"A presence at this premier event on autonomous technology is a good opportunity for us to share our vision for the future of unmanned systems for the Navy from a science and technology perspective," said Dr. Larry Schuette, ONR's director of innovation, who oversees the organization's autonomous portfolio.
AUVSI affords the Department of the Navy (DoN) with a vantage point for exploring the slate of academia and industry's most promising autonomous technologies.
"We're the Department of the Navy's venture capitalists--we spend money on maturing science and technology [S&T]-and when you go to these meetings, you learn so much about what people are doing on their own nickel," Schuette said. "If we can find technology that fits our need without us having to develop it, then the warfighter will get it faster at less cost to the government."
The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory will highlight two of its technologies in ONR's booth. The first, the Ground Unmanned Support Surrogate Vehicle, is a sensor-loaded, remote-controlled cyber mule made to haul gear or evacuate wounded from danger zones. The second, the Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System, is an agile, combat-ready, remotely controlled droid with two-way communication features and multiple cameras.
ONR will also participate in this year's RoboTour, a free educational program that introduces future scientists and engineers to unmanned systems. The tour, which takes place Aug. 18 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., will highlight ONR and 14 other organizations selected from more than 450 exhibitors to participate.
Located within Booth No. 1027, the ONR exhibit will feature the following technologies:
- AcceleGlove-A lightweight glove with seamlessly integrated sensors that lets operators use their hands to control any computer application or device.
- Cognitive Humanoid Autonomous Robot with Learning Intelligence Lightweight 2 (CHARLI-L2)-the United States' first fully autonomous walking humanoid robot.
- Dynamic Anthropomorphic Robot with Intelligence - Open Platform (DARwIn-OP)-a mobile, humanoid robot that will demonstrate its soccer skills, walking the "field" and chasing and kicking balls.
- Remote Environmental Monitoring Unit(s), or REMUS-a low-cost autonomous underwater vehicle capable of rapid environmental surveys and underwater mine reconnaissance.
- Shipboard Autonomous Fire Fighting Robot (SAFFiR)-a bio-inspired, fire-hardened robot that autonomously locates and extinguishes fires.
SOURCE: Office of Naval Research