US Army Vehicle Intelligence Program Poised to Become Major IV Player
IVsource.net
28 August 2001

The US Army’s Vehicle Intelligence Program (AVIP) is a new effort to enhance the productivity, efficiency, sustainability, safety, and driving quality of its wheeled tactical fleet.  FY01 has been an organizational year, and major activities are expected to begin in FY02.

The US Army’s Vehicle Intelligence Program (AVIP) is a new effort to enhance the productivity, efficiency, sustainability, safety and driving quality of its wheeled tactical fleet. FY01 has been an organizational year, and major activities are expected to begin in FY02.

According to a paper developed by Bill Knee of Oak Ridge National Labs (which is supporting the program), the AVIP will involve the following major efforts: 1) physical integration of vehicle intelligence (VI) technologies on-board selected Army vehicles; 2) functional integration of VI technologies; 3) development of associated driver-vehicle interfaces; 4) development of advanced driver associate concepts; 5) development of advanced control capabilities; and 6) facilitation of autonomous driving functions.

From these areas of focus, it is apparent that AVIP, a program sponsored by the military, will go far beyond the research horizon of the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) -- and that there may be fruitful areas of technology transfer between the Department of Defense (DOD) and DOT as a result.

Strategic Research with Both Military and Commercial Ambitions

The AVIP is defined as a long-term, applied and basic research program that maintains the driver-in-the-loop as a basic presumption.  It is focused however, on evolving the driving task and associated mission activities into one that makes optimal use of the soldier-driver, and the on-board VI technologies.  The AVIP is an important element of the Army’s transformation and is key to shaping the tactical vehicle component of the Army’s future "Objective Force" strategic initiative.

The AVIP is a concept that is being developed at the National Automotive Center (NAC), which is part of the US Army’s Tank Automotive and Armaments Research and Development Center (TARDEC).  The NAC was founded in 1992 and is the DOD/Army focal point for collaborative ground vehicle research and development.  The NAC engages in research programs that leverage government, commercial industry and academia investment in advanced automotive technology R&D.

The AVIP will be conducted with a dual use perspective, but will be extending their scope to include other federal agencies with similar interests in developing advanced driving capabilities that maintain a human driver-in-the-loop.  Through joint multi-agency-industry partnerships involving organizations with common technical interests, the AVIP hopes to leverage the limited resources of the partner organizations.  Each participant that supports the program gains an opportunity to share in the benefits of cutting edge research that individually would be too expensive to undertake.

Complete Spectrum of Research Domains Included

As currently envisioned, the AVIP research will involve a complete spectrum of IV/VI research domains including computer-based simulation, workstation experiments, simulator studies, closed-loop test track experiments, controlled field operational tests (FOTs), and open FOTs.  While the objectives of the AVIP will be focused squarely on the enhancement of the US Army’s ground fleet, the research will be tailored to assure that non-DOD partners can share in and benefit from the research results.

Some of the major activities that will be addressed within the AVIP include:

·         Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)/VI technology assessment, and evaluation for military applications;

·         Definition of viable vehicle architectures, including databus configurations;

·         Technology integration (both physical and functional);

·         Development of advanced driver-vehicle interfaces;

·         Development of advanced driver associate concepts;

·         Development of advanced control capabilities, and

·         Facilitation of autonomous driving functions.

These technology focus areas will be addressed within an R&D environment that spans from lab research to FOTs.  As the research moves toward field testing, emphasis must be given to:

·         Appropriately designing the FOT experimental environment;

·         Defining appropriate program-based performance measures (related to the vehicle, driver, environment, and driving performance);

·         Designing data collection suites that collect information relevant to the defined performance measures;

·         Designing relevant ITS/VI data acquisition systems capable of providing common time stamping, management of FOT data;

·         Identification and instrumentation of the FOT fleet;

·         Identification of a FOT subject population, collection of demographic data (including skills and ability data) and training of the subject population;

·         Collection of baseline (normative) performance data;

·         Development of an AVIP data system capable of archiving data, and providing data mining and analysis;

·         Analyses of extremely large data sets generated within a FOT; and

·         Conduct of AVIP benefit analyses.

During CY-2000, a technology assessment was completed by ORNL and NAC to determine an initial candidate IV technology list for the AVIP.  The assessment included a literature review of ITS/VI technologies, visits/discussions with original equipment manufacturers and first tier suppliers, and visits/discussions with representatives from the Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and Research and Special Projects Administration (RSPA).

From information obtained from these various sources, a list of VI technologies was formulated as initial candidates for consideration by the AVIP (see the Table below).  These technologies represent those currently believed to most enhance mission efficiencies -- including fuel efficiency, improved safety, and reduced environmental impact.

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