TerraMax: Getting Soldiers Out Of Harm’s Way
Writing by Conner Flynn on Thursday, 4 of October , 2007 at 12:54 am
It’s huge, lime green and it drives itself. TerraMax is a prototype designed to navigate and even obey traffic rules. If there are any people inside, they can concentrate on everything except driving. Manufacturer Oshkosh Truck Co. recently showed off its skills at a test on their property. With no driver, it came to a stop at a four-way intersection and waited as staged traffic went by. At the appropriate time, it went on it’s way. At intersections it uses lasers, cameras and global positioning systems to determine if the roadway is clear.
The Defense Department is watching closely. They think that vehicles like this could transport ground forces efficiently. With a smart transport like this one, soldiers are free to do other important duties. More importantly, it limits the number of soldiers in harm’s way. A soldier simply programs a course into the onboard computer and pushes a button to make it happen. The ride is a rough one as it stands right now, but they are working on smoothing it out.
According to the company, they have invested “tens of millions” of dollars into this project. Hopefully some of TerraMax’s smarts will soon find their way into civilian cars.
Comments (1)
Category: Military
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Comment by Ray Renteria
Made Thursday, 4 of October , 2007 at 9:31 am
Like the Grand Canyon, you can’t get a good feel for the scale of TerraMax from photographs. I’ve seen him up close and he’s HUGE! During the National Qualifying Event in ‘05, TerraMax navigated the course with surgical precision. He was the first to show off his ability to drive in reverse which caused an eruption of applause from the stands.
In your photo, he’s seen navigating through a narrow course of hay bales intended to simulate the berms of a desert road. He threaded himself through it with inches to spare on either side.