Ground robot programs finally getting underway.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew

After years of stagnation, the market for U.S. military ground robots is set to grow as a handful of programs enter their final development stages.

The Army is acquiring two new multi-purpose robots just as the Navy is finally proceeding with its long-delayed explosive ordnance disposal systems, officials said at a recent industry conference.

Meanwhile, the Army has put a much talked about robotic vehicle, designed to carry heavy loads for troops, in an accelerated acquisition program.

The new wave of ground robots is intended to replace the approximately 7,000 commercial-off-the-shelf systems procured since the beginning of the Iraq War, Bryan McVeigh, force protection product manager at the Army program executive office for combat support and combat service support, said at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International annual program review in Arlington, Virginia.

The near-term goals for the Army is to use such systems to lighten soldier loads, increase standoff distances from threats and to improve situational awareness, McVeigh said.

It has kicked off two programs of record: the common robotic system-individual (CRSI) and the man transportable robotic system (MTRS).

The CRSI will weigh between 25 to 30 pounds and is intended to give dismounted troops and explosive ordnance disposal teams a tool to see into risky places without exposing themselves. A request for proposals will be issued in the second quarter of fiscal year 2017 with a contract award expected in the first quarter of 2018, according to Shonneil Severns, the Army's deputy product manager for unmanned ground systems.

The MTRS is intended to replace the thousands of medium-sized, off-the-shelf robots fielded over the past 15 years that are in the 130 to 165-pound range. Along with EOD applications, it will be designed to incorporate a variety of mission packages, including chemical and biological threat sensors. The RFP was expected by the end of this year with a contract award in the third quarter of 2017, Severns said.

In addition, his office is working on a common controller that will guide both these robots as well as the Army's two main, tactical unmanned aerial vehicles--the Puma and Raven.

"Just imagine if you had one common controller that you could use for all these platforms. Imagine how much you can save just in the logistics area alone," Severns said.

As for the Navy, the advanced explosive ordnance disposal robotic system, or AEODRS, has three...