Marine Times
Published: 07-24-00
Category: HEADLINE
Page: 17
Robot 'Scouts' May Be Corps' Newest Snoops / Four Models To Be
Tested For
Future Battlefield Use
By Kevin Kaley
The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory at Quantico, Va., is
testing robotic
sensors to help Marines get a better look at the battlefield.
The lab purchased four models for testing, which will culminate
with the
Millennium Dragon exercise in early September.
"This is the very initial stage of our experimentation," Tim
Jones, lab
spokesman, said.
"We're just beginning to build the tactical concepts for the
employment of
these robotic sensors."
The four models are referred to as Lemming, Urbie K-8, Gemini
and Rattler.
The Rattler is a wheeled model and the others are tracked.
Each model serves as a platform for a camera package. A Marine
nearby
controls each robotic sensor and sends collected data to a
command center via
laptop computer.
"In the future, we'd envision putting the sensor at a critical
juncture,"
such as a crossroads or bridge, Jones said, and sending that
information to a
distant center.
"Right now, with technology that we have, we can't do that. We
know future
battlefield sensors will have to have much greater capabilities
than these
models possess," he said.
The robotic sensors range in length from 20 to 45 inches. None
is more than 2
feet wide or 12 inches tall.
Lab officials see a particular use for the sensors in an urban
warfare
environment but only testing will determine the limits of sensor
usefulness.
"It's pretty wide open as far as how we would deploy these,"
Jones said.
"We're looking at how we can deploy them as another piece of
reconnaissance,
surveillance and target acquisition."
In the Millennium Dragon exercise in Mississippi, Marines with
robotic
sensors -- assisted by a relay plane -- will send data from Fort
Shelby to
Gulfport, a distance of about 60 miles. A Marine at Shelby will
send the
signal to relay stations, including the plane, and on to
Gulfport.
The test is meant to evaluate whether the sensors improve
situational
awareness on the battlefield.
The Marines at Camp Shelby will send back the standard SALUTE
report:
Situation, Activity, Location, Unit, Time and Equipment.
The lab purchased two Rattlers and one each of the other models
for testing,
Jones said.
Following the test in Mississippi, a report will be forwarded to
Marine Corps
Systems Command. No plans are in place, nor has money been set
aside, to
purchase robot sensors for use in combat, Jones said.
Millennium Dragon is the Marine Corps portion of a Joint Forces
Command
experiment called Millennium Challenge.
Millennium Dragon will focus on command-and-control issues and
over-the-horizon communications. It includes a joint
interoperability test
with the Army's 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division.
Kevin Kaley reports on weapons issues and can be reached at
kkaley@atpco.com.
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