Saturday, March 27, 2021

Robot dogs patrol Tyndall

Working dog Sunny, Q-UGV. Air Force photo
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - Semi-autonomous robot dogs were delivered to Tyndall Air Force Base on March 22 for integration into the 325th Security Forces Squadron. The purpose of the Quad-legged Unmanned Ground Vehicles (Q-UGVs) is to add an extra level of protection to the base. The robot dogs, designed by Ghost Robotics and Immersive Wisdom, are the first of their kind to be integrated onto a military installation and one of many innovation-based initiatives to begin at Tyndall. “As a mobile sensor platform, the Q-UGVs will significantly increase situational awareness for defenders,” said Mark Shackley, Tyndall Program Management Office security forces program manager. “They can patrol the remote areas of a base while defenders can continue to patrol and monitor other critical areas of an installation.” The robot dogs can navigate difficult terrain, operate in minus 40-degree to 131-degree conditions and have 14 sensors to create 360-degree awareness. They have a crouch mode that lowers their center-of-gravity and a high-step mode that alters leg mobility. Tyndall is considered an ideal base to host the new robot dogs with its ongoing rebuild. (Source: 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs, 03/25/21)