Contact Information: Contact: Bill Finn 626-443-6818, Ext 215 www.amrel.com billf@amrel.com
Solution Found for Battlefield Robot Control Problem
| Source: AMREL Corporation
EL MONTE, CA--(Marketwire - January 13, 2010) - American Reliance Inc. (AMREL), developer of
customized interoperable solutions, announced that it has solved a major
control problem of battlefield unmanned systems.
"Our solution is going to save lives," proclaims Michael Castillo, Senior
Application Architect (Robotics) for AMREL. "Right now, control systems are
a big headache for robots in theater. At least 42 separate Operator Control
Units (OCUs) are used to command robots in Iraq and Afghanistan. The
vast majority controls only a single type of unmanned system and cannot be
modified to control others."
This "stove-pipe" engineering of dedicated OCUs prevents single-operator
control of multiple robots, which limits the benefit of
force-multiplication. It also increases cost of ownership, complicates
training, challenges logistics, and hampers mission flexibility. The
Department of Defense is set to develop a common control system for most
robots by 2012.
"Our guys can't wait that long," declares Mr. Castillo. "The lack of robot
interoperability continues to jeopardize our men and women in uniform, so
AMREL has come up with an immediate solution."
When a soldier wants to change control systems, explains Mr. Castillo, he
simply switches Radio Control Modules on his ROCKY rugged computer. Based
on a deployed, battle-tested, mature solution, no special equipment or
expertise is required, and can be done quickly by soldiers in the field.
"We call it 'Field Expedient Interoperability,'" says Mr. Castillo. "We
expect a more technologically advanced solution to be developed eventually.
In the meantime, our Radio Control Modules enable a soldier in the field to
switch applications as easily as changing a tire. Our soldiers don't have
to wait to 2012 for common control."
For more information, visit www.commoncontrolnow.com.
ABOUT AMREL
American Reliance Inc. (AMREL) designs and manufactures small-footprint,
highly integrated, rugged mobile computing solutions for OCUs. Our modular
single solution approach minimizes peripheral devices, the total cost, as
well as space and weight requirements. Quickly and easily modified, a
single OCU can command and control a wide array of Unmanned Systems.