Scott Nicholas
Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy have finished a critical design review of a robotic technology the company designed to support explosive ordnance reconnaissance and threat assessment operations.
The assessment determined that Northrop’s final design for a dismounted operations variant of the Advanced Explosive Ordnance Disposal Robotic System is ready to enter the program’s system fabrication, assembly, integration and testing phases, the company said Tuesday.
Northrop leads a team comprising Harris Corp., QinetiQ North America, Bokam Engineering, Carnegie Robotics, Hunter Defense Technologies, Neya Systems and Telefactor Robotics on the AEODRS increment one contract awarded by the Naval Sea Systems Command in late August.
“We will continue our close collaboration with the Navy and user communities to ensure the delivery of a quality system that meets Navy requirements,” said Dan Verwiel, vice president and general manager of missile defense and protective systems at Northrop’s mission systems unit.
The less than 35-pound increment one system will comprise a handheld operator control unit, a communications link and mobility, power, master, manipulator, end effector, visual sensor and autonomous behavior capability modules.
The Northrop-led team’s AEODRS technology is designed to have a modular, open systems architecture that the company says will allow the robot to be configured for various mission scenarios.
