucks on civilian roads reiterated the need to integrate civilian road space behaviors while also underscoring the need for military domains to be integrated within the civilian space.

The positive reactions of high-ranking officials and soldiers affirm the project's viability, highlighting its potential to reduce manpower, enhance operational efficiency, and contribute to safer military operations on the road.

The success of this project offers a glimpse into the future of military convoy operations. As the technology continues to evolve, the lessons learned from these demonstrations will undoubtedly pave the way for more seamless integration into both military and civilian spaces. The project has proven that while challenges remain, the benefits are immense.

Robotic Research Takes Top Honors at 2022 ACG Awards

Autonomous driving technology leader recognized by the National Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) for the Company’s $228M Series A Equity Raise

CLARKSBURG, Md. (June 14, 2022) – Robotic Research, a global leader in autonomous driving technology, was honored at this year’s Association for Corporate Growth Awards ceremony, a recognition of the company’s extraordinary success in its recent $228M Series A Equity Raise––the first outside capital the company has raised in it’s nearly 20-yearhistory.

“We are extremely honored to be recognized by ACG. Our team’s hard work and dedicationin recent years has driven us towards tremendous success––I couldn’t be more proud of the work we do,” said Alberto Lacaze, chair & CEO, Robotic Research. “This funding round––the first in our history––has enabled us to meet growing customer demand and expand our commercial efforts. We would also like to thank UBS for serving as our financial advisor, and our investors, without whom this investment would not have been possible.”

The Corporate Growth Awards commemorate the previous year’s most impressive deals and highlight the dealmakers, investors, and corporate leaders that make the region a hotbed for corporate growth and deal activity. Robotic Research is honored to receive an award following our recent success and look forward to an exciting future ahead in the autonomous driving industry.

Robotic Research has successfully deployed autonomous and robotics solutions on roadways around the globe as well as in the industry’s harshest, unstructured environments. The company’s vehicle-agnostic autonomy kit, AutoDrive®, has already been integrated in a variety of vehicles including North America’s first automated heavy-duty transit bus, Class 8 trucks, and yard trucks. AutoDrive® can be used on-road, off-road, or in the yard, making it uniquely suited to provide a 360° autonomous driving solution that spans a variety of complex operational design domains (ODDs).

About Robotic Research

Robotic Research is a global technology company specializing in autonomy and platooning solutions for commercial and defense customers. Founded in 2002, the Company has been a trusted technology partner to the public and private sector for nearly twenty years. From people to platforms, at home or overseas, Robotic Research is driven to make the way you move smarter, safer, and more efficient. To learn more about Robotic Research, visit www.roboticresearch.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

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Media Contact:
Don Lefeve
press@rr.ai

Insider considered nominations from across the AV industry from a list of nearly 100 people and weighed each nominee's experience, importance to their company, and contributions to the overall self-driving-vehicle industry. Insider selected those who appear to be driving their companies and the industry forward as it embarks on the next wave of self-driving-vehicle development.

Included on their list was Anne Schneider, vice president of autonomous trucking at RRAI and Robotic Research. Anne is leading our push into the commercial space including leading the company's autonomous trucking solutions such as its vehicle agnostic, full-stack autonomy kit that works for both on- and off-highway environments.

Congratulations Anne!

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Insider considered nominations from across the AV industry, limiting the pool to those 35 or younger at the beginning of 2022. From nearly 100 submissions, they selected 35 young professionals as particularly impressive and most likely to someday become household names.

Included on their list was RRAI’s Chief of Staff, Taylor Smith Baisey.

Taylor is an asset to the entire RRAI and Robotic Research team and we are thrilled to see her accomplishments recognized by Business Insider.

Congratulations Taylor!

Army Sees Progress with Leader-Follower Vehicle Technology

1/21/2022
By Yasmin Tadjdeh

The Army is attempting to leverage robotics and other capabilities to enable its “leader-follower” concept for vehicle convoys. After years of work, the Army has made strides in developing the technology.

