HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- For service members and civilians who enjoy walking and jogging through the many winding trails on base, you may meet an unlikely passerby in the form of the 49th Security Forces Squadron’s Vision 60 Q-UGV ground robot.
The Vision 60 is a quadrupedal urban and all environment ground robot, or robodog, and capable of maneuvering through austere environments with minimal difficulty.
“These robots will give us the ability to bolster our defense by looking for deficiencies in our fence lines or detect personnel that may try to breach our perimeter.” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Kent, 49th SFS technology and communications noncommissioned officer in charge. “These robots can also be utilized in crash recovery missions and relay information on a quicker scale to us and Holloman’s first responders.”
Ghost Robotics, the creators of the Vision 60, designed these robots to be extremely durable with the ability to operate in temperatures from -40 to 131 degrees Fahrenheit, maintain functionality while submerged in up to 1 meter of water and operate for a total of 3.15 hours nonstop.
The Vision 60 will support the 49th SFS on base with reconnaissance and aid on patrols to maintain installation security and it will eventually be incorporated into future deployment training.
“Holloman is an ideal place for the robots because its location mirrors our typical deployment environments,” said Kent. “This in turn will help us learn about potential shortcomings with the robots and create solutions in order to grow its capabilities.”
Though the project is still in development, it is the goal of the 49th SFS to provide all of its Defenders with the knowledge to work with the robots.
“As the program continues to grow, we plan on ensuring that all our Defenders will have the opportunity to train with the robots,” said Kent. “This will help our situational awareness and response capabilities increase by tenfold and help us relay information in moments where time can be vital.”