The RCTA program is an alliance of ARL and a consortium of academic and industry partners. The program was awarded in 2010 and is expected to conclude by early 2019. The program conducts leading edge research in basic and applied ground robotics technologies, with an overarching goal of going from tele-operated to autonomous robot teammates. The research addresses the US Army’s manned-unmanned teaming (MUMT) requirement, particularly for the dismounted team. However, the research is also applicable to other MUMT scenarios including larger platforms and systems. The program’s four research focus areas are: Perception, Intelligence, Human-Robot Interaction, and Dexterous Manipulation and Unique Mobility. In addition to these four research areas, the alliance regularly integrates research into demonstrable technologies and conducts technology assessments. The four research areas address key technology gaps in achieving several key autonomous robotic capabilities such as high-speed perception and mobility in rough terrain, situation awareness in unstructured environment, collaborative human-robot mission planning and execution, multimodal human-robot dialogue, and dexterous manipulation in cluttered environment. This paper provides an update on RCTA program structure and the current research topics.

Date Published: 3 May 2018
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 10640, Unmanned Systems Technology XX, 106400D (3 May 2018); doi: 10.1117/12.2314662

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 10640:
Unmanned Systems Technology XX
Robert E. Karlsen; Douglas W. Gage; Charles M. Shoemaker; Hoa G. Nguyen, Editor(s)