Robots are playing larger roles in military efforts, and even robots need reliable radios to communicate. What better way for them to connect with each other and with humans than by using a “smart” radio, such as the MPU5 smart radio from Persistent Systems? This mobile ad hoc networking (MANET) radio will provide communications links for ground robots being supplied to the U.S. Army MTRS Inc II program by Endeavor Robotics. A total of 2,400 MPU5 smart radios are being supplied for 1,200 robots as part of a $100 million IDIQ contract.
With the compact MPU5 smart radios installed on the MTRS Inc II ground robots, they are connected to each other and to their human operators, who will have wireless control of the unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). This contract expands the number of participants in Persistent Systems’ networked ecosystem, which includes unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), UGVs, fixed sensors, and even legacy radios. This news comes on the heels of Persistent’s September $8.9 million contract win to support Army National Guard counter-WMD civil support teams by networking their chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive (CBRNE) sensors.