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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDriverless Trucks Will Keep Army Safe From IEDs
U.S. Army convoys will soon be able to roll into even the roughest of unfriendly foreign urban areas and combat zones without the worry of loss of life, thanks to new technology that will make large vehicles fully autonomous.
In demonstrations earlier this month at Fort Hood, Texas, the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) and Lockheed Martin demonstrated the ability of the Autonomous Mobility Appliqué System (AMAS), which gives full autonomy to convoys to operate in urban environments. In tests, driverless tactical vehicles were able to navigate hazards and obstacles including pedestrians, oncoming traffic, road intersections, traffic circles and stalled and passing vehicles.
Under an initial $11 million contract in 2012, Lockheed Martin developed the multiplatform kit which integrates low-cost sensors and control systems with Army and Marine tactical vehicles to enable autonomous operation in convoys. According to Lockheed, AMAS also gives drivers an automated option to alert, stop and adjust, or take full control under user supervision.
The AMAS CAD hardware and software performed exactly as designed, and dealt successfully with all of the real-world obstacles that a real-world convoy would encounter, said David Simon, AMAS program manager for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, in a statement.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2014/01/driverless/
Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)rrneck
(17,671 posts)Would these convoys have troops to defend them?
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)My husband was in a small convoy that stopped because a vehicle turned out to have a clogged air filter, which they promptly changed. Not sure how it would work if something went wrong that needed fixing in an automated truck.
bluestate10
(10,942 posts)steel and concrete, some soldiers will still die or be seriously injured because of IEDs, although not as many as at the height of deaths from IEDs. Terrorists that know how to set up IEDs know that they have to control when those devices explode. They will simply wait until a truck or personnel carrier with troops in it come over or near the IED before setting it off. The technology is good because trucks that are carrying fuel or explosives can be Drone driven.