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Explosive UGV market growth, Fact or Fiction?

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UGV Market GrowthWintergreen Research is publicizing a finding that the “…first responder and military ground robot marketplace will expand at close to 20% annually for the rest of the decade.”  Furthermore, “Markets at $4.5 billion in 2013 reach $12.0 billion by 2019.”

This is welcome news for the developers of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV).  Robohub points out that this projection is consistent with a Markets and Markets report that predicts a 17.4% CAGR for the same time period. Of course, any headline in the media must be greeted with a certain degree of skepticism. Do these projections make sense?

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Robotics Roadmap 2013 Highlights

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Roadmap robotRecently, the 2013 Robotics Roadmap was presented to the Congressional Robotics Caucus.  This is an updated version of the 2009 report, which helped established the National Robotics Initiative (NRI), a federal multi- agency joint effort.

Members of the unmanned system community are barraged with roadmaps all the time, so it would be tempting to ignore this one. However, key influencers are involved in this roadmap, so it should be considered seriously. You can slog through all 129 pages of the report or examine the highlights described here.

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Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference 2013 GRCC Canceled

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grcc 2013 canceledYikes! The NDIA just announced that it canceled the Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference (GRCC) 2013.

In an email dated March 5, NDIA stated:

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RSJPO Roadmap & ICAF Robotics Report

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RSJPO Roadmap and ICAF Robotics Report

The last two blog postings were about what will not happen in 2012.  We thought we would take a break from this series and predict what you can expect.   Without a doubt, you can expect more reports, visions, and roadmaps from the Department of Defense.   Here are two recent DoD documents that are worth a look.

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GPS and UGVs: Part II

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In Part One of our series on GPS, we discussed its uses, problems, and alternatives. In Part Two, we take a look at the role of GPS in Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV).

Inertial Navigation System

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and ground vehicles often use a combination of GPS and Inertial Navigation System (INS). INS depends on input from motion sensors (accelerometers) and rotation sensors (gyroscopes). Through a process known as “dead reckoning,” the vehicle’s current position is calculated utilizing time passed from previous locations and estimates of speed.
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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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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.

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AMREL at GRCC

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AMREL will once again be at the Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference (GRCC). GRCC is a big deal for us.  At past GRCCs, we’ve launched Flexpedient ® Technology for interoperable Operator Control Unit solutions, introduced the interoperable payload controller, and showcased the DB6, the smallest fully rugged handheld in the world with Windows/Linux OS.  This year, we are talking interoperability a step further with a line of complete Unmanned Subsystems solutions.  If you want a sneak peek at these remarkable new solutions, drop by Booth 310, and ask if there are there any tickets left to AMREL’s exclusive Technology Suite.   See you in San Diego!

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Telepresence: The killer app for robots? UPDATE

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 Update: This telepresence article inspired more than a few comments in LinkedIn discussion groups.  With the authors’ permission, we are reposting comments made by Tandy Trower of Hoaloha Robotics, and Jim Gunderson of Gamma Two Robots.

“For certain types of scenarios, telepresence is very useful. For example, it has enabled us to explore the surface of Mars, inspect the nuclear reactor buildings in Japan, and enable soldiers to remotely defuse bombs. However, for business and personal/consumer scenarios it is much less clear if the value proposition works. Read more

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Walk n’ Roll

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10065456 funny robot walk with cogwheelShould robots walk or roll?  While the answer to this question is obvious for certain applications, it has implications for the entire robot industry, and society as a whole.

Colin Angle, CEO of iRobot, has seen the future of robots, and they aren’t walking. In an interview with Pilots Presence (reprinted in IEEE Spectrum), Angle criticized the millions of dollars spent on developing bipedal robots.  These systems often require large groups of support personnel during operation, and have a Mean Time To Failure of 45 minutes. Angle compares these delicate, slow-moving, humanoid systems to the robust iRobot Warrior UGV, which uses treads. Watch this video of the Warrior 710 running rampant over rocks and up stairs, and you will understand his preference for non-legged robots. Wheeled/treaded robots are cheaper, simpler, and more rugged. Read more

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