Odetics Gets Army Contract to Look Into the Future of Unmanned Tanks : SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

While robot tanks may seem like the stuff of science fiction films, researchers at Odetics are studying ways to bring such ideas off the movie screen and onto the battlefield.

Under a two-year, $500,000 contract from the Army, the Anaheim firm is developing a computer-controlled laser system for the unmanned tanks of the future.

The laser system would be used to determine the location of the vehicles. The contract runs through September, 1989.

The Army believes that robot tanks, which probably will not be built for at least a decade, offer a number of advantages. The key attraction is the elimination of humans, who are susceptible to attacks from conventional, biological or chemical weapons.

Also, an unmanned tank “could be made more survivable because it can be made smaller,� said Thomas G. Bartholet, general manager of Odetics’ advanced intelligent machines division. “It’s a lot easier to protect hardware than humans.�

The Odetics system is designed to work like this: The tank would be equipped with a laser range finder mounted on a platform outside the vehicle. From the platform, a laser beam would shoot out and be bounced off the surrounding hills, mountains and other geographical features.

By measuring the length of time it took the laser to travel between the tank and various objects, the system would determine the distance, angle and elevation of the surrounding terrain. That information would then be relayed to an on-board computer, which would compare that data to digital maps to determine the vehicle’s precise location.

“The system would allow the vehicle to know where it is on the map,� Bartholet said.

Pinpointing the tank’s location is one problem. Getting it from point A to point B on the map is another problem that would require sophisticated navigation systems. Odetics’ contract with the Army does not involve development of navigation systems.

Odetics’ laser system is being developed for the Army’s Tank Automotive Command as an alternative to a satellite navigation system. The Army is worried that satellites would be susceptible to jamming by the enemy or anti-satellite weapons.

The Army has scheduled field tests of the laser system for next January at Ft. Knox, Ky. The laser system will be mounted on a Ford Bronco and driven to various locations around the base to determine how accurately it works.