With the increased interest in unmanned systems, the conduct of unmanned systems research is not just in the academic domain. Companies are forging ahead to develop their own in-house research capability as well to use stand-alone or in conjunction with other research operations.
Before making any purchase or identifying any staff, identify your objectives, customers, collaborators, and competencies. Performing this business case planning early will help to keep the technical effort focused and minimize any wasted time or budget. Based on your business objectives and business case, it is now time to look into staff and lab space.
This now forms the basis for the technical portion of the effort. The infrastructure, tools, computers, monitoring equipment, as well as the actual develop platforms can all be specified. With each comes trade-offs, make-buy decisions, and other activities.
This briefing will look at the the business and programmatics of developing a research capability but will focus on the technology options available in today's market. We will focus on the build up of a lab that supports UAS and UGV work but many aspects of such a lab can be extended to water and space vehicles.
Now that you know you want such a program, how do you build it? This briefing will help you in developing a cost effective, efficient, and relevant capability by not only reviewing the programmatic and personnel aspects of developing such a program, but looking at the technology, toolsets, and infrastructure needed for a top-notch center.