Adaptable and Reusable Hardware/ Software (HW/SW ) Architectures And Components for Automated Materiel Handling

The US Army has an immediate need to minimize the manpower required to perform field material handling applications in forward supply operations. Replacing the existing manual equipment is not cost effective. This program aims to provide the Army with ageneric, open-architecture, component based control system that can be readily and economically adapted to a broad range of existing field material handling systems. The program builds on technology previously developed for the Army by RRC and others,providing the final components needed for deployment in the field.RRC has demonstrated in a previous program that through the application of robotic control and sensor technology, an existing manual material handling system can be modified to perform manytasks autonomously. However, an operator is still required to teleoperate portions of the tasks and monitor operation to avoid collisions. While the system reduces the manpower required to perform the tasks, several areas of improvement have beenidentified that will increase an operator's efficiency including; enhancements to the man machine interface and application development environment, implementation of obstacle avoidance and compliance control strategies and knowledge based programmingtechniques. These advancements complete the technology to enable Army deployment of practical field material handling systems. In addition to the material handling applications within the military complex, the development of a generic open architecturecontrol system with advanced user interface features has significant government and commercial market potential in any application demanding robotic manipulation in unstructured and/or hazardous environments, such as assembly, welding, cutting, stripping,cleaning and coating operations. Target sectors include the environmental remediation industry; civil infrastructure and commercial construction industry; and shipbuilding and aircraft industry.