Interoperability Among Unmanned Maritime Vehicles: Review and First In-field Experimentation

Complex maritime missions, both above and below the surface, have traditionally been carried out by manned surface ships and submarines equipped with advanced sensor systems. Unmanned Maritime Vehicles (UMVs) are increasingly demonstrating their potential for improving existing naval capabilities due to their rapid deployability, easy scalability, and high reconfigurability, offering a reduction in both operational time and cost. In addition, they mitigate the risk to personnel by leaving the man far-from-the-risk but in-the-loop of decision making. In the long-term, a clear interoperability framework between unmanned systems, human operators, and legacy platforms will be crucial for effective joint operations planning and execution. However, the present multi-vendor multi-protocol solutions in multi-domain UMVs activities are hard to interoperate without common mission control interfaces and communication protocol schemes. Furthermore, the underwater domain presents significant challenges that cannot be satisfied with the solutions developed for terrestrial networks. In this paper, the interoperability topic is discussed blending a review of the technological growth from 2000 onwards with recent authors' in-field experience; finally, important research directions for the future are given. Within the broad framework of interoperability in general, the paper focuses on the aspect of interoperability among UMVs not neglecting the role of the human operator in the loop. The picture emerging from the review demonstrates that interoperability is currently receiving a high level of attention with a great and diverse deal of effort. Besides, the manuscript describes the experience from a sea trial exercise, where interoperability has been demonstrated by integrating heterogeneous autonomous UMVs into the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) network, using different robotic middlewares and acoustic modem technologies to implement a multistatic active sonar system. A perspective for the interoperability in marine robotics missions emerges in the paper, through a discussion of current capabilities, in-field experience and future advanced technologies unique to UMVs. Nonetheless, their application spread is slowed down by the lack of human confidence. In fact, an interoperable system-of-systems of autonomous UMVs will require operators involved only at a supervisory level. As trust develops, endorsed by stable and mature interoperability, human monitoring will be diminished to exploit the tremendous potential of fully autonomous UMVs

Technical benefits and cultural barriers of networked Autonomous Undersea Vehicles

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 44-45).The research presented in this thesis examines the technical benefits to using a collaborative network of Autonomous Undersea Vehicles (AUVs) in place of individual vehicles. Benefits could be achieved in the areas of reduced power consumption, improved positional information and improved acoustic communication bandwidth. However, current culture of AUV development may impede this approach. The thesis uses the Object Process Methodology (OPM) and principles of System Architecture to trace the value of an AUV system from the scientist who benefits from the data to the vehicle itself. Sections 3 and 4 outline the needs for an AUV system as they currently exist and describe the key physics-based limitations of operations. Section 5 takes a broader look at the system goal as data delivery, not just the deployment of a vehicle, and introduces the concept of networked AUV. Section 6 describes a potential evolution of networked AUVs in increasing autonomy and collaboration. Finally, Section 7 examines AUV development cultures that could impede, or foster, networked vehicles.by Patrick L. Wineman.S.M

Joint Unmanned Combat Air System Matching Mission Requirements, Performance Capabilities, and Critical Aviation Systems

The Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) acquisition program is a joint Air Force and Navy effort led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to demonstrate a networked system of unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAV) to effectively and affordably prosecute 21st century combat missions. The potential of these weapon systems to perform dangerous combat missions at a relatively low-cost and low-risk has garnered significant interest from both Congress and the Department of Defense (DoD) and raised expectations that the J-UCAS will replace some of the DoD’s aging tactical aircraft fleet. This paper will address the requirement for the DoD and Armed Services to collectively resolve a new vision and clear strategy for the integration of unmanned combat air vehicles into the Armed Forces and the future battlespace. The DoD and Armed Services continue to struggle among themselves and with defense contractors to match resources and requirements in the development of individual “service-centric” UCAVs for specific mission areas. The current vision and strategy of the J-UCAS program is derived from an initial assessment of the cost and risk benefits of UCAV development. The failure of this approach is that it will not yield a UCAV with a distinct strategic and operational advantage. This research will trace the evolution of the current J-UCAS acquisition program. A systems-engineering approach will be applied to a reassessment of the desired J-UCAS mission requirements and corresponding performance capabilities that will serve to guide the development of critical aviation systems in the context of current and emerging technologies. It was concluded that while the J-UCAS program should remain a joint effort, the United States Air Force (USAF) should be given the priority on developing and fielding the first operational joint UCAV weapon system. Future J-UCAS weapon systems should be designed to operate in a joint environment within the emerging global command and control architecture in coordination with manned aircraft. The J-UCAS must be designed with flexible, multi-mission capability to include intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; suppression of enemy air defenses and strike. The other armed services should support this effort, but initially limit their contributions to evaluating technology demonstrators that primarily focus on interoperability in each of their respective combat environments until such time as the first operational UCAV program has successfully proven its combat effectiveness

