Open-Architecture Agent-Based Intelligent Control Framework for Simulation and Execution of Robotic Counter-IED Operations

The fluid nature of the contemporary IED-based warfare necessitates the coalition forces to carry out IED defeat missions in a highly flexible and adaptive manner. To support this need, Intelligent Automation Inc., with collaboration from Black-I Robotics, will utilize its expertise in robotics, sensors, software engineering, mechanical engineering, and counter-IED technology to develop an open-architecture agent-based intelligent control framework that facilitates rapid prototyping and execution of robotic counter-IED operations including standoff detection/neutralization of IED threats as well as simple shared control driving. The key innovation includes a novel software toolset called DCF-CIED. Extended from IAI"s COTS product, Distributed Control Framework (DCF), the JAUS-compliant DCF-CIED provides the military personnel with a universal robotic software framework to rapidly develop a new robot behavior for a new mission specification or a new hardware configuration (e.g., sensors, actuators, robot platforms, etc.). The built-in simulator allows them to perform simulated, mixed-model (virtual and live/hardware in the loop), and live testing of the behavior before actual execution of the mission. As to demonstrate its utility, using this framework, robust counter-IED behaviors for deep insertion missions are going to be developed in this project.