Ground Combat Vehicles Research Articles

Dual Wireless Anti-Interception for Ground Combat Vehicles

Dual Wireless Anti-Interception for Ground Combat Vehicles

Unmanned ground weapon target assignment based on deep Q-learning network with an improved multi-objective artificial bee colony algorithm

Various objective functions in the operation process of unmanned ground combat vehicles (UGVs) have an important impact on the equilibrium of the system. Unbalanced scheduling of unmanned ground combat vehicles and poor target strikes exist in complex urban battlefields. A new multi-weapon target assignment architecture and a multi-objective artificial bee colony (MOABC) algorithm with an elite strategy are proposed to solve these problems. Considering the influence of mutation operator on multi-objective assignment, by introducing the action mechanism of the self-adaptive variation operator and combining the state representation of the nectar source with the overall allocation scheme, the deep Q-learning network with improved multi-objective artificial bee colony (MOADQN) algorithm is proposed. Through comparative analysis with multi-objective artificial bee colony algorithm, non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II), multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO), the multi-objective evolutionary algorithm based on decomposition with electronic countermeasure (ECM-MOEA/D) and the deep Q-learning network with multi-objective artificial bee colony (MOAIQL) algorithm, the proposed MOADQN algorithm can solve the problems such as poor allocation effectiveness and low gain of traditional algorithms. The proposed MOADQN algorithm has significant advantages in solving multi-objective optimization problems and strong expansion performance in the complex urban environment.

Team Communication in Pre-Mission Briefs and Effectiveness in Distributed Action Teams

Workplace research suggests that roughly equal communication between teammates is positively associated with team effectiveness. A distinction between teams in these studies and distributed action teams is the degree of role specialization and context-driven communication which may entail unequal degrees of communication. Yet, distributed action teams may have more equal footing to provide inputs in contexts such as mission planning or briefings. Twenty-two ad hoc teams participated in a simulated ground combat vehicle task in which teams conducted six-missions and briefed before each mission. We used team performance, team situation awareness, team workload, and team resilience as team effectiveness criteria. Balanced degrees of communication in mission briefs were correlated with performance and resilience measures, and largely uncorrelated with situation-awareness and workload measures. The overall amount of communication was also largely uncorrelated with all effectiveness measures. The results suggest that communication balance in mission briefs may help predict effectiveness in action teams.

RAND Wargames Explore Potential of Remotely Operated and Autonomous Ground Combat Vehicles

RAND Wargames Explore Potential of Remotely Operated and Autonomous Ground Combat Vehicles

Safety Diagnostics and Degraded Operational Modes

Unmanned ground combat vehicles (UGCV) promise numerous ultimate military, civilian, and space applications. The focus of this research mainly deals with how a non-geometric hazard scenario may potentially lead to a mission ending situation and a non geometric hazard can be considered as any terrain feature or object that is adjudged to be non-traversable by virtue of its physical properties. The novelty of this research lies in how a UGCV in a military applications can overcome the challenges of traversing through ever changing natural obstacles when compared to the reinforcing obstacles which are encountered by autonomous vehicle in a conventional structured scenario (see Figure 1).Figure 1. Traversal across an off-road terrain facing uneven terrain and obstacles.An operational design domain (ODD) can help specify potential unsafe situations and restrict the vehicle’s operation within them. A complete ODD will guarantee that the safety arguments can be dealt in a streamlined manner and in scenarios of restricting the ODD, the overall availability of the system gets reduced. With a semantic ODD structure for the UGVC, the standard development of the safety process for an automotive system is achieved and with the already created safety protocols, the overall situation space is reduced during critical situations.DISTRIBUTION A. Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. OPSEC5045The process of identifying reduced operational domain (ROD) starts with the quantificationand analysis of maneuvers and further leads to the identification of critical situations. Criticalareas are conditions of the environment that cause unintentional behaviour which eventuallyleads to an accident. A state machine constituting nominal behaviour will form the basis for acomponent fault tree (CFT) which is used to identify conditions that cause critical situations.Subsequently, the corresponding risk of an identified critical situation is assessed as a part ofthis process.The safety diagnostics mainly depends on a probabilistic model-based controller examining adynamic environment in which the stochastic evolution depends on the input of observationsand the current behaviour of the UGCV. In order to model the real-life performance of safetycritical systems realistically and accurately, Markov chain and Bayesian filters are highlyuseful. The finite state essence of the discrete controller may possibly lead to incorrectbehaviour of the complete system if an unforeseen situation occurs and for which there is alack of any predefined contingency. For this purpose, it becomes important to have a sense ofa complete set of admissible scenarios and also to develop a structured decision-making processfor each of the previously mentioned scenarios. State machine and failure propagation treescan help in determining the failure probabilities which keep updating based on changes incircumstances and this would help define if a mission should continue. As a part of thisresearch, Markov decision process which forms the basis for decision making process isemployed to identify and compare a set of state sequences and this in turn would help inrealizing better maneuverability of the vehicle.The assignment of ROD can be accomplished with the complete risk assessment of the criticalsituations. By assigning the ROD, the aim of increasing the overall availability of the systemwhich degraded from the nominal driving behaviour is fulfilled and this would allow for thesafe operation of UGCV.

