Small Robot Infrastructure Toolkit

Military and Law Enforcement groups are increasingly relying on small robotic Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) to perform a number of tasks. Many currently fielded UGVs per-form admirably on the narrow set of tasks they were designed for, but are generally unsuitable for tasks that vary too widely from their core competencies. Our Small Robotic Infrastructure Toolkit (SRIT) - consisting of a low degree-of-freedom manipu-lator arm, interchangeable end-effectors, a complete communications package and an adaptive Operator Control Unit (OCU) - increases the capabilities of currently fielded robotic UGVs by increasing the number of tools and end effectors available to them. The "plug'n'play" style of our SRIT allows operators to choose the appropriate tool for the task, and quickly attach it to the manipulator arm. Our SRIT is designed to be generic and modular. As future tasks are identified, new end effectors can be easily designed and integrated into the existing system. The manipulator arm uses a "Black & Decker" inspired Power Take Off that provides power and control for attached end effectors. The interchangeable end effectors are designed to be easily replace-able low cost units.