For 10 sweltering days in mid-June, a small army of crawling, rolling, hopping and hovering robots invaded Ft. Benning, Georgia, a sprawling training post near the Alabama border. The occasion: the U.S. Army's Robotics Rodeo, a competitive evaluation of the latest ground-combat robots.
The Robeo, as it's affectionately known, is the third since 2009. The 2012 Robeo was the first to include competitions -- "vignettes," the organizers called them -- in which robots went head-to-head on a mock battlefield. Alongide the vignettes, robot developers showed off their latest software and hardware in a shopping mall-style exhibit hall, part of the event co-hosted by the Army's Manuever Battlelab; the Detroit-based Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center; and the Pentagon's Joint IED Defeat Organization.
Forty-four companies and five universities brought 74 technologies to the Robeo. These included upgraded versions of today's ground 'bots plus brand-new models preparing for their first deployments and even a few experimental 'bots. Robot developers were encouraged to take chances with unproven designs.
The point was to be as open-minded as possible, according to Ed Davis from the Maneuver Battlelab, who channeled his inner Donald Rumsfeld. "Sometimes we don't know what we don't know until we see it in action," he said.
In all, TARDEC oversaw three complex vignettes -- one each for three different robots respectively specializing in autonomous supply missions, automatic foxhole-digging and reconnaissance in which the 'bots raced the clock rather than each other.
Compared to TARDEC's elaborate, single-player scenarios, JIEDDO's vignettes were free-for-alls. Eighteen different robots faced off in four vignettes scripted by the bomb-defeating organization. The JIEDDO events focused on different aspects of the counter-IED mission, including patrol endurance, reconnaissance, and bomb detection and disruption.
The final results of 10 days of competition are still being tallied. "In general we're very pleased with what we saw," TARDEC's Jim Parker said. What follows is a sampling of the dozens of robotic technologies that squared off at the 2012 Robotics Rodeo.
Above:
The Giant, Adorable Robot Cockroach
Boston Dynamics, an MIT spinoff, is famous for modeling robots after animals. The company's mule-likeBig Dog and robotic cheetah have been instant headline hits. Less famous are the two 'bots Boston Dynamics brought to the 2012 Robeo, including the six-legged Rex scout. Designed to mimic the all-terrain mobility of a cockroach, Rex does one better than its insect inspiration. In addition to climbing stairs and rubble and steep inclines, Rex is absolutely adorable. Boston Dynamics vice president Roberty Playter told Danger Room the roach-'bot is already in Afghanistan for Army combat trials.
Unbreakable Throwbot
The throwable, dumbbell-shaped scouts from Minnesota-based Recon Robotics are in widespread use by armies and police forces. The upgraded Throwbot XT, which competed in JIEDDO's recon vignette, is tougher and has better sensors and controls than previous models.
Company representative Ernest Langdon challenged me to try and break the Throwbot. I dropped it out of a second-story window onto concrete. The barely two-pound 'bot clattered to the ground and, without missing a beat, began rolling around according to Langdon's commands.
Ditch-Digging Mini-Tank
Since World War II, troops have used whip-like metal flails to safely detonate buried explosives. In a bid to protect troops in Afghanistan from insurgent bombs, HDT Global in Ohio has fitted a similar flail to its heavy-duty Protector robot.
Controlled by a one-handed joystick, the tank-like Protector -- roughly the size of golf cart -- can whip its way through inches of packed soil. Reliability might be an issue, though. The model in action at the Robeo briefly died mid-flail. Still, the diesel-powered 'bot reportedly won JIEDDO's bomb-disruption challenge.
Tilting 'Bot Controller
Many "unmanned" systems are in fact manpower-intensive. The Army says the typical ground robot needs two or three human operators. To reduce the complexity, Army Capt. Amber Walker wants to simplify today's robot controls.
For her Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Oklahoma, Walker is developing a smartphone 'bot-controller that, like a steering wheel, translates tilting into directional commands -- and requires very little screen-tapping, which can be difficult in battle conditions. "Soldiers don't like touchscreens," Walker told Danger Room.
Stairs and Other Robot Nightmares
For all their sophistication, most of today's ground robots are easily thwarted by a most ancient technology: the step. "Robots climbing stairs -- that's always been a problem," the Army's Ed Davis told Danger Room.
Several companies brought to the Robeo new robots specifically designed to overcome this obstacle. New Mexico-based Applied Research Associates fitted a basic, four-wheeled Pointman robot with a lever-like arm that helps boost the 'bot over stairs -- provided they're not too tall. "Just hit the climb button," company rep Alex Kaufmann explained.
Follow the Leader!
Army supply convoys are particularly vulnerable to insurgent attacks. Ideally, convoys would be entirely unmanned. In the near term, however, the Army will settle for robotic cargo vehicles programmed to follow a single, human-driven truck. This "follower" behavior has all kinds of other applications.
A smart, ATV-size 'bot could tail a squad of soldiers on foot patrol, hauling their rucksacks, water and extra ammo. A team composed of tech firms Mesa and DRS and software developer D5 entered two Acer robots with follower software in JIEDDO's endurance and disruption vignettes. Later, D5 programmer David Bruemmer strolled around Ft. Benning with the two truck-size Acers dutifully plodding behind him like obedient mules.
Wearable Computer Keeps Hands Free
Not all the techs at the Robeo were obvious winners. Kopin in Massachusetts brought several copies of its Golden I headset computer, hoping to pique the Army's interest. The Golden I is a tiny, voice-controlled computer attached to a microphone and eyepiece and displaying a basic Windows-style operating system.
Kopin rep Dave Ferguson told Danger Room that Golden I could give soldiers the computing power of a smartphone, but entirely hands-free. You could even control small robots, Ferguson said. But the Golden I that I wore for a few minutes was obviously too delicate and distracting for combat use. It's not for no reason that the Army has already canceled its own in-house Land Warrior wearable computer. Which is to say, G.I.s won't be swapping out Oakleys for Google Glasses anytime soon.
Jumping Robot Leaps Through Windows
Along with the cockroach-inspired Rex, Boston Dynamics showed off its four-wheeled Sand Flea robot, specifically tailored for leaping through open windows. Sand Flea "can get itself out in addition to getting itself in" to enemy buildings, Boston Dynamics veep Robert Playter said.
The operator lines up the 'bot with the window, commands it to lean backward, calculates the ballistics, charges up a simple explosive piston and, counting down from three, sends the camera-equipped 'bot arcing 10 feet or higher through the air. Developed in just 18 months at the Army's request, the 11-pound Sand Flea is scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan for testing this summer, Playter revealed.
The Ground Robot that Flies
All but one of the dozens of robots at the Robeo were ground-based. The Telluride robo-copter, designed by AirRobot in Germany, was included because it can hover so low -- just a few feet from the earth -- that it's practically a ground 'bot, operator Thomas Meyer explained.
Fitted with cameras for detecting the telltale disturbed dirt that signifies a buried bomb, Telluride has the advantage of skimming right over the bomb itself without detonating it. The German army is already using 250 Tellurides in Afghanistan, Meyer said.
The U.S. Army could very well show interest, too, considering Telluride's success at the Robeo. The quad-rotor 'bot and its controllers were the only team to win two JIEDDO vignettes: endurance and reconnaissance, Meyer said.
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