Rotational Drive-Versus-Quality and Video Compression-Versus-Delay Analysis for Multi-Channel Video Streaming System on Ground Combat Vehicles

The multi-channel video streaming system is an essential device for future ground combat vehicles. For the system, the application of digital interfaces is required instead of the direct analog method to support selectable multiple channels. However, due to the characteristics of the digital interfaces that require en/decoding and signal conversion, the system should support the ability to adapt to quality and delay requirements depending on how video data is utilized. To support addressed issue, this study designs and emulates the multi-channel compressed-video streaming system of ground combat vehicle's fire control system based on commercial standards. Using the system, this study analyzes the quality of video according to the rotational speed of the acquisition device and Glass-to-Glass (G2G) delay between video acquisition and display devices according to video compression rates. Through these experiments and analysis, this paper presents the design direction of the system having scalability on the latest technology while providing high-quality video data streaming flexibly. Keywords: 지상 ì „íˆ¬ 차량, 사격 í†µì œ ì‹œìŠ¤í œ, 다채널 스트리밍, 비디오 품질, 화면 간 지연 Keywords: Ground Combat Vehicle, Fire Control System, Multi-Channel Streaming, Video Quality, Glass-to-Glass Delay

Very Low-Intensity Throughput X-Ray Computed Tomography of a Cast FeMnAl Steel Alloy

Abstract The X-ray computed tomography (XCT) technique is a widely applicable and powerful non-destructive inspection modality for evaluation and analysis of geometrical and physical characteristics of materials, especially internal structures and features. XCT is applicable to metals, ceramics, plastics, and polymer and mixed composites, as well as components and materiel. The Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and its partners are currently investigating the use of cast iron-manganese-aluminum (FeMnAl) steel alloy material in support of weight reduction initiatives in Army Development Programs. Steel alloy FeMnAl has been identified as a key enabling material technology to reduce the weight in ground combat vehicle systems. A set of FeMnAl blocks each approximately 50.8 mm (2 in.) thick by 76.2 mm (3 in.) wide by 76.2 mm (3 in.) long, which had been sectioned from an industrially cast ingot (∼12,000 lbs.), were individually scanned by XCT using a conventional 450 kV X-ray source and a solid-state flat panel detector. Mainly due to the thickness of the blocks, as well as a desire to keep geometric unsharpness relatively small which affected overall scan geometry (set up), the scans had a very low response at the detector through the FeMnAl blocks. With the calibrated detector response through air (i.e., around a block) at 85–90% the response through the block was only 5–10%. The XCT scanning parameters and overall protocol used to mitigate the very low-intensity throughput and achieve acceptable scan image results will be discussed. Image processing (IP) methods used to segment porosity features in the FeMnAl blocks will also be discussed.

