Robotic Mechanisms Capable of Attaching Themselves to Moving Ground Vehicles

This proposal introduces an innovative robotic mechanism and control system designed to localize, track, and attach itself to a moving ground vehicle. Our proposed design is presented in detail, however the Phase I effort will evaluated a range of alternatives for all major components using a Kepner Tregoe analysis. This vehicle has many applications such as tracking and targeting enemy vehicles, reconaissance, miscelaneous payload delivery, and restricted facility entrance. The proposed system would be capable of both supervised teleoperated control and unsupervised autonomous control. Utilizing an optimized radio control car chassis and a modular control system design the robot will be capable of traversing a variety of terrains and engaging many different types of vehicles. An innovative mechanical engagement system is proposed. A collection of behavior control algorithms utilizing an optimized navigational sensor suite govern the robot's navigation, control, and the deployment of the mechanical engagement system. Target acquisition, tracking, engagement, and obstacle avoidance are all supported behaviors using a suite of sensors including a visual tracking system for real-time control.