Roke Manor Research has partnered with Marshall Land Systems to enhance Marshall’s unmanned ground vehicle platforms with mobile surveillance and electronic warfare (EW) features.
TRAKKAR System
The upgraded system will be displayed at the DSEi’s Robotics Showcase which is scheduled between the 13 and 16, September 2011 at London. Marshall is already supported by a number of defence technology developers who are now joined by Roke to support the development of advanced UGV systems. The improved UGVs will provide surveillance troops with sophisticated support when they undertake dismounted patrols. The personnel will be shielded from snipers when they search for vehicles, buildings and thoroughfares for implanted improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Two of Marshall’s UGV platforms, namely QUESTAR and TRAKKAR will be upgraded with Synapse, a smart navigation system for unmanned systems from Roke. With this upgrade, the UGVs will be able to survey beyond the line of sight of the operator at the same time come up with an optimized route plan that avoids hurdles while undertaking a mission. By following this path, the power consumption of the UGV will come down considerably and also the survivability would increase. In order to provide the TRAKKAR platform with ISTAR capabilities and the electronic warfare system RESOLVE from Roke will be integrated with it. With the help of the EW manpack the sensors can be placed in regions that will be too risky for personnel. The additional sensor in the RESOLVE will improve the situational awareness of the UGV while surveying hazardous environments. Some of the other systems that will be integrated onto the UGVs from Marshall are Gemini-2 video link expander from Ovation; VISOR for IED identification from NITEK; DOMO digital communication and data link from Cobham. The programme manager at Marshall claimed that their UGVs have served to improve the agility of the dismounted troops by reducing their burden, especially in hazardous environments.