Autonomous Push

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has singled out autonomous systems as a key investment area in the Pentagon's new innovation initiative amid the Army's ongoing efforts to plumb industry for potential unmanned ground vehicle technologies.

Hagel's new Defense Innovation Initiative will include a Long-Range Research and Development Planning program that will help identify "breakthroughs" in the fields of robotics, autonomous systems, miniaturization, big data and advanced manufacturing like 3-D printing.

"We all know that DOD no longer has exclusive access to the most cutting-edge technology, or the ability to spur -- or control -- the development of new technologies the way we once did," Hagel said Saturday at the Reagan Defense Forum in Simi, Valley, CA.

"So we will actively seek proposals from the private sector, including from firms and academic institutions outside DOD's traditional orbit," he continued.

Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work will chair a new Advanced Capability and Deterrence Panel aimed at executing the initiative.

"The Defense Innovation Initiative will shape our programs, plans, and budgets," Hagel said. "As the initiative matures over time, I expect its impact on DOD's budget to scale up in tandem," he continued. "It will put new resources behind innovation but also account for today's fiscal realities by focusing on investments that will sharpen our military edge even as we contend with fewer resources."

Meanwhile, the Army is looking for technologies to create small, lightweight autonomous ground vehicles that can detect and defeat improvised explosive devices, explore and map underground tunnels, and detect and clear mines, according to a recent Federal Business Opportunities website announcement (Inside the Army, Nov. 17).

Maj. Gen. Robert Dyess, the Army's director of force development (G-8), said last month that the service is committed to getting autonomous vehicle technology off the ground.

"Once we have these requirements, they're still going to compete for funding within the realities of a shrinking defense budget, and we'll rely even more on our industry partners to leverage commercial technology development, and gradually introduce autonomy into units to gain soldier trust and confidence," Dyess said Nov. 4 at an Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International conference in Arlington,VA (ITA, Nov. 10).

The Army's newest operating concept -- "Win In A Complex World" -- also highlights the importance of autonomous ground vehicles.

"The Army clearly recognizes the enormous potential for increased autonomous behaviors in unmanned ground systems to become true team members augmenting our soldiers in the manned-unmanned team,” according to the new concept.