A System of System Design Framework for Multi-Domain Vehicles

A System of System Design Framework for Multi-Domain Vehicles - U.S. Army OPSEC approval has been received. Please find the approved Abstract for your consideration below : Traditionally, ground vehicle design is based on identifying engineering solutions that fulfil the requirements and specifications put forth by the stakeholders. Although a vehicle is a single entity, it is composed of many subsystems and thousands of parts that must operate together in unison to meet all design goals. A System of Systems (SoS) design approach enables the consideration of sub-system performance within a framework of overall system operation which includes possible trade-offs. This collaborative approach to subsystem and primary system design draws upon modelling, optimization, tradespace analysis and virtual studies. In this paper, a system of system design approach will be investigated for a collection of multi domain vehicles assembled to undertake coordinated search and rescue operations on land and water. A host ground vehicle, an unmanned aerial drone, an unmanned marine drone and an unmanned tracked vehicle constitute the family of multi-domain vehicles which will be used for the search and rescue mission. A digital twin for this family of vehicles will be created to support numerical design studies. The System of System approach will enable trade-offs in vehicle and family design to be evaluated using optimization tools. To visualise the designs, tradespace analysis tools will be key to identifying the trade-offs and performance at the system level and the individual vehicle level. A case study will be undertaken to test the System of System approach and highlight the advantages and challenges faced in implementing such an approach for the purposes of achieving a specific mission through the collaborative and diverse vehicles used.