The U.K. Ministry of Defense announced Team Stellar is the winner of the teams competing in the Grand Challenge, the major competition to produce a vehicle capable of identifying threats encountered by U.K. troops on current operations.
The Stellar Team comprises Stellar Services Ltd, Blue Bear Systems, Cranfield University, SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems Ltd, TRW Conekt, and Marshall Specialist Vehicles.
Team Stellar bested the other teams who qualified for the final competition days to win the RJ Mitchell Trophy–named after the designer of the Spitfire which earned legendary status for its decisive role in the Battle of Britain.
The Team Stellar entry, SATURN–an integrated system with one high flying and one mini-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, and an Unmanned Ground Vehicle with a control station that fused data from visual, thermal and radar sensors–gave them the competition edge.
Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Baroness Ann Taylor said: “We are proud to crown Team Stellar the winners of MoD’s most prestigious competition for battlefield innovators. They follow in the footsteps of RJ Mitchell, a great British inventor who pushed back the frontiers of science to develop the prototype of the Spitfire. It is this type of vision and dedication, which makes the United Kingdom a world leader in science and technology.”
The Grand Challenge showcased U.K. talent from large defense firms to universities and schools, and even, Taylor said, “garden sheds.”
“They have brought fresh, exciting ideas to the Defence table which could have battle winning applications for our Armed Forces,” Taylor said.
MoD launched the Grand Challenge competition in 2006, asking teams to come up with highly autonomous flying and ground vehicles able to identify threats such as marksmen, vehicles mounted with heavy weapons, roadside bombs and armed militia (Defense Daily, Aug. 18).
The United States has a similar effort, led by the. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency that offers cash prizes for Grand Challenge events for technologically advanced and successful autonomous ground vehicles competing in different scenarios (Defense Daily, Aug. 10, 2007). There have been three such Grand Challenges thus far.
Of the 23 teams that originally applied to the competition, seven qualified for the final held at Copehill Down, a specially built urban warfare training village on Salisbury Plain.
Team Stellar was awarded the highest points of any team by a panel of judges, after their vehicles successfully identified a range of threats planted in the village and recreated by actors dressed as militia.
Using sophisticated communications systems, their SATURN system was able to relay this information back to the team on the ground.
Stellar Team Leader Julia Richardson said: “I am extremely pleased, we are thrilled, we worked very hard and it is a fantastic result.”
In addition, Team Swarm was awarded the prize for the “most innovative idea.”
It designed a multiple autonomous quadrator–a flat helicopter with four rotors–called Owls, able to fly in swarms, allowing them to view the area from all angles using high resolution visual cameras.
Team Swarm consists of several U.K. small and medium sized enterprises and world class groups: Swarm Systems, the University of Essex, the University of Surrey, Orrcam, Ardware and Scazon.
Also, Team Thales was awarded a prize for “best use of national talent” for their use of a mini helicopter fitted with daylight and thermal imaging technology alongside two custom-built ground vehicles.
Team Thales, winner of the best use of national talent, joined forces with the University of Reading, the University of Bristol, CARVEC, Ryland Research and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network (STEMNET), which included three schools Chilton Trinity Technology College, Woking High and Amersham School.
Now, the MoD is considering if the technologies demonstrated in the final can be incorporated into future frontline equipment for the Armed Forces.
Potentially, the Team Stellar entry could be rapidly developed for the troops. On the other hand, perhaps no single system offers the solution to current problems in theater. MoD may then consider elements of a number of systems if it is believed they could offer rapid technical solutions for the front line.