At the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, roadside bombs planted by insurgents maimed and killed servicemembers and civilians alike, targeting vehicle convoys ferrying troops and supplies to bases.

To deal with the threat more immediately, the military invested billions of dollars into uparmored, mine-resistant vehicles that could withstand blasts better. At the same time, it kicked off an ongoing, long-term effort to build autonomous “leader-follow” tech that could cut down on the number of soldiers in harm’s way in future fights as well as free up troops for other tasks.

The service is demonstrating progress. It has tested its leader-follower autonomy software at events such as Project Convergence 2021, where the Army tried out technology that can support its offering for the Pentagon’s joint all-domain command and control concept. Additional work is being conducted at bases such as Fort Polk, Louisiana, and Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

The Army has primarily been using what it calls palletized load systems, or PLS, unmanned follower vehicles, during its experiments, said Maj. Benjamin Hormann, expedient leader-follower project officer at Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Ground Vehicle Systems Center. Soldiers from the 41ST Transportation Company currently own 60 M1075 PLS trucks that are equipped with an autonomy system.

“The unit received new equipment training over two years ago and has implemented a ‘train-the-trainer’ strategy in order to maintain proficiency throughout the year,” he said in an email. “This unit provides real-time feedback to software developers and engineers that get them the capability they want/need very quickly.”

The vehicles are currently using a software version known as LF 1.3.

The Ground Vehicle Systems Center is employing what it calls an “engineering in the dirt concept” where soldier feedback is run through an agile software sprint to develop and update the system every 90 days, Hormann said. Meanwhile, the unit also provides information so requirements and doctrine can be updated.

The Army showed off its expedient leader-follower technology at the service’s Project Convergence exercise at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, this past fall, he said. The annual experiment has been called a “campaign of learning” by officials and is meant to contribute to the Pentagon’s JADC2 effort, which aims to better link sensors and platforms into an operating network.

At Project Convergence, officials employed two versions of its autonomy software and completed more than 3,000 miles of robotics testing, Hormann said. The autonomy system was tested on palletized load system trucks, the cold weather all-terrain vehicle and the logistics vehicle system replacement platform.

The Army plans to test leader-follower technology at Project Convergence 2022 with an autonomous missile launcher demonstrator as part of an effort with Army Futures Command’s long-range precision fires cross-functional team and DEVCOM’s Aviation and Missile Center, Hormann said.

Meanwhile, the service recently completed the final increment of capability improvements for its expedient leader-follower program, he said.
For example, the service merged existing autonomy software with a government-owned Robotic Technology Kernel, he said. RTK is the Army’s library of modular software packages that can be used for common ground autonomy software. The software is based on what is known as the Robotic Open System Architecture-Military.

The most recent increment also developed a feature known as “assembly and disassembly” where autonomous PLS trucks could form into a column formation based on orders from a user, as well as “park” the platforms into a line, whether it be from front-to-back or side-to-side, he added.

Another new capability is a “retrotraverse” feature with trailers, which allows the PLS vehicle to reverse and employs what Hormann called a “pin-and-pin-out function.”

This capability allows “the warfighter to back up an autonomous convoy with a trailer without having to get out and put the trailer traversing table locking pin in,” he explained.

Coming up next for the leader-follower program is Army Test and Evaluation Command safety testing for maturation of its software version 2.0 system.

Over the next two years, the 41st Transportation Company is set to participate in three Collective Training Center exercises with leader-follower technology, Hormann added.

The GVSC and product management office for robotic autonomous systems also plan to further mature the technology’s software and hardware, he noted. This includes increased reliability and further hardening of the system.

The Army is currently using a “buy, try, decide” procurement model and a mid-tier acquisition rapid fielding approach when it comes to acquiring the systems, he said.

“There will be a later decision point to increase capability and mass produce the optionally manned leader-follower system for the PLS program of record,” Hormann noted.

