Page 38 - Australian Defence Magazine Dec21-Jan22

38 DEFENCE BUSINESS AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
how we can overcome some of the challenges of networking these platforms together by ‘computing at the edge’ rather than through a network system.”
This methodology is different to that used by Army’s au- tonomous M113AS4 Optionally Crewed Combat Vehicle (OCCV) program developed in conjunction with BAE Sys- tems Australia, which uses a networked form of control. By early 2020, the work was sufficiently advanced to seek further funding and this resulted in the latest $3.5 million program at Monegeetta.
TECHNOLOGY
While commercial companies such as Google are developing ways autonomous ve- hicles can navigate by using a knowledge of their exact position together with a mapped understanding of the fixed infrastructure around them, Army needs a capability which can go to places it perhaps has never been before. The Leader-Follower system there- fore requires the autonomy able to operate independently, based on the knowledge of its exact location.
need to be a vehicle either, it could be a human walking ahead of it, or even a UAS.”
FUTURE CHALLENGES
Work is now underway to explore future opportunities and will form the basis for future trials when the team is happy with the reliability and performance characteristics of the prototype system.
“I think there are also realistic, practical challenges: For example, a 100-vehicle convoy would be a particularly challenging undertaking, not least of which would be the pass time for anyone around it,”
“IISRI HAS DEVELOPED A FULLY AUTONOMOUS SYSTEM WHICH UNDERSTANDS THE ROUTE IT IS DESIRED TO TAKE, AND THE LEAD VEHICLE THEN RESPONDS TO THAT INFORMATION”
COL Smith adds.
“But there are definitely practical appli-
cations and we hope to find out what the practical or desirable limit is when we be- gin soldier-based trials, but we’re starting to develop the system such that, if the second vehicle for example becomes disabled, the 3rd, 4th and 5th vehicles will move past and continue on their route.”
Other challenges include dealing with breakdowns, or changing tyres. “What are the practical limitations of using these au- tonomous convoys, does that limit range to the platforms, does the lead vehicle carry a
In response, IISRI has developed a fully
autonomous system which understands the
route it is desired to take, and the lead vehicle then re- sponds to that information. In terms of decision-making, the autonomous platform uses five different sensors to build a picture of what it ‘sees’ and responds accordingly.
“For instance, if the vehicle identifies and classifies a vulnerable road-user such as a pedestrian, it works out if the pedestrian is on the road or not and, if it is, adjusts its behaviour based on the fact that it’s bigger than the pedes- trian and will slow down, because that’s the way it’s been programmed,” COL Smith explains.
“Equally, it also has a forward predictive element to it: it tries to predict ten seconds into the future, based on what it is currently doing and what it is likely to do in the future – and adjusts its behaviour accordingly. The leader doesn’t
which we use
maintenance team rather than a driving team?” COL Smith asks. “It could begin to change the way in which we ap- proach distribution in the future.”
COL Smith acknowledges that there are some circum- stances where an autonomous resupply convoy will not be able to operate, in a rapidly-changing tactical scenario or environmental conditions for example. Such systems are also limited by the current levels of AI, which cannot yet switch from one set of rules and circumstances to another and back again the way a human brain is able to do.
In the more immediate future however is the aforemen- tioned collaboration phase undertaken in conjunction with the ARRB to understand how the Leader-Follower system
can navigate the different road rules between states and what requirements will need to be met before testing can safely be conducted on public roads.
“That’s not going to happen overnight, the ARRB will help us to navigate the several hun- dred road rules we’ll need to ensure the system understands and obeys, and is able to participate in that environment,” COL Smith concludes.
The Leader-Follower program won the Sup- port/Services category in ADM’s 2021 Essing- ton Lewis awards and in 2020, the M113AS4 OCCV program won both the Support/Services category and the Essington Lewis trophy. ■
LEFT: Work is now underway to explore future opportunities and will form the basis for future trials
DEFENCE