Robotic Interconnecting Vessels Enabling River-crossing using Sensor Processing and Autonomous Navigation (RIVERSPAN)

The Army’s current approach to navigating gap crossings in riverine environments requires significant logistical support, exposes personnel to high risks, and relies on predictable crossing routes that are vulnerable to adversary attacks. To address these limitations, Charles River Analytics proposes Robotic Interconnecting Vessels Enabling River-crossing using Sensor Processing and Autonomous Navigation (RIVERSPAN), an advanced autonomy and sensing solution for uncrewed floating bridge bays. RIVERSPAN integrates Theory-of-Mind Collaborative Autonomy Technique (TOMCAT) with a multimodal sensor and communication suite, enabling autonomous navigation, obstacle avoidance, and coordinated platform formation without constant human oversight. This innovative system builds upon our previous successes in swarm autonomy, uncrewed maritime vehicles, and real-time situational awareness, ensuring that crossing operations remain resilient and adaptable even in degraded communications environments. By extending leading-edge artificial intelligence (AI)–driven perception, distributed decision-making, and proven sensing technologies, RIVERSPAN enhances the Army’s ability to conduct nonlinear, unpredictable, and survivable river crossings in contested environments while making those crossings safer and more affordable.