Belgian researchers examine potential of swarming UGVs
The Robotics & Autonomous Systems (RAS) unit of the Royal Military School (ERM) in Belgium is leading the Swarming sub-project within the framework of the integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System (iMUGS) consortium programme.
The aim, the ERM explained in a 6 July announcement, is to provide ‘advances in swarming technologies in order to extend the capacities of a single robot where heterogeneous resources will have the capacity to work in groups with a common mission objective’.
In addition, the ERM will organise a demonstration in a coastal environment to demonstrate the ISR capabilities of the iMUGS system by swarming BLoS.
‘We are convinced that robotics and autonomous systems are an emerging field that can provide solutions for long-term defense objectives in order to tackle very complex challenges effectively, while helping to reduce the cognitive load of our troops and their commanders in critical environments,’ explained Haris Balta, head of the iMUGS project at the ERM.
Milrem Robotics of Estonia leads the 14-member iMUGS consortium, which is supported by €30.6 million ($34.48 million) from the European Defence Industrial Development Programme.
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