Handheld operator control unit

Abstract

Currently, unmanned vehicles support soldiers in a variety of military applications. Typically, a specially-trained user teleoperates these platforms using a large and bulky Operator Control Unit (OCU). The operator's total attention is required for controlling the tedious, low-level aspects of the platform, dramatically reducing his personal situational awareness. Furthermore, these OCUs are both platform and mission specific. Ideally, a soldier could instead carry light-weight and portable multi-purpose devices to act as OCUs for multiple platform/mission scenarios. These devices would support a standard set of OCU functionality (e.g., as driving a ground robot) and additional higher-level task operations (e.g., autonomously patrolling an area). This extended abstract presents the development of apps for a handheld platform that enable both low- and high-level control of an unmanned vehicle.