Towards an autonomous robotic CBRNe-response

Important results from the project

The two goals of the project were to 1) initiate collaboration between the Swedish defense industry in CBRNe and academic robotics research, and 2) conduct joint demonstrations. These goals have undoubtedly been achieved in the project. A close collaboration was established that allowed for fully integrated demonstrations within relevant CBRNe use cases. We combined advanced autonomy for navigation in unknown and GNSS-denied areas, with modern CBRNe systems, for improved situational awareness.

Expected long term effects

Throughout the project, an interest and need has been identified among external parties in Sweden´s CBRNe response. The implementation of the project has provided direction for new possible initiatives, both for the partners´ products/development, and for research and its connection to critical use cases (CBRN). These result in a Sweden more robust for CBRNe threats. The call provided new opportunities for collaboration between academia and industry in defense issues, which Sweden greatly needs.

Approach and implementation

The project was carried out with a high degree of cooperation between the parties. During the year, three workshops were held at LTU and coordinated through regular follow-up meetings. The project concluded with an integration and demo week where we demonstrated the project´s results in relevant CBRNe scenarios. The project also included two student theses at Saab, partially supervised and carried out at LTU-RAI. The project included both prototype development in industry and academic research.