Estimation of damage probability of combat vehicle components based on modeling and simulation

Many functions are considered for the design of GCV (ground combat vehicles), which are carried out to increase the survivability of GCV from enemy threats. By improving survivability, the interior of the GCV can be protected and the continuity of mission performance can be improved. The vulnerability assessment is calculated from the damage probability of the components of the target. The damage probability of the component is calculated by the damage probability of the sub-components. For the accuracy of the vulnerability assessment, it is important to accurately calculate the damage probability of sub-components. The damage probability of sub-components is usually calculated only by the penetration. However, it is difficult to calculate the exact damage probability by penetration alone. In this study, damage scenarios of sub-components are created and classified according to damage types such as a type of components, hit position, damage cause and result, etc., and damage rule is calculated and the damage probability of the sub-components is calculated. In order to improve the accuracy of the analysis of the shot line, which was used only to identify the penetration, we conducted the shot line analysis for the ricochet and deflection to enhance the accuracy of the vulnerability assessment.

English

The current study was conducted to assess the trait association and path analyses in thirty-six rain fed lowland rice genotypes at two locations. The aim of this present study was to estimate the extent of association between pairs of characters at phenotypic and genotypic levels and thereby compare the direct and indirect effects of the characters. The field experiment was laid out in 6x6 simple lattice design with two replications during 2015/16 cropping season. Thirteen characters were measured including yield and related traits. The extent of phenotypic correlation coefficient values indicated presence of fairly strong inherent association among the studied traits. Moreover, association analyses studies indicated yield had significantly (p<0.05) positive genotypic correlation with days to heading, days to maturity, filled grains per panicle, fertile tillers per plant harvest index, total spikelets per panicle and biomass yield. Path coefficient analyses revealed that biomass yield followed by harvest index, total spikelets per panicle and plant height exhibited the highest direct effects on grain yield; these traits can be considered for direct selection for grain yield of rice.   Key words: Direct effect, indirect effect, path analysis, ground combat vehicle (GCV), packed cell volume (PCV). &nbsp

Development of an Operability Evaluation Framework for Remotely Controlled Ground Combat Vehicles in a Simulated Environment

This paper proposes a systematic framework for operability evaluation of remotely controlled ground combat systems (RGCS) in a simulated environment. The popular human-robot interaction metric used in unmanned vehicle systems is called fan-out (FO) and represents the maximum number of robots/vehicles that could be controlled by a single human operator. However, FO is inappropriate for systems with a lower level of automation where vehicles are remotely controlled by a human, such as RGCS. The theoretical background of the suggested framework is based on McRuer’s crossover model that was initially developed in the aviation domain for explaining pilot handling issues. In this study, an evaluation/analysis software prototype was developed, known as the RGCS operability evaluation tool in a simulated environment (ROPES). The ROPES was designed to be a simple tool for use by officers or researchers who only have intuitive understanding on the human adaptability. The ROPES includes two sub-modules; 1) an interactive interface for the configuration of the RGCS dynamic parameters and user interfaces and 2) a time-varying graphical display of system and human performance. Examples case studies demonstrate the advantage of the ROPES, and improvement points were identified for future development.

