The first Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) Interoperability Profile (IOP) has been approved that defines interoperability, modularity and commonality standards among future unmanned ground systems.
The approval of IOP Version 0 (V0) defines the path forward for UGV development at the Robotic System Joint Project Office (RS JPO). All future requirements documents and Requests for Proposals will reference the IOP, and bidders will be required to adhere to these IOP guidelines. The interoperability standards are dynamic and will be refreshed and expanded annually.
The profile was developed by the Robotic Systems Joint Project Office (RS JPO), under the Army Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems (PEO GCS).
As a joint project office, VO is not just an Army standard.
“These IOPs have been developed on behalf of the Army and Marine Corps in concert with the Navy unmanned ground vehicle community in order to help enable interoperability with other services ground control systems,” said Mark Mazzara, Robotic Systems Joint Project Office Interoperability Profile Team Lead.
Based on recent coordination with industry leaders, the Joint Executive Board governing the review of the UGV IOP voted unanimously Dec. 21 to approve publishing the IOP V0, specifying product-level baseline capabilities for modular hardware and software interfaces.
It is anticipated that these guidelines will promote industry competition and enable better buying power for the taxpayer.
“These profiles will enable future systems or components to become more interchangeable,” said Lt. Col. David Thompson, RS JPO project manager. “This can assist us in rapidly delivering enhanced capabilities to the warfighter but at a reduced cost to the government.”
“This milestone is also good news for industry because it encourages competition,” Thompson said. “We will no longer necessarily have to go to the [Original Equipment Manufacturer] OEM when we need a new payload or piece of equipment. We can use other sources that use the IOP.”
“Interoperability is achieved when common messages are used by both the sender and receiver of information,” Mazzara said. “Each element of the system knows what to send and what to expect.”
The interoperability of UGVs with other systems will be leveraged by practices such as open architecture, common control standards, communications data links, modular payload interfaces, and conformance and validation criteria.
Still to come, the PEO GCS envisions interoperability with unmanned air systems for C2 in the future; however, additional work needs to be done in merging unmanned air control standards with unmanned ground control standards, Mazzara said.
Additionally, based on the IOP, PEO GCS plans on working with the Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) for a demonstration of coalition interoperability between U.S. and Canadian unmanned ground vehicles, he said.
Mazzara also said the RS JPO also is following developments in the NATO Industrial Advisory Group (NIAG) Study Group 157 (SG-157), which is investigating common control techniques for both ground and air unmanned vehicles, leveraging both NATO STANAG 4586 a NATO standardization agreement on a common ground station for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) used by NATO forces, and the international standard on communications protocols for unmanned vehicle systems.