01 Dec 2005
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The Wildcat is specially adapted for harsh terrain
The ATC is about to get a four wheel drive with a difference: it will have a mind of its own. A custom made 'Bowler Wildcat' off- road vehicle is to be equipped with the latest robotic and network communications technology so that it can drive and think for itself. It will be the most complete demonstration yet of the ATC's autonomous vehicle know-how.
Autonomous vehicles that are aware of their situation and can act on their own decisions, are a hot topic in the defence business. The future battle field is viewed by military planners as a menagerie of robots acting together in the air, sea and on land. Individual pieces of the technology jigsaw needed to make this happen are already available but the now the trick is to put them all together.
In its 'Intelligent Autonomous Systems' programme, the ATC has demonstrated over the last few years robot vehicle concepts progressing from 'toy' sized runabouts up to a six wheeled, battery powered vehicle the size of a garden tractor called 'Robovolc'.
Specially adapted for harsh terrain, one foray took this machine up the baking, volcanic slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily.
The culmination to this activity is the acquisition by the ATC of a bespoke four wheel drive vehicle called Wildcat made Bowler Ltd.
This is now being equipped with fully automatic control of all drive functions (acceleration, steering and braking) together with a networked computer 'brain'. This is not just a self-driving vehicle: it will be able to assess its position and surroundings, communicate with information networks (including other vehicles), decide what to do and then act.
"The goal of the programme is demonstrate a group of autonomous assets operating in a real environment." says John Puddy, project leader at the ATC "The Wildcat will allow us to show the interconnected operation of a ground vehicle, unmanned air vehicles and people in a complete mission environment." he says.
To achieve this, within the next 12 months, John and his team will ship the vehicle to testing grounds in Australia where it will interact with a fleet of small unmanned air vehicles developed by BAE Systems for a related programme. The Wildcat will also be suitable for remote control or 'tele-operation' by human operators.
Acquiring the off-roader moves the game on significantly from the current small vehicle demonstrator.
"Robovolc allowed the demonstration of a small number of individual technologies. This new vehicle allows us to combine a whole suit of sensors, communication technology and robot control systems all together in one platform." says John.
The range and endurance will also be tremendously enhanced. Robovolc has a battery life of two hours, whereas the Wildcat will have a range of 300 miles and will operate for up to 8 hours before refuelling. The aim is to provide BAE Systems with an impressive demonstration of autonomous vehicle capability and networked enable capability which is already generating much interest in the company's Land Systems businesses.
