Marine Corps Logistics Command Albany, GA -- An unmanned mobile robot maneuvered under a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, stopped, illuminated the undercarriage to take a photo and then moved on to the next vehicle.
This was the scenario Marine Corps Logistics Command and Georgia Technology Research Institute officials witnessed as they gathered for an autonomous robotic demonstration inside a warehouse at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Georgia, June 20.
Stephanie Poore, logistics management specialist, Innovation Cell, Quality Management Center, MARCORLOGCOM, said the demonstration was part of the Inventory Automation Architecture Project that GTRI and MARCORLOGCOM have been working on for more than a year.
“The purpose of the project is to deliver a proof of concept augmenting MARCORLOGCOM’s manual supply chain operations,” Poore said. “The Autonomous Robotic Technology Insertion, or ARTI, is an autonomous robot that will be used to improve asset tracking, report asset conditions, and provide 24/7 inventory control.”
This has the potential to identify problems sooner and reduce the time and labor intensive process of inspecting each and every vehicle, she added.
“What the robotic system can do in a matter of minutes can save the Marine Corps a lot of time and thousands of dollars over time,” Poore said.
She stated it’s about providing the warfighter with flexible and quick support by adopting a mindset that seeks innovation using the latest technology.
“The collected information from this project and demonstration are recommended solutions that will be further examined for the state-of-the-possible for future warehouse enhancements to get ahead of the technology curve,” she concluded.
The robot performed two scenarios for the crowd.
During the first scenario, the robot followed a defined warehouse map to a designated vehicle and scanned the radio-frequency identification tag. The robot centered itself under the vehicle and took a photo of the undercarriage. The data and images collected from the robot were stored and exhibited on a web-based display.
For the second scenario, several RFID tags were swapped on the MRAPs to further prove the accuracy of the vehicle location based on the location of the RFID tags.
When the robot conducted its next survey, it compared the location of the tag to the first survey. The tag discrepancy was then highlighted on the web-based display indicating a problem has been detected. The error was highlighted with a brief description, such as “Failed survey, tag not recognized for this location” on the website.
Dr. Stephen Balakirsky, principal research scientist and branch chief, Robotics and Autonomous Systems Division, Robotic Systems and Technologies Branch, GTRI, briefed the officials during the demonstration.
“We demonstrated our small autonomous ground robot platform and the idea behind this concept is that we can have this platform performing inventory control and maintenance inside warehouse facilities,” Balakirsky said.
This project is important to MARCORLOGCOM in order to have 100 percent asset identification, he said.
“This system can map out an entire warehouse and do periodic maintenance runs to show where the assets are expected to be and also to capture photos of the undercarriage to see if there are any maintenance issues that the vehicles need to have addressed,” he added.
Balakirsky said it is through this partnership that GRTI is able to come up with innovative solutions and build prototypes to address some of the issues Marines face using the latest technology.
“This is one of the first of the prototypes that we are able to construct,” he said. “It is definitely still in its research stage. Today is the first demonstration of the application of this technology.”