AUVSI North America – What’s the Buzz?

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What was the buzz at AUVSI North America conference, besides the UAVs being demonstrated?  I talked to many, many people at the show, trying to glean information for future blog postings as well as newsletters. It’s hard to generalize, but I did notice certain topics being frequently discussed on the exhibitor’s floor. For the purpose of this blog post I am excluding conversations at the seminars.


What happens in Las Vegas, stays permanently on your work record

A number of people commented that this year’s attendance and exhibits were smaller than last year’s (I don’t know if this is true; this is my first show).  I heard a rumor that the GSA scandal that occurred a few months back made Las Vegas a questionable destination for some participants. Read more

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AMREL at AUVSI 2012

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AMREL will be in Las Vegas next week for AUVSI North America 2012.  Some big changes are coming, which we think will define the parameters of OCUs for the next few years.  Drop by our booth, and we can talk about them.  Also, I will be there, looking for story ideas.   If you have any, or want to talk about sharing content, email me at editor@amrel.com.

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ROBOT RODEO VIDEO

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Wired.com took some videos of the action at the Robot Rodeo, including the autonomy demonstration, in which AMREL’s ROCKY DB6 played a major role.  Video below.

The ROCKY DB6, a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) product, is the smallest, fully rugged handheld in the world that can run full Windows or Linux OS. DB6s acted as payload controllers and as an Operator Control Unit.  Read more about its role as a platform for autonomous functions here.

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AEODRS : The Future of UGVs

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The only fully funded military Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV) program today is Advanced Explosive Ordnance Disposal Robot System (AEODRS).  There is a very real possibility that it will shape the future of all UGVs in the military.  If you intend to work on a UGV for the Department of Defense in the next 10 years, you should familiarize yourself with AEODRS. Read how AEODRS can affect you here.

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AMREL Demonstrates at ROBOT RODEO

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AMREL’s superlight handheld, the ROCKY DB6 will be used as a payload controller & OCU to display autonomous functions.  “The really amazing thing is that in less than 30 days, off-the-shelf DB6s have been integrated into two robots to perform multiple functions,” states Ron McMahan, AMREL’s Vice President of Engineering Solutions.  Look for us at the MacroUSA demonstration at the JIEDO challenge. Read more about the Robot Rodeo here.

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UAVS INVESTIGATE FIRES

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Utilizing UAVs for firefighting is well-known.  This video demonstrates unmanned systems being used for fire investigations, a completely different application. The ease of determining the causes of fires is directly related to the view the investigators have of the burned trees.  The perspective provided by high-definition cameras on small UAVs is close to ideal.  I doubt that many developers could have predicted this particular use for unmanned systems.  As unmanned systems diffuse into the civilian/commercial sector, we can expect more unexpected applications.

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UGVS & UAVS IN DOMESTIC MARKETS

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In the next few years, it is expected that both Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) will be become more integrated into domestic markets. How do UGVs and UAVs compare in this military-to-civilian transition? While clearly there are some significant differences between the way UAVs and UGVs will be deployed, there also some similarities. Read about it here.

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Interoperability: “ Bandwidth is more precious than gold and platinum”

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At the recent Ground Robotics Capability Conference (GRCC), I surveyed a number of vendors about what was on their mind. I read them a list of topics that are frequently covered in OCU Pro newsletters as well as AMREL’s corporate blog.

By far, one topic elicited more interest than any other: interoperability. On one hand, I was pleased. AMREL has been a leader for developing solutions that have the ability to “… to work with or use the parts or equipment of another system” (Merriam-Webster definition). For example, our Flexpedient® Solutions enable kit building of Operator Control Units with common control capabilities.

Read more

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AMREL on NCIS: Los Angeles

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You can spot an AMREL laptop being used as an Operator Control Unit for a PackBot at about 59 seconds into this episode of NCIS: Los Angeles.  For once, TV gives a relatively accurate depiction of how unmanned systems are actually used. Watch video.

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Why are there more unmanned platforms than customers?

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Why are unmanned systems developers offering so many different kinds of platforms and ideas, when there is comparatively little demand by the civilian market? Why are there more offerings than customers?

These questions were raised in the Unmanned Systems group in LinkedIn. It provoked a number of insightful comments about the current state of unmanned systems and its future. If you are a member of LinkedIn, and can log in, you can read the discussion here. Read more

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