Another new acronym (to me!) has begun to creep into the lexicon: the unmanned ground vehicle or UGV. The variants are either tele-operated or truely autonomous and examples of both types exist. Unmanned maritime vehicles (UMVs) Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) Unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) Unmanned ground combat vehicles (UGCVs)
Britain was a pioneer in tele-operated robot vehicles with early iterations used for bomb disposal, exploring environments before the bomb disposal squad was sent in. So, as robotics integrates with the defence marketplace, we can expect a flourish of new acronyms:
In practical terms, companies are beginning to integrate the platforms into a seamless interoperable whole:
BAE Systems this week has unveiled a new version of its Talisman UUV, while a new company funded UGV development programme is being planned by BAE Systems Australia.
Generic autonomous systems capabilities developed for the UAV segment have resulted in the creation of multiple technology cores that can be applied across different environments says Andy Tonge, Talisman project manager at BAE Systems Underwater Systems
"This is part of an overall strategy across BAE Systems to build up an integrated approach to unmanned vehicles and autonomous systems, leading to the development of Intelligent Autonomy, which can be applied across land, sea and air."
No doubt we will see new vehicles and new shorthand in years to come.