ASI gains patent for unmanned convoy system
Autonomous Solutions Inc (ASI) has announced that it has been awarded patent rights by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the Guideline Robotic Leader-Follower System. The company made the announcement 8 August 2012.
The Guideline system is designed to provide a variety of benefits to military operators, including reducing driving personnel, keeping more military personnel out of harm's way in active combat zones, and increasing efficiency.
The Guideline system is a robotically controlled guidance system mounted to the front of military or industrial vehicles. Each Guideline unit contains a Kevlar tether on a mechanical spool; and sensors in the unit monitor the vector, speed, and length of the tether leaving or returning to the spool and relay the data to the vehicle's automation kit.
The kit's onboard computer determines the position and speed of the lead vehicle and plots a course for the autonomous vehicle that mimics the exact path of the leader. As the lead vehicle accelerates, Guideline automatically increases the buffer distance between the two vehicles to allow for a safe stopping distance.
According to the company, the system is adaptable for any size of vehicle from small ATVs to heavy military transport vehicles, and is operational in all types of terrain, road conditions, and weather, and features failsafe, redundant leader-follower system for GPS/laser guided convoy systems in case of signal loss or interference.
ASI said that Guideline is currently being used in field trials in the United States, Australia, and Singapore for a variety of operation scenarios.
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