SIMULASI DAN EKSPERIMEN KONTROL AUTOMATIC TURRET GUN

This research presented Active Force Control (AFC) as a control method which is applied to Automatic Turret gun (ATG) in ground combat vehicles This method compares the reference force conducted by actuator with actual force of the mechanical systems that arise due to disturbances. The advantage of AFC method is its ability to handle disturbances effectively without complicated mathematical calculations. The AFC method uses Crude Approximation (CA) in the internal loop controller AFC as inertia matrix estimator as an important part in the control loop. Simulation without load on the azimuth movement shows PID controller produces the best precision with MSE of 0 degrees while RACAFC and RAC method provide MSE 0.267 degrees. In simulation on the elevation movement, the RAC method showed the best results with an estimated MSE of the targets shot of 2.42 degrees, while the PID and RACAFC method are 2.5 and 2.46 degrees. When simulation is conducted with additional load RACAFC method gives the best precision with a MSE of 0.267 and 2:46 degrees, while the PID method was 4.24 and the 10.52 degrees. RAC method produces MSE of 0.7 and 2.87 degrees. With the added load the performance of PID controller decreases. In the experiment on the constructed rig, RAC and RACAFC scheme produce smoother movement trajectory and minimum oscillation compared to the PID controller. In loaded conditions these methods are able to maintain their performance. However, these three methods can still achieve a reference point with or without load in the end of travel time

Design and Implementation of Unmanned Ground Combat and Surveillance Vehicle

Combat and Surveillance based UGV is “Remote Control” as it provides real time control of the vehicle to the end user. The person controlling the vehicle shall decide what to do next after examining the surrounding environment of the vehicle. Powered with rechargeable batteries, motors will provide the required torque and power to drive the prototype vehicle. For the Combat purpose, Pistol is mounted on front side which will give aim to the position in XY plane as well as trigger the pistol the target area. For the surveillance, two cameras are mounted on the top which transmits real time video feed to the controller unit. Fabrication of the project was done successfully and it completed its stated objectives by providing gun firing mechanism, step climbing as well as live video feed. The final year project is to design and implementation of Unmanned Ground Combat vehicle. There are three parts of project, first base of Robot, 2nd gun firing mechanism and other vision/camera based system. The gun firing mechanism is mounted over the base of Robot. The firing mechanism would rotate in Up and down direction. Secondly, two digital cameras would be placed on its base for surveillance purpose. Live video of two cameras will be received using transmitter and receiver module at base station. The operator at base station will monitor the area around the vehicle and controls the robotic vehicle. This project includes control of Unmanned Ground Vehicle and gun firing mechanism using radio frequency (RF). The operator can control firing mechanism and robotic base by remote controller/joystick. LCD screen would be placed in the base station and live video will be displayed on LCD, the operator will send command based on video received to Arduino. Arduino module will be used to control the robotic base and mechanisms. All the module would be designed and analyzed, to implement the unmanned ground combat vehicle.

취약면적법과 DMEA를 활용한 지상전투차량 유공압 현가장치의 취약성 평가

취약면적법과 DMEA를 활용한 지상전투차량 유공압 현가장치의 취약성 평가

The vulnerability assessment of ground combat vehicles using target functional modeling and FTA

In developing a ground combat vehicle (GCV), four major performance functions of GCV including firepower, mobility, vulnerability, and operability should be carefully designed and tested using modeling and simulation technology. Vulnerability is a function to be minimized for the target (GCV) to survive enemy’s attack. Vulnerability of GCV can be assessed by calculating the vulnerable area out of the projected area of GCV on the projection plane which is vertical to a shotline. To calculate the vulnerable area, the CAD model of GCV including components and subassemblies should be carefully designed considering how the damage of a part of GCV will affect three other major functions of GCV. This relationship can be obtained by target functional modeling (TFM) and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA). TFM is a diagram that shows the relationship between one of the components and one of the major performance functions of GCV. Using TFM, the components can be classified into critical and noncritical components. The other tool, FTA, is the deductive method to analyze the cause of failure of the target. This paper suggests the unified process of assessing vulnerability of GCV using TFM and FTA using SLAP (Shot Line Analysis Program,) which was developed using C/C++.

