Autonomous Indoor/Outdoor Warehouse Operation

Under the Distribution Modernization Program (DMP), the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is evaluating new technologies to help simplify processes, reduce costs and increase productivity and quality while increasing warfighter readiness and accuracy, realizing reform savings and improving industry partnerships and best practices. One of the key enabling technologies under investigation is autonomous vehicles for automating material movement. Over the past decade, commercial industry has begun to integrate flexible robotic material handling solutions to improve the efficiency and reliability of operations. This has been particularly true for manufacturing facilities and warehouses, which have begun to integrate a wide range of autonomous vehicles for retrieving and moving supplies. However, military storage sites and depots have not yet integrated these emerging technologies. As part of this solicitation, the Distribution Modernization Program (DMP) has requested development of an autonomous solutions in support of the routine navigation of vehicles operating outdoors between DLA distribution warehouses, indoors within the DLA warehouses, and when traversing warehouse tunnels. Cybernet proposes to leverage our existing Autonomous Material Handling Technology (AMHT) applique kit to develop an autonomous indoor/outdoor tugs and fork trucks (to be developed in Phase II) capable of meeting DLA’s requirements. During Phase I, we will work with DLA to develop an overall design for how the AMHT kit will be integrated into a relevant material handling vehicle, develop a CONOPS for how the autonomous vehicles will be utilized in DLA missions, and show overall feasibility by demonstrating AMHT functionality.