AI/ROBOTICS HAS RECENTLY BECOME AN EXTREMELY ACTIVE AREA FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT DOD AND, SPECIFICALLY, WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF ARMY.

AI/ROBOTICS HAS RECENTLY BECOME AN EXTREMELY ACTIVE AREA FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT DOD AND, SPECIFICALLY, WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF ARMY. OF THE FOUR PLANNED GENERAL AREAS THAT ARE TARGETED FOR DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY R&D (RECONNAISSANCE/ SURVEILLANCE, MATERIAL HANDLING, BATTLEFIELD AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE). TRADOC AND DARCOM HAVE PLACED A HIGH PRIORITY ON THE MISSION AREA ENTITLED COMBAT SERVICE SUPPORT WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON NEAR-TERM MATERIAL HANDLING APPLICATIONS. SINCE A MAJORITY OF THESE APPLICATIONS INVOLVE A DYNAMIC FIELD SITUATION RATHER THAN A FIXED OR STATIC MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENT. HEL HAS RECOGNIZED THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENT FOR A "HIGH PAYLOAD-TO-WEIGHT MANIPULATOR STRUCTURE" FOR SUCH HIGHLY MOBILE, MATERIAL HANDLING APPLICATIONS IN THE FIELD. AS OF THIS DATE, MANIPULATOR DEVELOPMENT HAS MAINLY CONCENTRATED ON THE DESIGN OF SPECIALIZED AND EFFECTORS, SENSOR INTEGRATION AND SOFTWARE CONTROL USING OFF-THE-SHELF, EXTREMELY HEAVY MANIPULATOR STRUCTURES AND LARGE, BULKY COMPUTER HARDWARE WHICH HAS BEEN DESIGNED PRIMARILY FOR INDUSTRIAL ROBOTIC APPLICATIONS. THESE INDUSTRIAL MANIPULATOR STRUCTURES WERE TYPICALLY DESIGNED TO LIFT A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THEIR OWN WEIGHT. THIS PROPOSAL IS TO PERFORM A SIX-MONTH ANALYSIS AND PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF A "HIGH PAYLOAD-TO-WEIGHT MANIPULATOR STRUCTURE" THAT WILL BE CAPABLE OF LIFTING AND MANEUVERING A LOAD EXCEEDING ITS OWN WEIGHT.