In an era of high-tech combat, shrinking budgets, escalating terrorist threats and natural disasters, Utah companies and research centers are holding their own with industry goliaths in the field of autonomous systems: smart, unmanned vehicles that fly, crawl, orbit and probe in places too dangerous or expensive for humans to go. Sorry, Mom, those video game skills may become your kids’ ticket to future success.

In an industry historically dominated by aerospace and electronics behemoths, Utah is carving out a strong reputation for creative, cutting-edge technology at an attractive price in the hot new field of autonomous systems and smart sensors. The  Defense and Homeland Security Cluster is working to provide an environment that helps research centers, fledgling companies and established veterans take advantage of the state’s unique strengths to compete—and even lead—in driving these technologies into the marketplace. “Utah has one of the most unique capabilities in the area of autonomous vehicles anywhere in the world,” says Marshall Wright, business development manager for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED). “We have demonstrated the success of fostering cooperation between research centers and commercial companies to drive leading products into the marketplace.”

Autonomous Vehicles

So, what exactly is an autonomous vehicle? In short, it is any type of unmanned vehicle (including those that fly or orbit) that is able to complete its tasks wholly without human intervention. Autonomous vehicles span the spectrum from reconnaissance planes and satellites to crawlers that explore damaged buildings and robots that scan under vehicles for contraband or explosives. “These vehicles replace humans for doing jobs that are dull, dirty or dangerous,” Wright says.

Part of the high-profile impetus for developing this new technology has come through legislation. In a bill passed several years ago, congress mandated that one-third of military ground vehicles be autonomous by 2015 and two-thirds of them by 2025. This amounts to 120,000 vehicles in 2015 and 250,000 in 2025.

The potential returns for Utah companies are huge. “The market for autonomous vehicles alone is $8 to $10 billion over the next 10 years,” says Troy Takach, senior managing partner for Design Jug, a Utah-based autonomous vehicle consulting company. “We believe that Utah should deliver 80,000 robotic systems over the next 10 years.  That would clearly establish us as the market leader.”

Despite the rosy projections, Department of Defense (DOD) officials were shocked to discover an industry still in the early stages of development of crucial technologies. “After the bill passed, the government quickly discovered that the technology required to help them reach those objectives simply didn’t exist,” says Takach. “The truth is, there is currently no clear leader in the field of autonomous vehicles. We believe Utah can and should become that leader.”

To encourage faster development of autonomous vehicle technologies, DOD’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) began sponsoring competitions with large cash prizes for the winners. One competition, the Grand Challenge, was initiated in 2004 and included 30 entrants, none of whom completed the course (a 165-mile torture track through the desert) to claim the $1 million prize. In fact, the best team only made it seven miles. The 2005 competition featured 23 teams rigorously selected from a field of 195. This time, five teams finished, and a team from Stanford University claimed the $2 million first prize.

The Design Jug team logged a respectable showing on each outing, and although it did not place in the final race, it gained valuable experience along the way. “The stakes are much higher for the 2007 competition,” says Takach. “The $15 million in prize money is spread out over both qualifying events and the final race, with first through third places receiving cash as well as smaller cash awards to all final participants. The technical requirements are also much higher, but we expect to achieve a very strong showing.” The 2007 race will include urban environment features and will require vehicles to operate together in traffic without colliding. 

Developing Advantage

Delivering on an aggressive goal requires cooperation between research institutions, commercial entities and military resources within the state. Utah has a growing reputation for bringing these elements together to deliver cutting-edge technology and products that compete with the best in the world in the area of unmanned vehicles and sensors.

In addition to GOED-sponsored efforts in this area, the Center for Autonomous Vehicle Applied Technology and Information (CAVATI), a 501(c)(6) nonprofit business league is working to make large assets in industry available for software development in the universities. “At the end of the day, software is the key to this technology,” says Takach. “University researchers need access to large robotic equipment and resources only industry can afford. CAVATI helps to make this happen.”

One of the early pioneers of this cooperative approach is Autonomous Solutions,  a spin-off of the Center for Self Organizing and Intelligent Systems (CSOIS) at Utah State University. Formed in 2000, the company’s original contracts were with John Deere to develop autonomous plowing vehicles. Since then, it has expanded into a variety of other commercial areas as well as government work with DOD, Army Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) and the Army Corps of Engineers. 

Autonomous Solutions vehicles are now deployed in applications as diverse as automated tire testing, deactivating land mines and acting as military training targets driving through mock cities. “Our biggest single project is the complete automation of one of the largest mining operations in the world,” says Autonomous Solutions business development manager Chris Brown. “It is incredibly complex and involves automating nearly every vehicle so that virtually the entire operation runs without any human drivers. While internal automation has been around for some time now, these outdoor applications are still in their infancy, and we are one of the world leaders in this technology.”

