Unmanned Systems Technology 027 l Hummingbird XRP l Gimbals l UAVs insight l AUVSI report part 2 l O’Neill Power Systems NorEaster l Kratos Defense ATMA l Performance Monitoring l Kongsberg Maritime Sounder

79 Kratos Defense ATMA | In operation given for the SCU, for the transmission quality of the vehicle-to-vehicle data links and to show if the follower vehicle is in gear as commanded. “The ATMA also has a range of redundancies that were added as a result of customer feedback, such as in the comms, the satellite and inertial navigation systems, and the e-stops. Even the encryptions to protect against malicious hacking, and frequency- hopping to reduce RF interference around busy highways or toll booths, were all designed in during development to ensure safety.” The vehicle-to-vehicle radio links use FIPS 140 encryption, an industry-standard AES encryption method used by military operators and other groups. For additional protection to the onboard processing, the operator’s control notebook uses Windows 10 as its operating system for the ongoing cybersecurity that the software platform receives. The primary link typically operates at 2.4 GHz, while the redundant link works on 915 MHz, with both capable of frequency-hopping to circumvent jamming or interference. This is important, as working on congested roads or passing through toll booths can mean dangerous levels of near- frequency ‘noise’ from vehicles and buildings, which could disrupt the connection between the ATMA trucks. And although the two data links are defined as ‘primary’ and ‘redundant’, in normal operations they work simultaneously. This ensures that if one drops or is blocked completely, the other is already initialised and available, keeping a constant flow of critical data between the leader and follower vehicles. Operational safety and impact protection As indicated above, an additional layer of safety on top of these system redundancies is given by the ATMA’s sensor architecture, which provides the follower truck with a multi-modal, 360° obstacle detection capability. The engineering team at Kratos has aimed to develop an obstacle detect-and-avoid system for the front of the follower vehicle, and detect-and- warn at the sides, to account for the unpredictable nature of mobile highway construction and maintenance. At the front of the follower truck, a radar and eight-channel Lidar are mounted to provide obstacle detection up to a range of about 80 m. “It’s not 64-channel Lidar, because we only need it for obstacle detection, and we want to keep costs down where we can,” Factor notes. “Also, 64-channel Lidar is navigation- grade – we don’t need any other navigation systems. We have the lead vehicle, and the follower vehicle is getting its satellite and inertial navigation data from that. “And we have a human in the loop, as well as obstacle detection and awareness sensors as needed.” Should an obstacle be detected ahead of the follower vehicle, it will slow to a halt. Different levels of stopping can be triggered depending on the speed of approach, the level of alarm, concurrent problems such as loss of navigation or comms, and other factors that might depend on end-user requests. These range from a controlled gradual slowdown to an immediate hard brake. Two linear actuators are integrated beneath the driver seat, and have control linkages running beneath the floorboards to actuate the brakes. One of the actuators is controlled from the follower vehicle’s computer, while the other is connected to the independent e-stop controller to provide a hard brake (while also shutting off the engine) in the event of a control failure with the main computer. As mentioned, a video camera is installed in the windshield, with another at the rear of the leader vehicle, pointing towards the follower truck. The operator can switch between these to scrutinise different angles of the intra-vehicle gap and check for motorists, pedestrians or anything else approaching the sides of either vehicle. Also, ultrasonic sensors are placed at the four corners and either side of the follower truck to provide standard automotive proximity warnings if vehicles or people get too close. Kratos has written the sensor Unmanned Systems Technology | August/September 2019 A Delphi electronically scanning radar is integrated at the front of the follower truck to provide the primary long-range obstacle detection