Findings of the AVT-255: Unmanned Systems Mission Performance Potential for Autonomous Operations

Abstract

Unmanned Systems (UMS) play an increasingly vital role in NATO military operations and will form a large part of the fighting forces of the future. However, due to the rapidly advancing technologies used in UMS, very few standards exist in terms of how UMS performance is measured. This is particularly true in the case of autonomous performance. This lack of agreed-upon definitions and test methods has greatly hindered the use of UMS in full-scale NATO operations. Therefore, an urgent need exists to provide users with a tool for not only defining a UMSs level of autonomy but also quantitatively measuring the impact of autonomy on UMS mission performance. Recognizing this need, the AVT-175-RTG: Unmanned Systems (UMS) Platform Technologies and Performances for Autonomous Operations was formed. This RTG defined the technologies impacting autonomy and autonomous performance, presented a comprehensive overview of current UMS systems in use by NATO countries for potential military applications, and provided an exhaustive review of the current test methods, standards, autonomy definitions, and autonomous performance assessment tools in use today. The scope of the AVT-175s efforts were somewhat limited by the lack of data related to full-scale operations at higher levels of autonomy, as autonomous UMS have yet to be fielded extensively for NATO missions. This report is available through the NATO RTO. In light of the technology, test methods, and autonomous performance method reviews, the AVT-175developed a new tool for predictively assessing contextual autonomous performance, the Mission Performance Potential (MPP). The current effort, the AVT-255 Unmanned Systems Mission Performance Potential for Autonomous Operations, sought to implement the MPP in software and validate the code using field testing of autonomous UMS operations.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2021
Accession Number
AD1183599

Entities

People

  • Agris Nikitenko
  • Phillip J. Durst

Organizations

  • NATO Science and Technology Organization

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Autonomous Systems
  • Cognitive Systems Engineering
  • Computer Programming
  • Electronic Mail
  • Information Systems
  • International Relations
  • Military Operations
  • Nato
  • Systems Engineering
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Test Methods
  • United States
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Unmanned Ground Systems
  • Unmanned Ground Vehicles
  • Unmanned Systems

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Naval Mine Countermeasure Systems Development.
  • Robotics and Automation.

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs