Team Stellar wins U.K. MoD's Grand Challenge

We have a winner: A consortium known as Team Stellar has won first place in the U.K. Ministry of Defense’s (MoD’s) Grand Challenge competition, producing the best autonomous robots that can identify, monitor, and report military threats faced by U.K. troops (see HS Daily Wire 18 August 2008 story). Team Stellar comprised a group of engineers from Cranfield University, Blue Bear Systems Research, Selex Galileo, Marshall SDG, Stellar Research Services, and TRW Conekt, who jointly developed two flying unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) and an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV).

As part of the intensive two-week contest, Team Stellar battled against en other competitors from across the United Kingdom to tackle successfully a series of common threats, including a roadside bomb, a marksman from a window, a group of armed military personnel, and an armed vehicle with a rocket launcher. The MoD will now consider the team’s robots for further development, potentially leading to use in real front-line combat situations by the armed forces.

Cranfield’s contribution to Team Stellar involved the creation of computer-based software for automatic target recognition and co-ordination of vehicle guidance and execution. Blue Bear Systems Research designed both UAV systems and their associated control and avionics systems, and Selex Galileo were involved with overall system integration and development of the project’s ground control station. Stellar Research Services led the team, while Marshall SDG provided the UGV. TRW Conekt designed the route guidance, obstacle and threat sensors for the UGV.