Multi-Robot Operator Control Unit for Unmanned Systems

The U.S. military has incorporated many robotic systems into battlefield scenarios over the past several years, ranging from a single vehicle or unattended sensor to multiple vehicles and sensors. The majority of these systems use proprietary protocols requiring the creation and maintenance of a custom (stovepipe) operator control unit (OCU) able to control only a single asset type or a very limited subset of assets. With missions ranging from neutralization of an improvised explosive device (IED) to remote surveillance, the mix of hardware requires mission-specific control of functionality, and mission- specific information displayed to the operator. Some control units must be handheld, while others have large computational requirements and must be located in a Humvee or at a stationary land-based location.