The Roboscout is being Developed By the German Company

Germany Made Roboscout

Already mentioned above, the Singapore Technology Fantail pursues the same goal as the French Odin, in that it is also being considered to be part of the Singaporean Army’s soldier modernisation programme.As with the Mav, however, it is powered by a thermal engine.

Unlike drones, which have the ability to conduct a mission and return home on their own, ground unmanned vehicles need to cope with a number of obstacles that the drones do not have. They thus permanently need to be remotely controlled, via radio or a cable (tether). The ultimate goal in land robotics is to obtain a vehicle that is able to sense the terrain, recognise obstacles and avoid them. This necessitates not only a vast number of sensors, but also a great deal of artificial intelligence.

Indeed, how can a robot that ‘sees’ a vast expanse ahead of it through its sensors interpret this as a viable field when it might be a lake? Some of the most advanced autonomous land robots are probably the Israeli AvantGuard and Guardium respectively developed by Elbit and IAI, but even then, these are intended to conduct patrol missions along a well-planned, pre-determined route. A number of competitions have been
taking place in recent years, including those conducted under the auspices of Darpa. In fact the agency will highlight two of its nine strategic research thrusts Urban Area Operations and Advanced Manned and Unmanned Systems at its third Grand Challenge competition on 3 November 2007.

Darpa Director Dr Tony Tether told the House Armed Services Committee, Terrorism and Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, on 21 March, the next big leap will be an autonomous vehicle that can navigate and operate in traffic, a far more complex challenge for a 'robotic'driver. For the Darpa Urban Challenge competing teams will have to demonstrate the ability of their unmanned ground vehicles to conduct simulated military supply missions in a mock urban area. Darpa officials will select competing teams following an analysis of 53 site visits conducted in June and will announce the location for the Urban Challenge on 10 August.