This morning, retired Army General Lloyd Austin was confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Defense, and AUVSI offers him and his family our warm congratulations.
Secretary Austin comes to the job with a very impressive resume, marked by several key accomplishments: he was the first Black commander of CENTCOM, the first Black Vice Chief of Staff for the Army, and is now the first Black Secretary of Defense. While serving in the Army, Sec. Austin led every Army formation from platoon-sized elements to a full combatant command, and as a brigadier general deployed to Iraq in 2003, he famously carried an M4 service rifle instead of the traditional general’s service weapon.
UGV
UGV
Tomahawk Robotics joins Persistent Systems' Wave Relay Ecosystem
Persistent Systems has announced that Tomahawk Robotics has joined the Wave Relay Ecosystem, which is a growing industry alliance of unmanned system and sensor companies that use Persistent’s Wave Relay mobile ad hoc network (MANET) as their preferred network.
As part of this agreement, Tomahawk Robotics will make Kinesis, the company's Android-based common control system for leading UGVs and UAS, available for Persistent's MPU5 Android-based MANET radio and Rugged Display and Controller (RDC).
Robotic Research joins Persistent Systems' Wave Relay Ecosystem
Persistent Systems has announced that Robotic Research has joined its Wave Relay Ecosystem, which is an alliance of sensor and unmanned system companies that all use Persistent’s Wave Relay mobile ad hoc network (MANET).
“The aim of the Wave Relay Ecosystem is to deliver the warfighter a truly unified battlefield network where all of the sensors and unmanned systems are united to deliver the warfighter real-time situational awareness,” explains Jeffrey Washington, director of Business Development at Persistent Systems.
Weekend Roundup: December 11, 2020
This week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World
In coordination with the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) has announced the latest round of PlanetM testing grants, which are expected to take mobility to “new heights” supporting both drone and connected vehicle technology programs. Great Lakes Drone Company, RAVE Cave and P3 Mobility are the recipients of the grants. (Michigan Economic Development Corporation)
CA State Senator Allen Emerges as Autonomous Vehicle Thought Leader
Media Contact: Jackie Beckwith, jbeckwith@auvsi.org
For Immediate Release: December 10, 2020
CA State Senator Allen Emerges as Autonomous Vehicle Thought Leader
AeroVironment acquires German ground robotic solutions developer Telerob
AeroVironment has acquired German ground robotic solutions developer Telerob Gesellschaft für Fernhantierungstechnik mbH.
Founded in 1994, Telerob, which is based near Stuttgart, Germany, offers advanced and comprehensive turn-key unmanned ground robotics solutions, including the telemax and tEODor EVO family of UGVs, fully-equipped transport vehicles and training, repair and support services. Some of the dangerous missions that Telerob’s solutions safely and effectively perform include explosive ordinance disposal (EOD), hazardous materials handling (HAZMAT) and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threat assessment.
FLIR Systems receives order for more than 250 additional FLIR Centaur UGVs from U.S. Armed Services
The United States Army, Air Force, and Navy have collectively ordered more than 250 additional FLIR Centaur UGVs from FLIR Systems Inc., worth $32 million combined.
The award is being sourced through the Army’s Man Transportable Robotic System Increment II (MTRS Inc. II) program.
“We’re tremendously honored that EOD teams across America’s military are relying on our Centaur robot to help them perform dangerous missions with greater stand-off capability,” says Tom Frost, VP and general manager for Unmanned Ground Systems in the Unmanned and Integrated Solutions business at FLIR.
Weekend Roundup: November 13, 2020
This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World
Scientific Systems Company Inc. (SSCI) has demonstrated a team made up of a fully autonomous UAS and a search and rescue canine working together without intervention from a human handler to conduct a simulated search and rescue mission. During the demonstration, SSCI's newly developed Teammate Aware Autonomy (TAA) system was used together with its Collaborative Mission Autonomy (CMA) and Finding Objects thru Closed Loop Understanding of the Scene (FOCUS) software. (PRNewswire)
RE2 Robotics receives $1.1 million in funding to develop mobile robotic manipulation system for U.S. Army
RE2 Robotics has received $1.1 million in Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding from the U.S. Army Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) to develop a mobile robotic manipulation system that will allow combat medics to remotely assess and extract injured soldiers on the battlefield.
Known as Autonomous Casualty Extraction (ACE), the program will utilize RE2 Robotics’ dual-arm Highly Dexterous Manipulation System (HDMS) mounted to a FLIR Kobra UGV from FLIR Systems Inc., to autonomously locate a casualty in the field.
Milrem Robotics demonstrates THeMIS UGV to Italian Army
This week, Milrem Robotics demonstrated its autonomous THeMIS UGV to the Italian Army. The company also launched a new program to assess and analyze the implementation of intelligent systems into the army’s doctrine.
