Robots Moving Robots: Lockheed Martin Conducts First Fully Autonomous Mission

Lockheed Martin, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), successfully conducted a fully autonomous resupply, reconnaissance, surveillance and target-acquisition demonstration using its Squad Mission Support System (SMSS) unmanned ground vehicle, K-MAX unmanned helicopter and Gyrocam optical sensor.

During the “Extending the Reach of the Warfighter through Robotics” capability assessment at Fort Benning, Georgia, K-MAX delivered SMSS by sling load to conduct an autonomous resupply mission scenario for soldiers defending a village.

At mission completion, SMSS proceeded to an observation point where it raised its Gyrocam sensor and began scanning the area for enemy forces. In an actual mission, upon observation of enemy forces, the remote operator would notify the commander on the ground, who would assess the threat and determine the appropriate method of neutralizing it.

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