US Navy foresees an uncrewed future for its surface and underwater fleet
The service has been conducting various procurement and development efforts to integrate unmanned surface and underwater vehicles into its inventory.
A research team from the University of Chile is using a Husky unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) for mine mapping in the country.
The university's Department of Electrical Engineering and the Advanced Mining Technology Center are using the UGV for solving registration problems with complex sensor data in the mines. Accurate and reliable sensing and automation will enable improved safety and efficiency for tele-operated and autonomous mining activities. The teams' overall mission is to minimise manpower in Chile's dangerous mining environments.
The project is titled Autonomous Rock Surface Modelling and Mapping in Mines. It was designed to collect motion characteristics from Husky and noise characteristics from Acumine 2D scanning millimetre wave radar, 3D Riegle scanning laser range finder and vision-based sensors to model open pit and underground mines.
A millimetre wave radar was used to penetrate dust, Speed-Up Robust Feature (SURF) detection was analysed to determine the applicability of information extraction from mapping and surface profiling in mines. Sensors were integrated using the Robot Operating System (ROS).
Martin Adams of the University of Chile, said: ‘Our project develops existing technologies so that terrain surface profile and mine mapping information can be extracted from noisy sensor data. Our Husky-based sensing system will contribute significantly to the success and efficiency in which future mining operations take place.’
The service has been conducting various procurement and development efforts to integrate unmanned surface and underwater vehicles into its inventory.
Tekever has manufactured the AR3, AR4 and AR5 UAS with all systems sharing common electronics and software architecture, which has enabled the reuse of ground segment elements within the new ARX UAS.
As the dynamics of aerial combat rapidly evolve, Chinese scientists have engineered a sophisticated air separation drone model that can fragment into up to six drones, each capable of executing distinct battlefield roles and challenging the efficacy of current anti-drone defences such as the UK’s Dragonfire laser system.
Advancements in air defence technologies have begun to reshape aerial combat dynamics in the Middle East, as illustrated by recent events involving the Israeli Air Force and Hezbollah.
Both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war have been using UAS for effective low-cost attacks, as well as impactful web and social media footage. Thousands more have now been committed to Ukrainian forces.
The US Army has intentions to develop light, medium and heavy variants of the Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) as part of the branche’s Next Generation Combat Vehicle family.