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2017-09-07

Humans & Machines It Takes Two

The merging of machine capability and human consciousness is happening already and autonomous convoys on the battlefield are becoming a reality.

Researchers are exploring how to increase collaboration among unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms and operators by applying a “Computational Theory of Mind”, which models the human mind as an interrelated set of modules representing human beliefs, desires and intentions.

In today’s combat zones, electronic warfare is used to prevent communication among team members. By applying Computational Theory of Mind, unmanned vehicles can understand a human operator’s intent even without real-time communication, where the operator is working “offline” and the UAVs must solve problems autonomously.

It’s no longer about who’s the best (machine or person) for the job — it’s about who’s the best team. This human-machine collaboration includes four types of teams, detailed here.

Working Alongside

In this type of partnership, there’s constant radio frequency connection between the controller and system.

One example is the Squad Mission Support System (SMSS). Previously deployed with the U.S. Army in Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan, SMSS leverages robotic technologies for unmanned transport and logistical support for light, early entry and special operations forces.

It solves capability gaps by lightening the war fighter’s load, serving as a power management resource, and providing a versatile utility platform for various mission equipment packages.

The SMSS decreases the amount of time a war fighter has to spend controlling robotic systems by providing vehicles that can navigate autonomously. The SMSS’ supervised autonomy provides the war fighter with a reliable squad-size vehicle, which improves combat readiness, helps assure tactical re-supply and can assist in casualty evacuations.

Combining perception and autonomous navigation with extraordinary mobility, power and tractive effort allows the SMSS to follow waypoint paths or a dismounted soldier across most terrain, guaranteeing the payload will be available whenever and wherever needed.

Few other robotic systems incorporate autonomy that enables a vehicle to follow a person without the use of location-disclosing beacons or special markings or fiducials.

The vehicle can also operate by remote control, tele-operation, tethered, or, in the case of emergencies or maintenance, by manual control.

SMSS received a US Army contract in 2011 to deploy vehicles to Afghanistan, the first experiment of its kind with deployed troops, to see how autonomous robots can benefit the war fighter. Lockheed Martin received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the soldiers who used it, including requests to keep the machines in use beyond the end of the planned deployment.

It previously served in Army experiments as a self-sustaining, portable power solution, including soldier battery recharge and logistics support for infantry.

By the end of 2016, SMSS has logged hundreds of hours with various military users as the system matured.

The vehicle carries supplies and gear for dismounted troops, lightening their load. There is no driver on the vehicle in the traditional sense. Instead, a LiDAR scanner at the front of the vehicle scans its surrounding and compiles a 3D map of the world around the vehicle, including the height and size of its operator or another person.

The system works best as a team member of a squad or platoon in two types of scenarios:

* Following a person, it can travel with a unit and provide instant re-supply of food, water and ammunition as well as carry heavy packs and gear to keep troops from tiring before reaching their objective.

* Following a previously traversed path, SMSS can autonomously navigate using GPS between a squad or platoon in the field and the base camp, in order to keep them well supplied.

This partnership allows troops to work away from base for an extended time with the supplies required to complete their mission. This is truly human-machine teaming of the highest order.

The long-term vision for the SMSS is a family of UGVs based on a common platform and a common autonomy kit with customer-specific mission equipment packages within the concept of supervised autonomy.

Variants could include transport/logistics, RSTA, counter mine/IED, armed direct fire, armed indirect fire (mortar), site shuttle (personnel and materiel), site security, portable power or communications, firefighting, CBRNE detection and monitoring, and decontamination. A squad-size un-manned support vehicle is critical to today’s asymmetrical and urban battlefields.

Remotely Piloted

The remotely piloted family comprises technology operated by a person in another location. This type of team improves surveillance, safety and efficiency.

Indago, an unmanned aerial system (UAS), is a good example of remotely piloted technology. The Indago goes beyond the stable, capable design of the unmanned aerial vehicle. Features include an extended hover and fast-forward flight capability that provides military, civil and commercial customers with a quick aerial reconnaissance capability in crowded areas, unreachable by fixed-wing unmanned aircraft.

Indago’s payload system separates Indago from the average drone. Featuring a quick disconnect adapter, Indago allows operators to choose an appropriate payload that suits the mission. There are payloads available for a variety of different applications including precision agriculture, mapping, surveying and inspection, and reconnaissance. Additional payloads are in development.

