UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLE MOBILITY

IN RESPONSE TO DOD SBIR SOLICITATION 91.2, TOPIC A91-099 "UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLE MOBILITY", REDZONE ROBOTICS PROPOSES TO PERFORM A STUDY OF THE UNIQUE MOBILITY REQUIREMENTS OF UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES, AND TO APPLY THESE REQUIREMENTS TO AN EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES. THE OUTCOME OF THE PHASE I STUDY WILL BE: (1) A COMPREHENSIVE CHARACTERIZATION OF MOBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR UNMANNED VEHICLES; (2) A METHODOLOGY FOR WEIGHING THESE REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC MILITARY MISSIONS AND/OR PAYLOADS; (3) A LISTING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF KEY VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES; (4) A FORMAL EVALUATION OF KEY VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES AGAINST THE WEIGHTED REQUIREMENTS OF MILITARY UNMANNED VEHICLES; (5) A FORMAL EVALUATION OF EXISTING VEHICLES AND NOVEL VEHICLE CONCEPTS (INTEGRATIONS OF KEY TECHNOLOGIES) AGAINST THE REQUIREMENTS OF A SPECIFIC MILITARY MISSION/PAYLOAD SCENARIO; AND (6) DOCUMENTATION OF THE MOST HIGHLY RATED VEHICLE CONCEPTS SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT THE GOVERNMENT'S DETERMINATION OF THEIR APPROPRIATENESS TO THE UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES PROGRAM. PHASE II WILL PROTOTYPE ONE OF THE CONCEPTS FROM PHASE I, AND PHASE III WILL FURTHER THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROTOTYPE TO FIELD WORTHINESS AND MILITARY SPECIFICATIONS TOWARD COMMERCIALIZATION.