Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) has been at the forefront of innovation and it is
now bringing new possibilities to life when it comes to warfare on the ground.
DARPA Robotic Autonomy in Complex Environments with Resiliency vehicle
(RACER) has completed its first round of testing in off-road environments
The dune-buggy-like vehicle with no human driver is rolling across rugged
desert terrain in California’s Mojave Desert.
RACER is essentially a UGV or Unmanned Ground
Vehicle that is designed to operate without a human operator onboard.
It is equipped with several types of sensors like infrared cameras, and range sensing systems.
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes why DARPA could change the future battlefield with RACER?
Let's get into the details.
As per DARPA, as put by Dr. Stuart H. Young, the aim is simple,
“The Robotic Autonomy in Complex Environments with Resiliency (RACER) program is focused on
developing and demonstrating new autonomy algorithm technologies,
rather than vehicle or sensor technologies, that enable Unmanned Ground Vehicles
(UGVs) to maneuver on unstructured off-road terrain at speeds that are only
limited by considerations of sensor performance, mechanical constraints, and safety. At a minimum,
the program goal is software performance to move off-road at speeds on par with a human driver”
DARPA notes, “The self-driving car industry has made rapid advances via a vehicle platform-based,
agile develop-test-develop-test model that has accumulated data to help train algorithms and
refine approaches. Simulation-based development approaches use the same data for algorithm tuning.
On-road autonomy algorithms operate in well-structured and highly predictable
environments with limited obstacles. However, military off-road autonomy
algorithms and capability development has lagged due to the challenging complexity of
off-road terrain environments and need to travel in them at relevant speeds.”
DARPA explains “While RACER seeks to leverage advances in on-road autonomy,
the project is investigating innovative approaches that enable revolutionary
progress in algorithms operating on systems rather than science or research that primarily
results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice.
RACER will demonstrate game-changing autonomous UGV mobility, focused on speed and resiliency,
using a combination of simulation and advanced platforms. It tests algorithms
in the field at DARPA-hosted experiments across the country on a variety of terrain.
The program provides UGV platforms that research teams can use to develop autonomous
software capabilities through repeated cycles of tests on unstructured off-road landscapes.
Goals include not only autonomy algorithms, but also creation of simulation-based approaches and
environments that will support rapid advancement of self-driving capabilities for future UGVs.”
In March of this year, at the Army's National Training Center located in Fort Irwin, California,
the RACER vehicles were put through a series of tests. These tests consisted of over 55 drives,
covering distances ranging from approximately four to 11 miles
and reaching speeds of up to 25 mph or 40 kph.
RACER program manager Stuart Young in a press release,
“During this latest experiment, we continued to push vehicle limits in perceiving the environments
to greater distances, enabling a further increase in speeds and better adaptation
to newly encountered environmental conditions that will continue into RACER’s next phase”
DARPA said,
“Representatives from the US Army and Marine Corps were present at the experiment to aid in
the transfer of technologies developed in RACER to future service uncrewed initiatives and concepts,”
In the Ukraine-Russia conflict, autonomous unmanned vehicles were deployed by both Ukraine
and Russia. However, the effectiveness of these vehicles is restricted by their
programming and their dependence on human input to adapt to changing environments.
The potential for RACER is immense. It could be used for military and
security purposes in a wide range of applications, including reconnaissance,
surveillance, transportation, search and rescue, and even combat duties.
For example, a UGV could move forward as a scout and provide targeting info to other platforms.
The challenge is to enable the UGVs to be operated in rough, uncontrolled environments.
While UGVs are not likely to make an appearance on any battlefield in the next few years,
the fact remains As technology continues to advance, UGVs are expected to become
more sophisticated and versatile, and their use is likely to become more widespread.