Clarksburg, MD, April 10, 2019 — Robotic Research LLC today applauded a noteworthy U.S. Army effort to honor several of America’s fallen soldiers. Specifically, key officials within the Army Futures Command dedicated each of the first sixteen autonomous leader-follower vehicles to Soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to an article published by the Department of Defense entitled “Army Dedicates New Autonomous Vehicles to Fallen Soldiers”:
Here at Fort Bliss, straddling Texas and New Mexico, the Army Engineers who are working to bring automated driving to the military’s trucking units are taking a knee. As the very first “Automated Leader-Follower” trucks are prepared for Soldiers’ hands, the leaders nurturing the technology want to be sure the inspiration for the technology’s advancement is never forgotten.
“We’re taking a tactical pause to step back and reflect upon all of our collective efforts as a group.” Major Andrew Scruggs is the Military Lead for Expedient Leader-Follower, a project within the Army’s newly-formed Army Futures Command. His teammates are taking time at this crucial point in the project’s advancement to dedicate each of the first sixteen autonomous leader-follower vehicles to one of sixteen fallen Motor Vehicle Operator Soldiers who was killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“And so, really, the reason why we’re dedicating these vehicles is because every time we get an engineer, every time we get a government member that’s a part of this team, this is complicated stuff that we’re doing. It’s a very high level of rigor, activities, and sometimes people can get burned out, but when they see that vehicle data plate on that truck that they’re working on, they’re going to be reminded of why they’re doing what they’re doing, and what their efforts could potentially help the army to achieve and what the Soldiers’ families could potentially achieve from this.”
The article and a related video released by the Department of Defense (DoD) can be viewed at the link below:
https://dod.defense.gov/News/Special-Reports/Videos/?videoid=671123
Alberto Lacaze, Chief Executive Officer of Robotic Research, stated, “Robotic Research is proud to stand with the Army officials in honoring these fallen heroes. Every day we re-dedicate ourselves to helping our Nation’s Soldiers achieve their missions safely. As Major Scruggs stated, the ultimate sacrifice of these brave Soldiers will never be forgotten.”
Robotic Research is a small business that specializes in autonomous vehicle software and other innovative technologies and capabilities currently being tested and deployed by the U.S. Army and other DoD and commercial customers.
For more information, please contact Janet Hughes at (240/631-0008) or visit www.roboticresearch.com.