The Army Research Laboratory is engaging service members and scientists in technology concept discussions through reality tour events in an effort to accelerate the feedback process for new information technology or weapon systems.
Sgt. Maj. Luke Blum, senior enlisted adviser at the U.S. Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command, and members of Team Ignite visited the ARL Robotics Research Collaborative Campus last week to observe autonomous ground vehicle demonstrations within an unstructured environment, the laboratory said Thursday.
The branch opened the R2C2 near Middle River, Maryland last summer to facilitate virtual and live discussions among government, industry and academic representatives about experimental unmanned platforms that employ artificial intelligence, human-teaming and robotic technologies.
“Because the campus is designed to explore research questions to inform future Army concepts, it’s mission-critical to familiarize our Soldiers with tests planned at this specific location,” Blum said.
Team Ignite, which was formed in October 2019 was born in October 2019 to support warfighting strategy development, seeks to encourage the branch's centers of excellence, senior military leaders and national training centers to share technology initiatives with the military.
“We’re interested in bridging the gap between our awareness of downrange realities and scientific and concept developers," Blum added.