Maximizing the U.S. Army’s Future Contribution to Global Security Using the Capability Portfolio Analysis Tool (CPAT)

Recent budget reductions have posed tremendous challenges to the U.S. Army in managing its portfolio of ground combat systems (tanks and other fighting vehicles), thus placing many important programs at risk. To address these challenges, the Army and a supporting team developed and applied the Capability Portfolio Analysis Tool (CPAT) to optimally invest in ground combat modernization over the next 25–35 years. CPAT provides the Army with the analytical rigor needed to help senior Army decision makers allocate scarce modernization dollars to protect soldiers and maintain capability overmatch. CPAT delivers unparalleled insight into multiple-decade modernization planning using a novel multiphase mixed-integer linear programming technique and illustrates a cultural shift toward analytics in the Army’s acquisition thinking and processes. CPAT analysis helped shape decisions to continue modernization of the $10 billion Stryker family of vehicles (originally slated for cancellation) and to strategically reallocate over $20 billion to existing modernization programs by not pursuing the Ground Combat Vehicle program as originally envisioned. More than 40 studies have been completed using CPAT, applying operations research methods to optimally prioritize billions of taxpayer dollars and allowing Army acquisition executives to base investment decisions on analytically rigorous evaluations of portfolio trade-offs.

Aiming error analysis of guns in ground combat vehicles operating on bumpy roads

The hit probability of gunshots fired from moving Ground combat vehicles (GCVs) is significantly affected by the vibration of both the car body and the gun, and the gunshots are generated under different road conditions and at different GCV speeds. The aiming error of the gun, which can be represented by the vertical displacement and the tilting angle of the gun, can be estimated by analyzing the dynamic model of the GCV under different road conditions. In this paper, we present the relationship between the roughness of the road and the speed of the GCV when a predefined hit probability needs to be achieved. We model the GCV using a half-car model with six degrees of freedom, and we use the specifications of the M2 machine gun to calculate the trajectory in the simulation for a target that is located 500 m away from the gun.

지상전투차량 취약성 평가를 위한 표적 모델링과 피격선 분석 시스템

Received 17 September 2014; received in revised form 20 July 2015; accepted 28 July 2015ABSTRACTVulnerability assessment is a process to calculate the damage degree of a combat vehicle whenthe combat vehicle is attacked by an enemy. When the vehicle is hit, it is necessary to analyzethe shot line to calculate which components are damaged and judge whether the armor of thevehicle is penetrated by enemy’s warhead. To analyze the shot line efficiently, this paper pres-ents the target modeling and the shot line analysis system to assess vulnerability of the groundcombat vehicle. This system is easily able to do several functions: 1) the program reads STLfiles converted from CAD model which is designed by commercial CAD software. 2) It calcu-lates the intersection between triangle of STL mesh and the shot line, and check if the compo-nents of the model are penetrated. 3) This program can visualize the results using OpenGL. Thevulnerability assessment using the shot line analysis can be used to model the armor of thecombat vehicle and arrange the inner components effectively in the early stage of developmentof the combat vehicle.Key Words: Ground combat vehicles, Shot line analysis, Target geometry modeling, Vulnerabilityassessment

M&S기반 무인지상전투차량 설계를 위한 통합모의실험환경 아키텍처모델

M&S (Modeling & Simulation) based design is widely accepted for the development of the future weapon system with better performance in a cheaper and faster way. Integrated simulation environment (ISE) is needed for the M&S based design. On the ISE, system engineers can not only verify design options but also validate system requirements. In this paper, we propose architectural models of the integrated simulation environment (ISE) which incorporates mission effectiveness M&S (Modeling & Simulation), system performance M&S, the optimization model of integrated performances, digital mockup and virtual prototype. The ISE architectural models may be used to implement the ISE for the development of the future unmanned ground combat vehicle.

지상 전투차량의 명중률 영향요소 분석을 위한 포의 동역학 해석

지상 전투차량의 명중률 영향요소 분석을 위한 포의 동역학 해석

Future Combat Systems Case Study for Analysis of System of Systems Approach

AbstractThe system of systems approach used in the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program is compared to the systems approach of the Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization (ABCTM) and Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) projects. Several systems engineering tools are applied in order to assess the effectiveness of each method, covering the technical, scheduling and financial perspectives. System complexity and stakeholder relationships were determinant in the transition away from the system of systems approach.