Crossbow Volume 1

Student Integrated ProjectIncludes supplementary materialDistributing naval combat power into many small ships and unmanned air vehicles that capitalize on emerging technology offers a transformational way to think about naval combat in the littorals in the 2020 time frame. Project CROSSBOW is an engineered systems of systems that proposes to use such distributed forces to provide forward presence to gain and maiantain access, to provide sea control, and to project combat power in the littoral regions of the world. Project CROSSBOW is the result of a yearlong, campus-wide, integrated research systems engineering effort involving 40 student researchers and 15 supervising faculty members. This report (Volume I) summarizes the CROSSBOW project. It catalogs the major features of each of the components, and includes by reference a separate volume for each of the major systems (ships, aircraft, and logistics). It also prresents the results of the mission and campaign analysis that informed the trade-offs between these components. It describes certain functions of CROSSBOW in detail through specialized supporting studies. The student work presented here is technologically feasible, integrated and imaginative. The student project cannot by itself provide definitive designs or analyses covering such a broad topic. It does strongly suggest that the underlying concepts have merit and deserve further serious study by the Navy as it transforms itself

Autonomous vehicles in the response to maritime incidents

The future role of autonomous vehicles in the emergency response to maritime incidents isdiscussed and a framework for their integration into existing response plans is proposed. This is done inthe context of the developments on autonomous vehicle systems from the Underwater Systems andTechnologies Laboratory from Porto University

Ethical Control of Unmanned Systems: lifesaving/lethal scenarios for naval operations

Prepared for: Raytheon Missiles & Defense under NCRADA-NPS-19-0227This research in Ethical Control of Unmanned Systems applies precepts of Network Optional Warfare (NOW) to develop a three-step Mission Execution Ontology (MEO) methodology for validating, simulating, and implementing mission orders for unmanned systems. First, mission orders are represented in ontologies that are understandable by humans and readable by machines. Next, the MEO is validated and tested for logical coherence using Semantic Web standards. The validated MEO is refined for implementation in simulation and visualization. This process is iterated until the MEO is ready for implementation. This methodology is applied to four Naval scenarios in order of increasing challenges that the operational environment and the adversary impose on the Human-Machine Team. The extent of challenge to Ethical Control in the scenarios is used to refine the MEO for the unmanned system. The research also considers Data-Centric Security and blockchain distributed ledger as enabling technologies for Ethical Control. Data-Centric Security is a combination of structured messaging, efficient compression, digital signature, and document encryption, in correct order, for round-trip messaging. Blockchain distributed ledger has potential to further add integrity measures for aggregated message sets, confirming receipt/response/sequencing without undetected message loss. When implemented, these technologies together form the end-to-end data security that ensures mutual trust and command authority in real-world operational environments—despite the potential presence of interfering network conditions, intermittent gaps, or potential opponent intercept. A coherent Ethical Control approach to command and control of unmanned systems is thus feasible. Therefore, this research concludes that maintaining human control of unmanned systems at long ranges of time-duration and distance, in denied, degraded, and deceptive environments, is possible through well-defined mission orders and data security technologies. Finally, as the human role remains essential in Ethical Control of unmanned systems, this research recommends the development of an unmanned system qualification process for Naval operations, as well as additional research prioritized based on urgency and impact.Raytheon Missiles & DefenseRaytheon Missiles & Defense (RMD).Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited