SwRI: Unmanned Ground Vehicles, Avionics and Support Systems, Aerospace Electronics and Information Technology

  image of unmanned ground vehicle
 

Unmanned Ground Vehicle

The unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) program at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) was designed to participate in basic and applied research to advance the state of the art in unmanned ground vehicle performance, efficiency, safety, and cost for urban and extreme environments.

 

With more than 50 years of experience in the automotive industry, SwRI has the expertise and capabilities that benefit the UGV industry.

  • Robustness and Reliability

    Extensive experience in manned and unmanned weapons systems gives SwRI an edge when developing rugged, highly reliable, fault-tolerant control systems.

  • Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS)

    • Vehicle management systems

    • Engine and vehicle structure health monitoring

    • Ground control stations

    • Hybrid vehicles

    • Traffic monitoring systems

    • Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation

  • Terrain Modeling for Convoy Operations

    Recent internal research includes a simulation package to model sparsely manned convoys.

  • Model-Based Design

    In compliance with SwRI's ISO 9001:2000 processes, SwRI uses model-based design techniques as part of its system design process. SwRI staff members create system models and controllers using the design tools and extensively test and evaluate their performance against the system requirements. The design tools produce software that eliminates the need for manual conversion and reduces development time.

  • UGV Capabilities

    • Positioning:  GPS and inertial navigation system (INS)

    • Integration:  Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software

    • Intelligence:  Layered control scheme

    • Perception:  Obstacle detection and path acquisition

    • Communications:  DSRC, JTRS, Software-Defined Radio (SDR)

    • Command and control:  Smart user interface, drive-by-wire

  • Applications of Research

    • Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS)

    • Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems (IVBSS)

    • Perimeter and border patrol

    • Automated inspection vehicles

    • Hazardous waste and explosive ordnance disposal

    • Emergency response vehicles

    • Autonomous and semi-autonomous convoy operations

    • Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I)

  • Software Languages

    • C/C++

    • Java®

    • Microsoft®.Net™

    • MATLAB®, Simulink®

  • Facilities

    • Proving Ground: 1.16-mile track

    • Urban Environment Vehicle Test Bed

    • Test Platform: Drive-by-wire, real-time controller, quad rack-mounted computers

    • Two million square feet of office and laboratory space

For more information about unmanned ground vehicle capabilities at SwRI or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact Christopher E. Camargo at ccamargo@swri.org or (210) 522-2095.

 

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Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) is an independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 12 technical divisions using multidisciplinary approaches to problem solving. The Institute occupies more than 1,200 acres and provides nearly two million square feet of laboratories, test facilities, workshops, and offices for more than 3,300 employees who perform contract work for industry and government clients.