A major part of that edge comes through the company’s leading role in developing the control and communication software standard that has been adoptedby DOD for any robotic system acquired by the military. “Many companies who ignored the standard early on are now coming to us to buy the software that will make their products compliant,” says Brown.

Another successful USU spin-off is Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL). A nonprofit research corporation owned by USU, SDL has very deep involvement at the federal level with Intelligent Surveillance and Recognizance (ISR) projects for homeland security programs through NASA and DOD.

SDL is a recognized leader in imaging and sensor technology, which provides the data gathering capability for autonomous vehicles as varied as reconnaissance planes with 12-inch wingspans to large predator vehicles and space satellites. SDL is currently working on bio-sensors that could quickly find and identify biological threats and next-generation satellite sensors that could improve hurricane predictive capability by 50 percent.

Early Bird

A more recent example of how this process can work is the Kestrel Autopilot, which began life as a NASA-funded research project within Brigham Young University’s mechanical engineering department. Randy Beard, a professor of mechanical engineering and the project lead, assembled a team of colleague experts and students to produce one of the lightest, most capable autopilot technologies in the world. “The unit weighs 16 grams and includes all the sensors and controls required to completely fly the plane, including GPS guidance,” says Beard. The unit typically flies on board a 12- to 36-inch wingspan plane (called a UAV or unmanned air vehicle) used for various types of reconnaissance or surveillance.

“Essentially, the military is pushing intelligence gathering down from $100 million theater-level vehicles to systems that individual soldiers can use and manage,” explains Beard. “We have a distinct advantage in that type of technology.” The BYU project was so successful, the team won the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics-sponsored Infotech@Aerospace Video Competition in 2005, beating out engineering teams from Boeing, NASA, Lockheed Martin and teams from several universities, including Stanford and Georgia Tech.

With the basic research for Kestrel Autopilot completed and proven, the technology was spun out for applied development and commercialization. Procerus Technologies, led by CEO Todd Titensor, licensed Kestrel, and with a few of the original engineers built a company that put it into a final form that is now selling successfully to a number of military customers. A key addition included a simple user interface, called Virtual Cockpit, which allows non-engineering or aeronautics trained users to use a UAV effectively.

“A soldier can pull a foldable UAV out of his backpack, enter GPS coordinates and, after hand-launching it, view continuous live streaming video of the surveillance area on a rugged laptop,” says Titensor. “A simple joystick allows directional control, while the system handles all other flight tasks. Then, by clicking the ‘land’ button, the vehicle lands at his feet.” Procerus is also developing non-military markets for its technology, including pipeline monitoring, search and rescue, law enforcement and fire fighting intelligence, where fire-induced turbulence poses extreme risks to helicopter crews.

The Utah Advantage

Utah-based autonomous vehicle technology companies are capitalizing on strengths and capabilities unique to this environment that translate into advantages, even in an industry dominated by extremely large government contractors.

“We’re a relatively small lab with a very long reach,” says Harry Ames, deputy director at SDL. “We’ve developed an exceptionally strong reputation with the Naval Research Lab in Washington D.C. They love our creativity, our imagination and, quite frankly, our price. Our Cache Valley location allows us to draw excellent talent at a lower cost than what equivalent expertise goes for in major metro areas.”

An important part of that very long reach includes SDL’s designation as a DOD-recognized University Affiliated Research Center (UARC)—one of only 12 such centers in the world. “That puts us in very heady company,” says Ames. “DOD is highly selective about who gets the designation and the contracts that go with it. It brings a lot of recognition to Utah-based cooperative research efforts.”

Beard echoes the advantage enjoyed by Utah-based organizations. “We actually are primarily interested in working with large organizations like Boeing and NASA. We can do initial research and prototyping at a much lower cost and with a fraction of the red tape they have to deal with. That gives us both a time and cost advantage,” he says. Titensor points out that while it may at first seem counterintuitive, Procerus actively partners with major defense contractors, integrators and other research universities. “Our technology is so advanced, [our partners] don’t necessarily want to reinvent the wheel. We are viewed as the experts that provide a key piece of technology that can be included to advance their own UAV programs or research projects.”

Crucial to the development process is the ability to test and evaluate new innovations. “Utah has the potential to provide two of the best 10 facilities in the world,” says Wright. Through recent collaborative efforts, both Hill Air Force Base and Dugway Proving Grounds received approval as testing sites for military autonomous vehicle programs. 

“Our plan is to see a significant change in the autonomous vehicle market, and we want Utah to be a very large player in that market,” says Takach. “To do that, we must think like industrialists and ask, ‘how can I grow the market in my region or state?’”

It appears that thus far, plenty of industrialist thinking has been going on and that this cluster is quickly probing, crawling, flying and rolling its way to major player status.  And, don’t worry, Mom.  If these researchers have their way, even the joystick will become a thing of the past.