Rheinmetall achieved a significant success in connection with the Interoperable Robotic Convoy (InterRoC) project. In the European Land Robot Trial 2024 (ELROB) competition, the Rheinmetall InterRoc team consisting of the Research &
Technology division of Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH and Rheinmetall Canada Inc. won first place in the “Automated Convoy” category. The combination of HX truck and integrated PATH autonomy kit proved its worth.
The Rheinmetall PATH autonomy kit (‘PATH A-Kit’) is an AI-supported navigation system that can be installed in almost any vehicle. At ELROB 2024, the PATH A-Kit controlled two of the highly mobile HX logistics vehicles as part of the convoy scenario. Both HX vehicles were also equipped with a drive-by-wire system.
ELROB is one of the most demanding open international competitions in the field of robotics, sensor technology and autonomy. This year was the 12th edition and it took place from 24 to 28 June at the German Armed Forces Technical
Center for Land-Based Vehicle Systems, Engineer and General Field Equipment in Trier.
Rheinmetall subsidiaries Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH and Rheinmetall Canada competed in a tactical leader-follower scenario and an actual real-life scenario. The HX vehicles had to overcome eleven different obstacles on a 6 km circuit. The most difficult challenges included narrow paths, transitions between on-road and off-road driving, navigating through open and dense forests, communication interference, reversing and driving around obstacles.
“The course was very challenging. The organisers did a fantastic job of making the competition a realistic military scenario and our performance shows that the Rheinmetall PATH-A kit is ready for real-world use cases”.
said Paul Rocco, Managing Director of Rheinmetall Provectus.
The team completed most of the route in convoy mode without GPS, as the terrain was overgrown with dense foliage.
“This is the first time we have demonstrated this new specific capability, which is a significant upgrade for the PATH A kit. We were able to seamlessly switch between GPS-enabled and GPS-free environments without any degradation in functionality or noticeable change in operation.”
said Luc Brunet, Director of Robotics and Autonomous Systems at Rheinmetall Provectus.
Cover Image Courtesy of Rheinmetall
