Matthew Nelson
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency used autonomous robots in order to conduct a test to assess swarm autonomy tactics and technologies. During the demonstration, it utilized autonomous ground and air robots to establish a perimeter around a mock city hall and secure an objective inside the building for 30 minutes, DARPA said Tuesday.
The agency seeks to help military units secure information on tight spaces, vertical structures and areas with limited sight lines via the OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics program.
DARPA tapped Raytheon and Northrop Grumman to develop tools that will help create swarm tactics through the use of algorithms and behavior composition. In addition, various organizations including Heron and Cornell University helped in the demonstration and integration of swarm technologies.
Charles River Analytics, Northwestern University and Case Western Reserve University were selected by the agency to develop strategies in human-swarm teaming within six months in preparation for the next OFFSET field test.
