SIMULATION/MODELING OF ROBOTIC VEHICLES ON THE BATTLEFIELD

THE RECENT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN COMPUTER SYSTEMS, PRIMARILY THOSE RELATED TO INTEGRATED CIRCUITS, HAVE RESULTED IN MOVING THE ROBOTIC SYSTEM FROM THE CONCEPTUAL DRAWING BOARD TO A FEASIBLE SYSTEM WITH SEVERAL PROTOTYPES, SUCH AS THE DARPA AUTOMATED LAND VEHICLE (ALV), CURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT. AS THESE PROJECTS MOVE FORWARD REMAINING ENGINEERING PROBLEMS ARE BEING SOLVE, AND, IN ALL PROBABILITY, CURRENT AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY WILL RESULT IN A FULLY DEMONSTRATED SYSTEM IN THE EARLY OR LATE 1990S. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF VERY DETAILED ENGINEERING LEVEL COMPUTER MODELS IN DEVELOPMENT BY CONTRACTORS SUPPORTING THE ROBOTIC PROGRAM, THERE IS ONLY ONE FUNDED SIMULATION EFFORT (SIMNET) WITH POTENTIAL FOR EXAMINING THE OVERALL SYSTEMS EFFECTIVENESS OF EMERGING ROBOTIC SYSTEMS. AND, THE SIMNET PROGRAM AS NOW DEFINED WILL NOT PROVIDE A LOW COST SIMULATION METHODO-LOGY TO ADDRESS ROBOTIC ISSUES EARLY IN RESEARCH STAGE. FURTHERMORE, NONE OF THE EXISTING FAMILY OF ARMY COMBAT MODELS USED BY THE MAJOR ARMY SYSTEMS ANALYSIS ACTIVITIES OR THE AMC LABORATORIES HAVE THE FUNDAMENTAL MODEL ARCHITECTURES TO ADEQUATELY ADDRESS ROBOTIC SYSTEMS AT THE LEVEL OF RESOLUTION REQUIRED. AND, IT IS DOUBTFUL THAT THESE ACTIVITIES WILL SHOW AN EARLY INTEREST IN ADAPTING THEIR CURRENT MODELS TO INCORPORATE ROBOTICS UNTIL DEMONSTRATABLE SYSTEMS ARE AVAILABLE.