Autonomous Vehicles in Support of Naval Operations

Committee on Autonomous Vehicles in Support of Naval Operations, National Research Council

National Academies Press, Apr 19, 2005 - Technology & Engineering - 239 pages

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have been used in military operations for more than 60 years, with torpedoes, cruise missiles, satellites, and target drones being early examples.1 They have also been widely used in the civilian sector--for example, in the disposal of explosives, for work and measurement in radioactive environments, by various offshore industries for both creating and maintaining undersea facilities, for atmospheric and undersea research, and by industry in automated and robotic manufacturing.

Recent military experiences with AVs have consistently demonstrated their value in a wide range of missions, and anticipated developments of AVs hold promise for increasingly significant roles in future naval operations. Advances in AV capabilities are enabled (and limited) by progress in the technologies of computing and robotics, navigation, communications and networking, power sources and propulsion, and materials.

Autonomous Vehicles in Support of Naval Operations is a forward-looking discussion of the naval operational environment and vision for the Navy and Marine Corps and of naval mission needs and potential applications and limitations of AVs. This report considers the potential of AVs for naval operations, operational needs and technology issues, and opportunities for improved operations.

Contents

• Introduction: 13
• US MILITARY OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT PRESENT AND FUTURE: 14
• THE PROMISE OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES: 18
• ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT: 19
• Naval Vision Operations and Autonomous Vehicle Applications: 20
• NAVAL MISSION NEEDS AND POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES: 24
• POTENTIAL AND LIMITATIONS OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES: 35
• Autonomy Technology Capabilities and Potential: 45
• LEVELS OF AUTONOMY: 51
• USING LEVEL OF MISSION AUTONOMY AS A DESIGN CHOICE: 59
• AUTONOMY TECHNOLOGY: 67
• CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: 79
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Capabilities and Potential: 82
• OPERATIONAL CATEGORIES OF NAVAL UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE MISSIONS: 88
• THE POTENTIAL OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES FOR NAVAL OPERATIONS: 89
• TECHNOLOGY ISSUES AND NEEDS: 98
• CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: 105
• Unmanned Surface and Undersea Vehicles Capabilities and Potential: 116
• THE POTENTIAL OF AUTONOMOUS UNDERSEA AND SURFACE VEHICLES FOR NAVAL OPERATIONS: 117
• OVERVIEW OF UNMANNED SURFACE AND UNDERSEA VEHICLES AVAILABLE OR IN DEVELOPMENT: 120
• NAVAL OPERATIONAL NEEDS AND TECHNOLOGY ISSUES: 128
• OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVED OPERATIONS: 130
• CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: 131
• Unmanned Ground Vehicles Capabilities and Potential: 135
• THE POTENTIAL OF UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES FOR NAVAL OPERATIONS: 137
• NAVAL OPERATIONAL NEEDS AND TECHNOLOGY ISSUES: 146
• OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVED NAVAL OPERATIONS: 153
• CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: 154
• Integrating Autonomy in NetworkCentric Operations: 158
• UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE COMMUNICATIONS: 161
• INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE AND RECONNAISSANCE AND UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES: 169
• INTEROPERABILITY ISSUES FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES: 174
• UNMANNED SPACE SYSTEMS: 178
• CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: 182
• Appendixes: 187
• Biographies of Committee Members and Staff: 189
• Some PhysicsBased Constraints on Autonomous Vehicles Scaling Energy Sensing and Communications: 199
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles System Descriptions: 216
• Acronyms and Abbreviations: 231

Bibliographic information

• Title: Autonomous Vehicles in Support of Naval Operations
• Authors: Committee on Autonomous Vehicles in Support of Naval Operations, National Research Council
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: National Academies Press, 2005
• ISBN: 0309096766, 9780309096768
• Length: 239 pages
• Subjects: Technology & Engineering / Military Science