Weighing less than 2.3kgs, Indago easily fits into a backpack and can be airborne in just 2.5 minutes. And its successor, Indago 3, can cruise at up to 25 mph, and operate at temperatures as low as 30 degrees below zero and as high as 120 degrees.

“When war fighters are on the move, Indago can see what’s ahead of them,” explained Emily Jones, drone pilot. “It can gather real-time information in hazardous locations that traditional aircraft and ground vehicles can’t access.”

Travel Within

Intelligent technology is changing the way we travel in, and operate vehicles. For instance, consider human-machine teams in aviation.

“An autonomous system can be the world’s best co-pilot,” said Mark Ward, a test pilot working on autonomy research. “The system can essentially step in and fly the aircraft when the pilot needs to focus on other strategic tasks such as operating a highly complex weapons system.”

One technology that is evolving this team dynamic is Matrix.

Matrix Technology aims to give both rotary and fixed wing VTOL aircraft a high level of system intelligence needed to complete complex missions with minimal human oversight, and at low altitudes where obstacles abound.

VTOL pilots are increasingly becoming mission managers, either on the aircraft or when monitoring from the ground via datalink, because they feel comfortable letting the aircraft fly itself. Matrix Technology will provide order-of-magnitude improvements in system intelligence and contingency management to ensure high levels of reliability, and ultimately make unmanned missions by helicopters and VTOL aircraft of all sizes highly affordable.

While the aviation industry measures loss rates for current unmanned aircraft at approximately one per 1,000 flight hours, Sikorsky’s Matrix Technology programme aims to improve the unmanned aircraft loss rate to one per 100,000 flight hours. The programme is spearheaded by Sikorsky Innovations, the same rapid prototyping organisation that proved the physics of efficient 250-knot flight in a rotorcraft with the X2 Technology Demonstrator programme in 2010.

In 2016, Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, successfully demonstrated a 30-mile autonomous flight using a Sikorsky S-76 commercial helicopter to complete Phase 1 of a US$8 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program.

Sikorsky utilised its Matrix Technology introduced in 2013 to develop, test and field hardware and software systems that significantly improve optionally piloted and piloted vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Sikorsky has installed Matrix on both SARA and a Black Hawk helicopter.

The Matrix toolkit is designed to integrate with existing systems inside a helicopter and within milliseconds provide real-time data to:

* Help land in degraded visual environments.

* Update vehicle health and maintenance needs.

* Provide awareness about weather issues and obstacles.

* Perform in-flight checks.

* Execute emergency procedures.

By reducing pilot workload and error, this partnership improves overall performance and safety during critical operations.

Trust Autonomy

Imagine trusting a machine to execute a job flawlessly from millions of miles away in space.

That’s exactly what the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft team is doing. OSIRIS-REx is travelling more than 620 million miles to take samples of asteroid Bennu and return them to Earth.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission will study a near-Earth asteroid. The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification-Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx, mission is NASA’s third New Frontiers science mission, led by the University of Arizona and managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Launched on September 8, 2016, the spacecraft will rendezvous with asteroid Bennu, conduct a two-year detailed survey of Bennu from orbit, and collect a sample and bring it back to Earth. The sample will be the first for a US mission, giving insight into the early formation of our solar system, and may provide clues to the origin of life on Earth.

OSIRIS-REx has a suite of instruments to thoroughly measure and map the asteroid, including visible-light cameras, infrared spectrometers, an x-ray spectrometer and active-scanning LIDAR. These tools will provide incredibly detailed information about Bennu. To reach Bennu, the OSIRIS-REx navigation team evaluates the optimal route or trajectory.

Periodically, manoeuvres need to be performed to keep the spacecraft on the intended route —similar to plugging in a predetermined route via your car’s navigation system. These manoeuvre sequences are just one example of the many things the spacecraft must be able to do autonomously as the spacecraft is not in constant communication with the Earth.

“With communication link times of several minutes between Earth and the spacecraft, autonomy is the crux of all activities executed on the OSIRIS-REx vehicle,” explained Josh Wood, OSIRIS-REx Systems Design Lead. “Having accurately followed every command the team has sent to it, OSIRIS-REx also knows how to autonomously take care of itself in an emergency.”

In the coming months, the team will choreograph a set of manoeuvres for OSIRIS-REx to follow as it flies by Earth this fall on its way to Bennu.

New ways of teaming allow humans and machines to do more together than they could by themselves. And this is just the beginning…

Reference Text/Photos:www.lockheedmartin.com

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