One critical aspect in developing a quantitative model of unmanned autonomous vehicle (UAV) operator and system performance has been to adopt a task-centric approach to interface design that entails an explicit representation of actions or tasks that need to be performed by the operator. The representation of work in terms of a task serves as a trace in the system that enables designers to track workload in addition to the task progress and flow of tasks among team members. In supervisory control, the focus is the flow of tasks (work) through a system that is composed of human servers and automated servers (software agents).

Integrated simulation capabilities that are high-fidelity, fast, and have scalable architecture are essential to support autonomous vehicle design and performance assessment for the Army’s growing use of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). A mobility simulation of an autonomous vehicle in an off-road scenario was developed using integrated sensor, controller, and multibody dynamics models.

Micro-Epsilon
Raleigh, NC
919-787-9707
www.micro-epsilon.com

Defective solar cells can destroy an entire module. Therefore, conducting regular inspections using thermography is a great way to perform preventative maintenance on photovoltaics installations. Any noticeable differences in temperature that are encountered can be used to reliably detect electrical, mechanical, installation and processing-related defects, including short circuits, inactive cells, moisture, and poorly soldered joints. As part of scheduled maintenance operations, thermography can provide valuable information for resolving warranty claims.

Northrop Grumman
Falls Church, VA
703-280-2900
www.northropgrumman.com

The Northrop Grumman Corporation-built unmanned demonstrator aircraft used for maritime surveillance missions by the U.S. Navy recently surpassed 10,000 combat flying hours supporting intelligence-gathering missions in the Middle East. The Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstration (BAMS-D) aircraft are currently flying 15 missions a month and allow fleet commanders to identify and track potential targets of interest using a specialized suite of surveillance sensors.

Raytheon
Fullerton, CA
714-446-2315
www.raytheon.com

Solid Concepts Inc.
Valencia, CA
661-295-4400
www.solidconcepts.com

Raytheon is addressing the need for smaller tactical weapons that still incorporate all fundamental features for small tactical manned or unmanned aerial platforms with some help from additive manufacturing (a.k.a. 3D printing). Their newest tactical munition, named Pyros, is light, precise, and a serious weapon.

RE2
Pittsburgh, PA
412-681-6382
www.resquared.com

RE2, Inc. recently announced that the company has been awarded additional funding by the Department of Defense to commercialize its high speed inspection robot called the Fore-Runner. The ForeRunner unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) was developed under an Army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the additional funding was awarded through the Robotics Technology Consortium as a Phase III SBIR with the Army’s Tank and Automotive Research Engineering and Development Center (TARDEC).

In the world of electronic counter measures (ECM), there is a constant battle of one-upmanship, where each side is continually innovating to stay ahead of the other. ECM are typically developed and implemented to thwart an adversary’s specific radar technology. To be effective, Electronic Attack* (EA) systems must be able to identify emitters in the environment and then selectively attack with specific techniques. They must also possess the ability to attack multiple emitters simultaneously with a combination of noncoherent and coherent jamming techniques.

Modern warfare often involves poorly defined battle lines accompanied by multilevel fire support systems that can deliver firepower with high precision and devastating lethality from a long distance. The ability to immediately and accurately discriminate through sight between friend and foe is of great importance to military operations for effectively destroying hostile forces while preventing fratricide. This ability is even more crucial for irregular and unconventional warfare such as anti-terrorism operations where US forces often engage enemy combatants well entrenched in urban settings or rugged terrains at night. In such battlefield conditions, using conventional daylight and thermal imagery often exceeds the ability to accurately identify targets as friend or foe, and more reliable battlefield identification methods are needed.

The proliferation of unmanned military vehicles tasked with critical communications and radar requirements drives the need for powerful data acquisition and signal processing products that must fit into increasingly tighter spaces. New industry standards meeting these needs offer smaller circuit boards and enclosures, optical gigabit serial links, and advanced thermal management strategies. With new resources found in the latest processors and FPGAs, system designers can now create powerful, compact systems surpassing performance levels achievable only a few years ago.

by Richard Gardner

For well over a century the word “Sheffield” has been synonymous with high-quality steel products, ranging from cutlery to heavy engineering products for bridges, railways, and aircraft. Following many years of industrial decline as much traditional large-scale manufacturing departed in the direction of low-wage Asian economies, the region suffered accordingly.