Naval Weapons Assembly Robot System: NAVWARS

Assembly of weapons aboard ship is a difficult, manpower intensive operation. The Navy’s move toward complex, precision guided munitions such as the JDAM and Paveway GBUs increases these manpower demands. Introducing automation has the potential to improve weapons throughput while reducing the number of Navy personnel needed for the assembly process. Any automated solution must possess both the payload capacity to handle heavy bomb bodies and the dexterity to perform the intricate assembly tasks associated with GBUs, all within the confined space of a carrier’s magazine. Square One proposes a novel automated workcell that that utilizes an articulated arm robot to perform the requisite assembly tasks. The function of this robot is coordinated with servo-driven support fixtures that automatically adapt to the geometry of a range of air-launched weapons. Automated end effector exchange incorporated into the robot provides operational flexibility and maximizes weapons throughput. The Phase II development effort will include the design of a linear workcell capable of interfacing with up-stream material handling technologies, the construction of a full-scale prototype workcell and the complete evaluation of this workcell’s functionality. The goal is to conclusively establish the feasibility of automated shipboard weapons assembly. BENEFITS: The primary commercial application for the Compound Robotic Workcell is deployment on board the Navy’s CVN-21 Next Generation Aircraft Carrier. This dexterous, high-payload automated system will also be well suited to operations associated with the Army’s munitions demilitarization program and the DOE’s containerization of high-level nuclear waste.