No abstract

The Man Portable Robotic System (MPRS) project objective was to build and deliver hardened robotic systems to the U.S. Army's 10 Mountain Division in Fort Drum, New York. The system, specifically designed for tunnel and sewer reconnaissance, was equipped with visual and audio sensors that allowed the Army engineers to detect trip wires and booby traps before personnel entered a potentially hostile environment.The MPRS system has shown to be useful in government and military supported field exercises, but the system has yet to reach the hands of civilian users. Potential users in Law Enforcement and Border Patrol have shown a strong interest in the system, but robotic costs were thought to be prohibitive for law enforcement budgets.Through the Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology (CCAT) program i , an attempt will be made to commercialize the MPRS. This included a detailed market analysis performed to verify the market viability of the technologies. Hence, the first step in this phase is to fully define the marketability of proposed technologies in terms of actual market size, pricing and cost factors, competitive risks and/or advantages, and other key factors used to develop marketing and business plans. KeyWords: MPRS, URBOT, CCAT, SWAT URBOT PLATFORM AND HISTORYThe MPRS Urban Robot (URBOT) was intended to remove the soldier from the dangerous and labor-intensive process of searching and clearing underground tunnels. The remotely operated URBOT was designed to detect hostile forces, locate and deactivate booby traps, deliver payloads, or simply stop, look, and listen, keeping the soldier safely removed from the hazards below ground. The URBOT is also an effective tool in adversative urban environments that soldiers may find themselves operating in.Designed to be fully invertible, the system can operate upside down or rightside up with no preference. Since the system was to be operated in the field by real soldiers, it had to be both waterproof and extremely rugged. The URBOT (Figures 1 and 2) is a tracked robot that can be remotely operated with a simple handheld push-button controller. Video is displayed through a five-inch active matrix LCD panel.The system is equipped with four cameras. A Sony 24X zoom, auto focus, auto iris, with electronic stabilization is used as an inspection camera. In addition, three more cameras are mounted on the platform. This includes a pair of fixed focus auxiliary "drive cameras" mounted on the top and bottom of the chassis and a rear mounted camera with an infrared illuminator. Power is supplied by four nickel metal hydride rechargeable batteries with a run time of two hours.All communications, including data, video, and audio, are handled through a single wireless Ethernet link. A 500mW bi-directional amplifier with a small 3dB patch antenna is used on the OCU side of the link. A 2-watt bi-directional amplifier with a 5dB omni-direction antenna mounted to the robot chassis is used on the robot side of the link. This enables the robot to be easily controll...

Autonomous mobile robots typically require a preconceived and very detailed navigational model (map) of their intended operating environment, but most law enforcement and urban warfare response scenarios preclude the availability of such a priori information. ROBART III is an advanced demonstration platform for non-lethal robotic response measures, incorporating a supervised autonomous navigation system specifically configured to support minimally attended operation in previously unexplored interior structures. A "human-centered mapping" strategy has been developed to ensure valid first-time interpretation of navigational landmarks as the robot builds its world model. The accuracy of the robot's real-time position estimation (and hence the model itself) is significantly enhanced by an innovative algorithm which exploits a heuristic that assumes the majority of man-made structures are characterized by parallel and orthogonal walls.Intruder detection and assessment capabilities are supported by intelligent fusion of data collected by a multitude of various sensors. Initial detection is by a 360-degree array of eight passive-infrared motion detectors responding to the thermal energy gradient created by a moving human target, with partial validation from a Doppler microwave motion detector. The robot's head-mounted sensors (and nonlethal weapon system) are then panned to the center of any perceived disturbance for further assessment. Automatic tracking of any confirmed movement is accomplished through conventional image processing using a black-and-white video surveillance camera equipped with a near-infrared illuminator for lowlight conditions. The non-lethal response systems incorporated on ROBART III include a six-barreled pneumaticallypowered Gatling gun capable of firing a variety of 3/16-inch-diameter projectiles, including simulated tranquilizer darts. A visible-red laser sight is provided to facilitate supervised operation as well as manual control of the weapon using remote video relayed to the operator from the robot's head-mounted camera. Three ear-piercing 103-decibel sirens can be activated to alert those nearby of imminent danger while simultaneously disorienting a confirmed intruder.For increased effectiveness, a distributed master/slave sensor network can be instantiated by deploying a number of small slave robots that follow ROBART III into an unexplored structure in trailing convoy fashion. Slaves are deployed and recovered automatically, so the remote operator needs to provide supervisory control of only the master. The slave robots can perform a multitude of assigned functions, to include acting as a distributed video and motion sensor network, in addition to providing a seamless RF-relay capability throughout the building.

No abstract

The Man Portable Robotic System (MPRS) project objective was to build and deliver hardened robotic systems to the U.S. Army's 10 Mountain Division in Fort Drum, New York. The system, specifically designed for tunnel and sewer reconnaissance, was equipped with visual and audio sensors that allowed the Army engineers to detect trip wires and booby traps before personnel entered a potentially hostile environment.The MPRS system has shown to be useful in government and military supported field exercises, but the system has yet to reach the hands of civilian users. Potential users in Law Enforcement and Border Patrol have shown a strong interest in the system, but robotic costs were thought to be prohibitive for law enforcement budgets.Through the Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology (CCAT) program i , an attempt will be made to commercialize the MPRS. This included a detailed market analysis performed to verify the market viability of the technologies. Hence, the first step in this phase is to fully define the marketability of proposed technologies in terms of actual market size, pricing and cost factors, competitive risks and/or advantages, and other key factors used to develop marketing and business plans. KeyWords: MPRS, URBOT, CCAT, SWAT URBOT PLATFORM AND HISTORYThe MPRS Urban Robot (URBOT) was intended to remove the soldier from the dangerous and labor-intensive process of searching and clearing underground tunnels. The remotely operated URBOT was designed to detect hostile forces, locate and deactivate booby traps, deliver payloads, or simply stop, look, and listen, keeping the soldier safely removed from the hazards below ground. The URBOT is also an effective tool in adversative urban environments that soldiers may find themselves operating in.Designed to be fully invertible, the system can operate upside down or rightside up with no preference. Since the system was to be operated in the field by real soldiers, it had to be both waterproof and extremely rugged. The URBOT (Figures 1 and 2) is a tracked robot that can be remotely operated with a simple handheld push-button controller. Video is displayed through a five-inch active matrix LCD panel.The system is equipped with four cameras. A Sony 24X zoom, auto focus, auto iris, with electronic stabilization is used as an inspection camera. In addition, three more cameras are mounted on the platform. This includes a pair of fixed focus auxiliary "drive cameras" mounted on the top and bottom of the chassis and a rear mounted camera with an infrared illuminator. Power is supplied by four nickel metal hydride rechargeable batteries with a run time of two hours.All communications, including data, video, and audio, are handled through a single wireless Ethernet link. A 500mW bi-directional amplifier with a small 3dB patch antenna is used on the OCU side of the link. A 2-watt bi-directional amplifier with a 5dB omni-direction antenna mounted to the robot chassis is used on the robot side of the link. This enables the robot to be easily controll...