The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has run a field trial of an autonomous vehicle to survey areas for chemical and radiological material.
It said the Hybrid Area Reconnaissance and Survey (HARS) trial, which took place over five weeks on Salisbury Plain, has demonstrated the potential of using uncrewed systems in the work.
This could keep troops safe, improve efficiency and give UK forces an operational advantage in the future, Dstl said.
The platform used in the trial was the recently developed concept demonstrator, consisting of an uncreased Viking ground vehicle with two mass spectrometers to identify deposited chemicals on the ground, two vapour sensors to detect volatile chemicals, and a gamma radiation spectrometer to identify radiological hazards.
It also involved the use of a modular pallet that could be mounted on an appropriate platform when required.
Testing feasibility
HARS trial lead scientist Andy Martin commented: “This trial aimed to test the feasibility of the concept and the maturity of the technology.
“This technology offers an innovative approach, which could significantly change the military’s capabilities in the future by reducing the hazard to soldiers and acting as a force multiplier. That is quite an exciting thing to be involved in.
“Some of the key challenges associated with the system are reducing the cognitive burden for personnel and using sensors, which are designed to be manually operated by personnel, applying sufficient automation in the system to allow that to be done remotely and autonomously.”
