J.B. Pletta

Papers

Total Citations

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About

J.B. Pletta is a pioneering researcher in autonomous mobile robotics, with a career focused on advancing unmanned vehicle technologies for hazardous and remote environments. Their foundational work, "Ground Vehicle Convoying" (1987), with 22 citations, introduced early approaches to autonomous ground vehicle convoying, exploring minimal-capability systems for speed and spacing control—a precursor to modern autonomous trucking and military convoys. Pletta’s contributions extend to extraterrestrial exploration through the "Robotic All-terrain Lunar Exploration Rover (RATLER)" program (1994), where they developed full-scale telerobotic and autonomous systems for lunar geology, demonstrating mechanical mobility and remote operation capabilities. Notably, their 1998 paper "An Advanced Unmanned Vehicle for Remote Applications" (4 citations) synthesized these efforts, proposing autonomous solutions for humanitarian demining, ordnance neutralization, hazardous waste cleanup, and space science. Pletta’s work bridges early robotic convoying and planetary rovers, impacting defense, space exploration, and environmental remediation. Their research laid groundwork for integrating telerobotics and autonomy in extreme conditions, inspiring subsequent generations of unmanned systems engineers.