Videos

Unmanned Ground Vehicle Control Technology

Think-A-Move, Ltd. (TAM) offers a patented hardware and software solution that enables soldiers to control Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) using speech commands or tongue movements.

Sid, posing with an iRobot PackBot®

Background
Military units and first responders depend on robots for expanded situational awareness, surveillance, bomb disposal and an array of other missions that help save lives and accomplish important objectives, both in war and needs at home.

These robots, also known as Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs), have completed over 300,000 missions in Afghanistan and Iraq alone. With uses for Police, SWAT teams, bomb disposal units, fire squads, rescue workers and others, the need for more UGVs is growing rapidly.

Smaller Unmanned Ground Vehicles, such as Man Portable Robotics Systems (MPRS), greatly expand the market needs for UGVs. MPRS are a high priority for many military organizations and first responders such as Police and Fire units. MPRS, in particular Foster-Miller's Stealth Talon and iRobot's line of PackBots, are light enough for a single soldier to carry, durable enough to be thrown through windows and dropped from buildings and maneuverable enough to climb stairs and drive through rough terrain.

Solution
Think-A-Move's system allows soldiers to control UGVs using speech commands or tongue movements. Current control systems are heavy, bulky and can require several people to operate. Think-A-Move's design enables heads-up, hands-free control of a UGV by a single soldier. This means:

• A soldier can control a UGV using speech commands or tongue movements.
• The soldier can hold and shoot a weapon while controlling the UGV.
• The soldier can be moving while controlling the UGV.

Think-A-Move's patented earpiece

Even better, TAM's earpiece design and software reduces ambient noise, so a soldier can effortlessly control a UGV in the most extreme conditions, such as gunfire, explosions and other battlefield noise. If there is a need for a covert operation, a UGV can be controlled silently by using distinct tongue movements, e.g., a flick against one's gum.

Think-A-Move has a number video demonstrations of the UGV control technology. To view a video, click the link below.

Please note: These videos may take a while to load depending on your browser, media player, or connection speed. Please be patient.

SPEAR Demonstrations:
SPEAR PackBot Demonstration October 2008
Speech Control of an iRobot PackBot in Noise January 2009
SPEAR Speech Command Confirmation January 2009
SPEAR Speaker Profile Training March 2009
Integration of SPEAR with iRobot PackBot Aware 2.0 - AMREL Rocky OCU June 2009
Speech Control of a QinetiQ North America MAARS Platform July 2009

Earlier Work:
Speech Control of an iRobot PackBot July 2007
Speech Control Under Noisy Conditions July 2007

Research & Development Work:
Speech Control of a Power Wheelchair November 2007
Using Tongue Movements to Control iRobot PackBot Part I September 2007
Using Tongue Movements to Control iRobot PackBot Part II September 2007

Think-A-Move, Ltd. • 23715 Mercantile Rd., Suite 100 • Beachwood, OH 44122
Ph: 216.765.8875 • Copyright © 2007 All Rights Reserved