Autonomy Unmanned Ground Vehicles and the U.S. Army

<p>As a result of technological maturation Congressional mandate and battlefield use the U.S. Army is currently involved in a tremendous amount of activity surrounding the development of unmanned systems (UMS). While current systems require near constant supervision the research and development community is developing capabilities that will greatly increase the autonomy of future UMS. The payoff of employing highly autonomous unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) for the Army is potentially high in a number of areas. However the second or third order effects could have negative consequences. This monograph analyzes current U.S. Army activities surrounding the development of autonomous UGVs in order to provide ideas for developers to better attain success and help prevent unintended consequences. Using lessons from the past and theories for innovation leaders can gain insight for the conduct of current development. The progress of technology has often been faster than our doctrine and policy development. As challenging as the time money and manpower might be to focus on autonomous UGV issues the potential benefits of autonomy to our Soldiers are too great not to make the investment.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>