The Army has been working on autonomous military vehicles since 1999, he said. Some of the platforms the technology has been tested on includes Humvees, HX60 tactical trucks, RG-31 mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, medium tactical vehicle replacement systems, M915 tractor trucks, medium tactical vehicles, LMTV light utility trucks and heavy equipment transporters.

More recently, the autonomy hardware and software systems developed through the Ground Vehicle Systems Center include the palletized load system, the cold weather all-terrain vehicle, the high mobility artillery rocket system as well as the Marine Corps’ logistics vehicle system replacement platform and the Corps’ Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Rouge Fires variant, Hormann said.

One company that has been working with the Army on leader-follower technology is Clarksburg, Maryland-based Robotic Research.

In 2018, the Army awarded the firm a three-year, $49.7 million contract to provide autonomy kits for large convoy resupply vehicles as part of the expedient leader-follower program. Robotic Research has had its participation extended with various National Advanced Mobility Consortium contract vehicles, said Jim Frelk, the company’s senior vice president. It is currently offering the service technical support on the expedient leader-follower effort.

The organization has been working alongside vehicle manufacturers such as Oshkosh Defense to outfit platforms with its leader-follower autonomy software in places such as Fort Polk, Fort Sill and Camp Grayling, Michigan, for testing. The company provides the autonomy software and Oshkosh provides the drive-by-wire kit for the vehicles, he said.

The company has been working on capabilities such as “safe harbor” features, he noted. Safe harbor functions tell platforms what they should do if there is an attack or breakdown in the systems’ sensors.

Leader-follower technology has matured substantially over the years and is at a point where it can now be deployed, Frelk said. “The basic software … that has been demonstrated, in our opinion, doesn’t have a lot left to do before you begin to deploy it.”

However, there are still some challenges and room for improvement. These include the hardening of sensors and better integration between the vehicles and the onboard equipment, he said.

There are typically seven or eight vehicles in an autonomous convoy, Frelk said. They are all equipped with an autonomy kit and any of the vehicles can take over as the “leader” platform.

“There’s no requirement today that there will be a specific vehicle designated” as the lead platform, he noted.

Robotic Research is also working with the Army, the German Federal Ministry of Defence and Rheinmetall to support leader-follower technology with partner nations.

The U.S. Army wants “to expand this capability and make it interoperable with other vehicles … for convoy operations with allied forces,” he said.

While the Pentagon has shifted its focus from counterinsurgency operations to great power competition with adversaries Russia and China, Frelk said there is still a need for leader-follower technology.

“There is still going to be vulnerabilities to convoy operations and [a desire to] to reduce the number of deaths and improve … the functionality of moving things rapidly,” he said. “Leader-follower is going to be useful.”

Additionally, the autonomy packages that are being tested with the leader-follower program are not just relevant for convoy operations, Frelk said. The program has an impact on other vehicles including combat systems.

The same “autonomy kit that’s proved out on leader-follower is being deployed on other systems that are weaponized systems,” he said.

“Think of it as a springboard to combat vehicles and other vehicles being able to operate in GPS-denied environments autonomously.”

The basic software stack is portable and can be used with a variety of systems, but different platforms may require separate sensors, he noted.

For example, the autonomy needed for off-road operations will be different compared to on-road ops.

“It’s a tweaking of the system, not a whole new system,” he explained.

Besides working with the Army, Robotic Research also has contracts with other Defense Department components such as the Defense Logistics Agency, Frelk said. Last year, DLA awarded the company a contract to develop an unmanned autonomous guided vehicle to tow loaded carts inside and outside warehouses.

DLA has 20 storage sites and more than 570 warehouses, according to a Robotic Research press release. The development of the AGV could lead to follow-on contracts for as many as 100 vehicles.

The company is also working with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency on counter-weapons of mass destruction efforts, Frelk said.
Meanwhile, in late 2021 Robotic Research completed a $228 million Series A funding round to expand its commercial offerings. That will bear fruit for the military, Frelk said.

“The government gets to benefit from the number of miles that are being driven with similar autonomy capability and the lessons learned there,” he said.

Topics: Army News, Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Robotics