What's next for the Pentagon after the Replicator programme?
Although the Replicator initiative has made several accomplishments, there are still multiple gaps to plug across the US Department of Defense (DoD) and its services.
Autonomous resupply effort concludes phase one
The Defence Science Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has concluded phase one of its Autonomous Last Mile Resupply programme, QinetiQ announced on 9 April.
The programme challenged industry and academia to design technologies to deliver vital supplies to soldiers on the front line.
The Dstl selected QinetiQ’s Titan UGV to participate in the programme. The vehicle, produced in collaboration with Milrem, demonstrated its capability at QinetiQ’s Hurn proving ground in February 2018.
During the exercise, Titan was remotely tasked from a QinetiQ ground control station to autonomously navigate a route over mixed terrain, demonstrating its ability to deliver supplies to deployed soldiers. Aberystwyth University's camera-based navigation system was also demonstrated on the UGV.
In a separate exercise for the programme, QinetiQ partnered with Malloy Aeronautics to demonstrate its Hoverbike UAS for delivery of frontline supplies by air. Using the same ground control station deployed in the Titan exercise, the Hoverbike was tasked via a wireless link to deliver a 13kg payload by automatically navigating waypoints, avoiding predetermined no-fly zones and adapting its route mid-flight.
Dstl will announce the winning proposals for phase two of the Autonomous Last Mile Resupply programme in May 2018.
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