Stratom wins SBIR Phase III contract for autonomous cargo handling
Key Highlights
- Stratom's APL is designed to load, unload, and move palletized cargo up to 10,000 pounds in austere environments.
- The system supports military aircraft such as CH-53K and C-130, with ongoing efforts to expand payload compatibility to include munitions and various pallet types.
- Phase III will focus on advancing autonomy from feature-based to conditional and supervised behaviors, enabling higher-level task management.
LOUISVILLE, Colo. - Stratom has won a four-year Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III contract sponsored by U.S. Transportation Command to continue development of its Autonomous Pallet Loader (APL) for military cargo handling in distributed and contested logistics environments.
The contract, executed through Air Force CyberWorx, builds on previous SBIR work on the APL with the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force. Stratom says the Phase III effort will also involve U.S. Central Command and support the Joint Deployment and Distribution Enterprise.
The APL is an autonomous material-handling vehicle designed to load, unload, and move palletized cargo in austere environments. The system is designed to handle payloads of up to 10,000 pounds and has been developed for compatibility with military aircraft, including the CH-53K King Stallion and C-130 Hercules.
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Stratom says an APL prototype has demonstrated loading and unloading a 463L pallet weighing up to 10,000 pounds. The company also says the system is designed for operation on austere flight lines, expeditionary advanced bases, and forward arming and refueling points.
Earlier SBIR work included developing autonomous cargo pickup and drop-off, cross-decking with aircraft ramps, and autonomous driving into and out of aircraft. The program has also included development of sensors for cargo stability and operator situational awareness, as well as testing in operationally relevant environments.
Under the new Phase III effort, Stratom plans to expand the APL's cargo compatibility to include 463L half pallets, wooden pallets and large munitions, including Multiple Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions. The company also plans to mature the system's autonomy for maneuvering around aircraft and in other constrained environments.
Stratom says the four-year effort will advance the APL from feature-based autonomous behaviors toward conditional and supervised autonomy. The intended capability would allow operators to issue higher-level, objective-based tasks rather than direct the vehicle through individual steps while maintaining defined safety constraints.
The company says the Phase III program will include continued testing with military end users to support operational evaluation and readiness. Stratom previously said its APL was entering the airworthiness-qualification process for integration with the Marine Corps CH-53K.
For more information, please visit https://www.stratom.com/.
