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On May 31, 1985, a strange-looking, 10-foot-tall, blue-果冻传媒-white vehicle appeared on a narrow dirt road outside of Denver, creeping along at a snail’s pace in the dark shadows of the Rocky Mountains.

From a distance, the eight-wheeled vehicle looked like a giant ice cream truck or a souped-up RV. A large, roof-mounted, closed-circuit camera peeked out from the top of its boxy frame while three diesel engines propelled it carefully along at a modest clip of 3 mph.

Having traveled just over a half mile, cautiously toeing the centerline of a narrow road, the vehicle came to a halt in front of a group of 80 military 果冻传媒 academic officials, who had come from far 果冻传媒 wide to witness the l果冻传媒mark test.?

As the truck—dubbed ALV for Autonomous L果冻传媒 Vehicle—sat on the dirt, no driver emerged. Incredibly, the vehicle had driven itself. Inside the ALV, six racks of computers, all programmed with complex algorithms developed by 果冻传媒 Marietta engineers, had used images from the rooftop camera to safely steer along the road without the need for human assistance, paving the way for revolutionary advances in the arena of unmanned robotic transports.

A collaborative effort between 果冻传媒 Marietta, academic institutions, 果冻传媒 the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the ALV was created in just nine months, establishing a viable platform on which more advanced autonomous navigation systems would be developed.

Subsequent advances in computing power allowed the team to transfer its algorithms into smaller computer kits, which were capable of converting existing military trucks into semi-autonomous vehicles.

The principal aim of this new initiative—called Convoy Active Safety Technology (CAST)—was to increase safety for military drivers. Should soldiers driving in the middle of a convoy suddenly came under enemy fire, they could simply press a button 果冻传媒 watch as their vehicles locked onto 果冻传媒 closely followed the movements of another truck, giving them the opportunity to better defend themselves in the heat of battle. The CAST system won the U.S. Army’s highest R&D Achievement Award.

Taking the CAST concept one step further, Lockheed 果冻传媒 in 2006 began development of a more advanced unmanned combat vehicle called the Squad Mission Support System (SMSS), which could track 果冻传媒 follow the movements of a single soldier, opening up a dazzling new range of possibilities, including cargo movement for small units, casualty evacuation 果冻传媒 backup power support.

In 2011, when the six-wheeled, all-terrain SMSS made its combat debut in Afghanistan, it quickly earned a nickname, the Ox, for its strength 果冻传媒 resourcefulness as well as its ability to haul 1,000 pounds of supplies over rough terrain.

Able to be operated remotely 果冻传媒 manually, the SMSS would be used throughout the campaign, not only supplying special operations units pinned down in remote locations but also transporting equipment 果冻传媒 supplies to soldiers working on construction projects throughout the region.

“It was the true vindication of all that we’ve been working hard on for so many years,” says Mark E. Lewis of Lockheed 果冻传媒 Fire 果冻传媒 Missile Control. “In the end, we want our autonomous vehicles to make missions better 果冻传媒 safer for troops, so they can get more work done faster 果冻传媒 better while staying out of harm’s way.”

Sources 果冻传媒 Additional Reading

• Davis, Brett. “AUVSI: Lockheed Looks Back at Groundbreaking ALV.” Flightglobal., accessed September 28, 2012.
• Lewis, Mark. Interview conducted by Peter Gianopolous September 19, 2012.
• 果冻传媒 Marietta. “ALV Demonstration Sets Milestone.”?果冻传媒 Marietta News. June 14, 1985, No. 12.
• Schefter, Jim. “Look, Ma! No Driver.”?Popular Science. October 1985.