Since 2018, the National Center for the Development of Technologies and Basic Elements of Robotics of the Foundation for Advanced Research and the "Android Technology" company have been working on the experimental platform "Marker". Last year, this development was first presented to the public, and recently new details of the work carried out and plans for the future became known.
According to official data
On April 21, TASS published an interview with the head of the scientific and technical council and deputy general director of the FPI, Vitaly Davydov. The topic of the conversation was new developments in the field of robotics - incl. experimental robotic platform "Marker".
The representative of the FPI recalled the goals of the project. With the use of the "Marker", technologies are being developed for the creation and use of promising military-grade RTKs. The methods of independent work and interaction with people, other robots or weapons and military equipment are being practiced. During these processes, specific technical solutions are tested in all major areas. The best ideas are selected and developed.
The ultimate goal of the Marker experimental project is to create a fully autonomous RTK capable of independently performing a wide range of works. The operator will be able to set a task, and the robot will solve all other issues on its own - to build a route, look for a target and use weapons.
At the same time, "Marker" remains an experimental project for working out specific solutions. For this, the platform has an open architecture that allows the implementation and testing of various devices and components of domestic design.
Completed and planned
The project implements not only autonomy, but also teleoperator mode. It can be useful when performing some tasks, such as when clearing mines or working in conditions that are dangerous to humans. At the same time, as V. Davydov noted, telecontrol is a passed stage - now all attention is focused on more complex developments.
At the time of the first demonstration to the general public, the RTC "Marker" could independently build routes, go to the indicated points and fire. Research and design work continues, which is already leading to new results.
According to V. Davydov, the complex has already "mastered" the use of small arms. With its help, it independently strikes both ground and air targets. In the near future, testing of a new complex of weapons, including grenade launchers, should begin. This will expand the range of combat missions to be solved.
In the near future, the RTK Marker will include unmanned aerial vehicles. With their help, it is proposed to carry out reconnaissance and increase situational awareness, as well as strike at some targets. It is possible to use both UAVs and the so-called. loitering ammunition.
Any operations with weapons should be carried out under the control of the commander, depending on the existing conditions and assigned tasks. Several options for the application of the technique are proposed. The first provides for autonomous work in a given area. In the second case, the robot must support the unit and receive specific tasks from its commander.
Expected Outcome
Work on the Marker experimental platform is scheduled to be completed next year. By this time, to demonstrate the capabilities of the platform and its main solutions, several prototypes will be built. However, the main result of the project will be a set of the most successful and effective technologies suitable for use in promising projects.
According to V. Davydov, a full-fledged demonstration RTK will appear in the near future. It will include five robotic platforms with different equipment. Prototypes will carry machine-gun and grenade launchers, as well as devices for launching UAVs and loitering ammunition. Such a composition of the RTK will allow to show all the capabilities of technology obtained through promising ideas and solutions.
How soon such equipment will be able to get into the troops, the FPI leadership does not say. The task of the Foundation and related enterprises is to develop technologies and create experimental samples. The development of equipment for full-fledged operation should be carried out by a separate order from the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs or other structures.
Experimental samples
The first reports about the Marker program appeared at the beginning of last year. Since then, FPI and Android Technology have repeatedly talked about current work and even published video footage of testing equipment at the test site. For testing, two experimental platforms were built with different target equipment. Three more products with a different payload should appear in the near future.
The Marker robotic platform is a medium-sized tracked vehicle equipped with a set of electronic equipment and a landing site for a target load. The possibility of building a wheeled vehicle with similar equipment and the same capabilities has been declared. The robotic complex includes several platforms with different equipment, an operator panel and other components.
The platform integrates remote control facilities, an autopilot, a computer complex, a vision system, etc. The composition of the equipment can be changed for carrying out certain studies. So, in the current tests, platforms with a machine-gun and grenade launcher combat module and a device for launching an UAV are involved.
At the end of July last year, it was reported that the "Marker" successfully passed sea trials. The machines have shown their ability to independently build a route to a given point and overcome it. In the near future, it was planned to begin fire tests. In October FPI and "Android Technics" were shown again in the conditions of the test site.
At the end of November, the FPI announced that in the first half of 2020, test firing with work in autonomous mode should begin. Then it became known that two prototypes on a wheeled chassis would join the two tracked platforms in the future.
Direction prospects
As the developers have repeatedly mentioned, the goal of the current Marker program is to create a set of technologies and solutions for the further development of promising RTKs. While they are being worked out with the help of experimental platforms. In the future, if there is interest from a potential customer, it is possible to develop full-fledged combat systems.
An order for such equipment may appear in the very near future. Work on the new project will take several years, after which the Russian army will be able to obtain a fundamentally new model of equipment. Unlike a number of existing RTKs, promising systems based on Marker developments will be able to operate not only by operator commands, but also independently.
Thanks to this, a mechanical "fighter" will appear in the composition of various units, capable of helping living soldiers or replacing them. In this case, the interaction of a person and the RTK will be as simple and convenient as possible, in accordance with the requirements of the application on the battlefield.
However, autonomous RTKs of new types will appear in the army no earlier than in a few years. In the meantime, the main task in this direction is to continue the development and testing of existing experimental systems, such as the Marker platform. In the very near future, its developers will begin a new stage of testing, and then new experimental equipment is expected to appear. The "marker" in its current form will not get into the troops, but will open the way for other vehicles with the same or improved capabilities.
