Oshkosh Defense [OSK] received a $49 million award Tuesday to integrate self-driving autonomous technology on the Army’s Palletized Load System (PLS) trucks.

The contract calls for Oshkosh to install autonomous kits on 70 PLS, with options for up to 150, that allow soldiers to be removed in high-risk situations while retaining full operational capabilities for the loading vehicle.

Army's Palletized Load System truck, built by Oshkosh
Army’s Palletized Load System truck, built by Oshkosh

“The PLS has been an integral part of the U.S. Army’s resupply and distribution fleet for over 25 years,” Pat Williams, Oshkosh vice president of Army and Marine Corps programs, said in a statement. “By equipping these vehicles with autonomous capabilities, we can significantly reduce our soldiers’ exposure to enemy threats by taking them out of the vehicle altogether.”

Oshkosh is the original equipment manufacturer for the PLS, and has previously tested the autonomous systems on their MTVRs, FMTVs and M-ATVs.

The hardware and sensors for the  autonomous kit were developed by Robotics Research under the Army’s Expedient Leader Follower (ExLF) program.

“The technology is designed as a modular appliqué kit that can be applied to any tactical wheeled vehicle. Oshkosh develops a tailored solution in the form of a vehicle kit system, designed for specific [tactical wheeled vehicles], to address the specific nature of each vehicle to increase performance against any and all threats in the warzone,” Alexandra Hittle, a spokesperson for Oshkosh, told Defense Daily

Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) partnered with Oshkosh to integrate the new kit through ExLF, which aims to find autonomous tools that allow soldiers to be removed from vehicles in highly contested areas.

“For this program, Oshkosh is leveraging nearly 15 years of experience in developing autonomous capabilities in TWVs to integrate the By-Wire Active Safety Kits, or the BWASK, into the PLS. BWASK supports vehicle actuation via robotic and mechanical interfaces. The BWASK also provides active safety systems via camera and radar for the vehicle in both manned and unmanned modes of operation. Some examples include: lane departure warning, forward collision warning, collision mitigation braking, and lane centering assist,” Hittle said.

Army officials have previously expressed interest on bringing in new industry capabilities to expand soldier control of autonomous vehicles (Defense Daily, June 15).

The PLS autonomous kit would allow soldiers to manage more than one vehicle at a time.

“A single operator can supervise up to seven unmanned vehicles while providing beyond line of sight situational awareness for both the current mission and others in the area. Optimizing the amount of personnel needed for missions delivers offers leaders the ability to do more while expending fewer resources,” Hittle said.

Oshkosh is expected to begin work on integrating the kit on PLS immediately, according to Hittle.