US marines trial Aussie robot technology in $57m contract

Gordon Peters
Wednesday, 28 July 2010 02:03

IT Industry - Deals

New South Wales company, Marathon Robotics, with the backing of the New South Wales Government, has snared a $57 million contract with the United States Marines to trial advanced robot technology for training soldiers in live firing exercises.

Announcing the contract today, the New South Wales Treasurer and Minister for State and Regional Development, Eric Roozendaal, said Marathon’s Rover system will be tested by the US Marines for advanced marksmanship training, in what he said was a “great example of world-beating NSW technology.”

The Minister said the NSW Government has assisted with technology development along with the Australian Government, and has provided export support through Industry & Investment NSW.

“The Rover, or Autonomous Robots Networked for Live Fire Training (ARNLT) system, will be tested by the US Marine Corps Systems Command in Orlando, Florida. If successful, this $A57 million trial could see the Rover system taken on board as a live fire training platform by the US Defense Department.”

Based at the Australian Technology Park at Eveleigh, Marathon Robotics, was founded by three PhD students from the University of Sydney.

The Marathon Robotics system uses free-ranging robots protected by armour plating to train marksmen. “These robots are programmed to mimic human behaviour to provide a realistic, challenging and interactive training scenario for marksmen, Roozendaal said.

“They can turn on the spot, quickly change direction, navigate in and out of buildings, react quickly to avoid obstacles, and even run for cover when one of their buddies is hit by a bullet. This system can run day and night and in all weather, and promises to revolutionise the business of marksmanship training.”

The Minister said the government helped the development of the robotics technology through its support of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Systems, and in May hosted a visit by the US Marine Corps to assess the technology.

“Now the NSW Government is helping Marathon Robotics target worldwide exports through Industry & Investment NSW and its Australian Technology Showcase (ATS), export and Innovation Pathways programs.”

According to Mr Roozendaal, Marathon Robotics anticipates the creation of up to 30 jobs over the next three years on the back of international technology sales. In this year’s State Budget, the NSW Government announced it would target high-value defence industries under a $75 million defence attraction package.

The Minister said the funding package will create a hi-tech defence hub at Macquarie Park in North Ryde and provide $25 million to secure new defence projects, generating 1,500 new jobs.

Marathon Robotics CEO, Dr Alex Brooks, said the Rover system was developed at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Systems in
conjunction with the Australian Department of Defence. “The Rover uses a global positioning system (GPS) and a scanning laser rangefinder for navigation, positioning, and obstacle detection and avoidance.

“Sitting atop the robotic platform is a human-sized 3D mannequin made from durable plastic to withstand hundreds of shots. When a mannequin is
hit it drops backwards before resetting itself automatically. High-speed wireless ethernet is used to communicate with a central control station and with other robots. This allows remote monitoring, interactive control, and multi-robot coordination.”

According to Dr Brooks, the Rover system has strong potential not only for armed forces training worldwide but also for law enforcement and
security agencies.