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Aselsan eyes leading global position in unmanned vehicles
The company was recently selected as one of the top 10 teams out of 12 competitors in the Multi Autonomous Ground-robotic International Challenge (MAGIC 2010), which is jointly sponsored by the Australian and US departments of defense to attract innovative proposals from worldwide research organizations. The competition’s primary objective is to create a challenge to encourage companies to make efforts to develop next-generation fully autonomous ground vehicle systems that can be deployed effectively in military operations and civilian emergency situations.
As required, Aselsan submitted a proposal regarding the use of multi-vehicle robotic teams that can execute an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission in a dynamic urban environment.
The selected companies have to complete the assigned tasks most effectively to win the top position in the challenge. The mission is to field teams of unmanned vehicle prototypes with the ability to autonomously coordinate, plan and carry out tasks against changing priorities. Competitors will first “accurately explore and map the challenge area; correctly locate, classify and recognize all simulated threats; and complete all phases within three-and-a-half hours.”
Aselsan’s team “Cappadocia” included experts from Bilkent University, Boğaziçi University, Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) and Ohio State University in the US.
The Grand Challenge Event, to be held at an undisclosed location in the South Australian city of Adelaide, will take place on Oct. 8-13, 2010. The winning team will receive an award of $750,000.
The other nine teams that have been selected are from the US, Australia, Japan and Canada. Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Aselsan officials were hopeful that this race will bring many opportunities for the company in the international market, allowing it to participate in numerous projects. They also state that the company is eager to provide the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) with unmanned vehicles, also known as smart robots.
The officials argue that the significance of unmanned systems is increasing with every passing day, especially in defense and security operations such as conducting exploratory, intelligence and logistics studies without incurring human casualties.
They say unmanned systems are preferable since they can achieve tasks which may be routine, difficult or too risky for humans. Furthermore, these machines will not be prevented from completing the mission by factors that hinder human beings such as fear, hesitation and fatigue. For instance, the officials, who asked to remain anonymous, said the US is planning to replace at least one-third of its army with unmanned units by 2015.
Aselsan experts said the company is these days busy making its unmanned systems able to decide on changing conditions and priorities during missions by utilizing a developed form of artificial intelligence. The company has designed and developed high-tech, strategic defense products and systems to reduce the TSK’s reliance on foreign companies while making Turkey a leader in modern warfare. Aselsan officials said the company will carry out its studies on robots, which they deem will be the primary machines of war in the not-too-distant future.
The company currently has three types of unmanned vehicle. Gezgin is a land vehicle capable of surveillance and defense from a long distance. It resembles a small, wheeled panzer. Kaşif is a balloon designed to explore its surroundings up to many kilometers away. It can, for example, be anchored at a military outpost and continuously monitor its surrounding area, including what lies behind hills and even mountains. Denizci is an unmanned vehicle designed for exploration, monitoring and intelligence in ports and straits.
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