The Unmanned Autonomous Collaborative Operations (UACO) program was initiated in recognition of the high
operational burden associated with utilizing unmanned systems by both mounted and dismounted, ground and airborne
warfighters. The program was previously introduced at the 62nd Annual Forum of the American Helicopter Society in
May of 20061. This paper presents the three technical approaches taken and results obtained in UACO. All three
approaches were validated extensively in contractor simulations, two were validated in government simulation, one was
flight tested outside the UACO program, and one was flight tested in Part 2 of UACO. Results and recommendations are
discussed regarding diverse areas such as user training and human-machine interface, workload distribution, UAV flight
safety, data link bandwidth, user interface constructs, adaptive algorithms, air vehicle system integration, and target
recognition. Finally, a vision for UAV As A Wingman is presented.
In future operations unmanned systems must act in concert with manned vehicles and work as a team to accomplish mission-level objectives with minimal human intervention or control. Current technology requires one or more operators/controllers for each unmanned vehicle, is void of inter-vehicle collaboration, and provides limited true autonomy. The Unmanned Autonomous Collaborative Operation program (UACO) is an Army research and development effort designed to advance the state of the art in these areas and demonstrate militarily relevant mission behaviors involving multiple unmanned air vehicles. Multi-UAV autonomy command and control programs are underway in other elements of the Army, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), and the Navy; however, most conclude with simulation demonstration. This project builds on such efforts but takes the next step toward maturity by including flight demonstrations of UACO mission behaviors in Army aviation and infantry support contexts.
Conference Committee Involvement (4)
Defense Transformation and Net-Centric Systems 2012
24 April 2012 | Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Defense Transformation and Net-Centric Systems 2011
27 April 2011 | Orlando, Florida, United States
Defense Transformation and Net-Centric Systems 2010
6 April 2010 | Orlando, Florida, United States
Defense Transformation and Net-Centric Systems 2009
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