Robotics

Connectivity in Robotic Systems

While many think of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or space probes and planet rovers when they think of unmanned systems, the field of robotics covers every environment known to man: sea, ground, air, and space. Beyond UAVs, unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) and unmanned surface vessels (USVs) have begun to capture headlines, primarily in the role of security and defense. Likewise, terrestrial unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) are now gaining their share of the limelight. The U.S. Navy is even experimenting with a humanoid robot (SAFFiR) to help fight shipboard fires as a first responder.

Each of these unmanned systems is meant to operate in an environment and ecosystem where a machine can either augment or replace a human. Reasons include safety, environmental concerns, technological superiority, or costs. Sending an unmanned vehicle can be less dangerous and less expensive than sending a human. Application requirements drive the technology of the electromechanical building blocks used to create the robot, and these solutions can range from the mundane to the extreme. There are remarkable technological and economic paradigms associated with each mission that lead engineers to select specific connectivity solutions.