SARGE Surveillance And Reconnaissance Ground Equipment
The Surveillance And Reconnaissance Ground Equipment (SARGE) vehicle is based on a Yamaha Breeze four-wheeled all terrain vehicle. It was developed for the US Army/Marine Corps Joint Program Office for Unmanned Ground Vehicles/Systems (JPO-UGV/S). Intended as a production prototype for military applications, SARGE incorporates the latest technology in affordable embedded computing and sensing systems. SARGE's sensor suite includes day/night imaging capability, thermal imaging, and a high power zoom surveillance camera capable of resolving a walking man at distances of over 1 km. SARGE's onboard computing system incorporates a 32 bit backplane, a single board 386SX class cpu, and is upgradable to a multiprocessor configuration for future expansion of capabilities. While somewhat similar to the DIXIE system, SARGE represents a significant improvement in the areas of modular design, vehicle performance, and mission adaptability.
For years, both the Army and the Marines have been seeking to develop battlefield robots that could reduce risk to soldiers by performing some of their more dangerous duties. SARGE, a prototype battlefield robot, is designed to do just that. SARGE was developed at Sandia National Laboratories primarily to engage in remote surveillance, as evidenced by its full name -- Surveillance And Reconnaissance Ground Equipment. Unlike the walking, talking, metal humanoid Hollywood robots with lasers for eyes, SARGE is a much simpler machine.
SARGE and its predecessors have all been four-wheeled, remote-controlled vehicles -- not a humanoid part on them. SARGE uses a commercial recreational "four-wheeler," a Yamaha Breeze, as its base platform. A roll cage has been added, and four video cameras -- two for surveillance and two for driving -- are attached to a pan/tilt platform. Everything -- steering, throttle, cameras -- can be remotely operated from a suitcase-size operational control unit (OCU) miles away.
SARGE is a direct descendant of Sandia's Dixie robot. Dixie was developed in the 1980s and was popular among its users because it was easy to operate, difficult to overturn, and reliable. The customer for the new robot, the Unmanned Ground Vehicles/Systems Joint Project Office (UGV/S JPO), wanted something similar to Dixie. But Dixie was about six years old, and those involved thought that a number of improvements were necessary. For example, Dixie is teleoperated via a 1200-baud radio link, which coupled with the slow speed of its processor, causes a 75-millisecond delay between user command and machine response. Operators had to "drive ahead," or essentially plan for what was coming up because of the delay.
With SARGE, the goal was to decrease the lag time. SARGE's command/response delay is approximately 20 milliseconds, thanks to its much faster modern processors and communications equipment. The base platform was also upgraded. Dixie was built on a Honda 125, which relied solely on balloon tires for suspension and required the operator to shift gears while driving. SARGE's platform has a suspension system and a continuously variable transmission, which doesn't require shifting, making SARGE more stable at high speeds and easier to operate.
In combat, it is often necessary to send a contingent of soldiers on reconnaissance. They carry out the risky mission of determining the enemy's position and assessing the situation. With SARGE, this would be unnecessary. The robot could be sent ahead, and images captured by its video cameras would be relayed back to the OCU. If there is an enemy ambush, the number of casualties will be less than one. SARGE is not intended to replace infantry soldiers. The Army and Marines want to use robotics to complement a soldier's abilities.
SARGE is a prototype of what will eventually be standard battlefield equipment that will serve as a "force multiplier," something to increase soldier/Marine effectiveness and survivability -- the Teleoperated Unmanned Ground Vehicle (TUGV). The final, complete TUGV (said "tug-vee") system will be produced by the hundreds and put into the armed forces inventory. Individual or multiple robots will be assigned to infantry units and battalions. Gaining acceptance of the use of robotics among infantry soldiers may be a challenge.
With SARGE, the JPO is involving soldiers in research and development of the final TUGV. A critical part of the project is the manufacture of eight to ten SARGE units to be given to infantry battalions, getting them involved in SARGE's development up-front. Soldier feedback will be used to guide subsequent phases of TUGV development.
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