MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Researchers in the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) in Mountain View, Calif., needed commercial technology to enable solders to operate several kinds of unmanned vehicles with one handheld controller. They found their solution from Auterion Government Solutions Inc. in Moorpark, Calif.
DIU has chosen Auterion for the Soldier Robotic Controller (SRoC) program, based on an existing commercial handheld controller called Skynav, company officials say.
The SRoC program seeks to develop control systems for small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) that today do not integrate with existing fielded equipment.
Designed with the ability to scale, the Auterion Skynav is interoperable and can control many types of quad, multi-rotor, VTOL, and fixed-wing small UAVs.
Under the SRoC Program, Auterion engineers will extend the Skynav's capabilities to accept external and embedded radio integration via an interchangeable module.
This enables air and ground interoperability by communicating via several open protocols and facilitates soldier-wearable solutions. The SRoC controller also will enable users to swap radio modules in the field.
"The ability to control and extract data from multiple types of air and ground systems using a flexible and scalable hardware platform coupled with a standard, government sponsored software platform is a critical element for current and future autonomous system development and deployment," says David Sharpin, CEO of Auterion Government Solutions.
For more information contact Auterion Government Solutions online at www.auterion-gs.com, or the Defense Innovation Unit at www.diu.mil.
