Artificial Intelligence in the Convoy

RHEINMETALL has once again demonstrated its expertise in the field of Artificial Intelligence. It achieved a significant success in relation to the Interoperable Robotic Convoy (InterRoC) project. At 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 the HX truck and integrated Autonomy Kit PATH proved successful. The RHEINMETALL Autonomy Kit PATH ("PATH A-Kit") is an AI-powered navigation system that can be installed in almost any vehicle. It has proven itself in various platforms, including the Mission Master robotics vehicle family, and was successfully used last year in the 2023 Estonia Unmanned Ground Systems Autonomy Trials. At ELROB 2024, the PATH A-Kit controlled two highly mobile HX logistical vehicles in the convoy scenario. Both HX vehicles were also equipped with a drive-by-wire system. ELROB is one of the most challenging open international competitions in the field of robotics, sensors, and autonomy. Every two years, participants from universities, civilian, and military manufacturers compete to test the capabilities of modern robots. This year marked the 12th edition, held from June 24 to 28 at the Wehrtechnische Dienststelle WTD 41 in Trier. 19 teams participated. RHEINMETALL subsidiaries Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH (RLS) and RHEINMETALL Canada competed in a tactical leader-follower scenario and a current real scenario.

The level of difficulty of this year's tasks compared to the 2022 competition was significantly increased. The autonomously driving trucks and the convoy commander had to react to dynamic obstacles, alternative routes, and various electromagnetic interferers. However, the system solved all tasks admirably.

The HX vehicles had to overcome eleven different obstacles on a 6 km long circuit. The most challenging tasks included narrow paths, transitions between road and off-road driving, navigation through open and dense forests, communication disruptions, reverse driving, and navigating around obstacles. "The track was very demanding. The organizers did a fantastic job in making the competition a realistic military scenario, and our performance shows that the RHEINMETALL PATH A-Kit is ready for real-world applications," said Paul Rocco, CEO of RHEINMETALL Provectus. The company was acquired by Rheinmetall Canada in 2019.

The competition organizers surprised the RHEINMETALL team by introducing a car into their convoy. This forced the following truck to slow down and navigate around the moving obstacle. The convoy was also disbanded, requiring the team to remotely control the following truck on a parallel path and reconfigure the convoy to make the remotely controlled truck the new convoy leader. "The ELROB scenario in 2024 was significantly more challenging compared to the scenario at the ELROB 2022 participation," commented Sebastian Elze, project manager responsible for the InterRoC autonomous system from the Research & Technology division of RHEINMETALL Landsysteme.

Despite these challenges, the team completed most of the route in convoy mode without GPS, as the terrain was densely wooded. "This is the first time we have demonstrated this specific new capability, which represents a significant upgrade for the PATH A-Kit," said Luc Brunet, Director of Robotics and Autonomous Systems at RHEINMETALL Provectus. "We were able to seamlessly switch between GPS-enabled and GPS-free environments without compromising functionality or causing any noticeable change in operations."

While ELROB is a non-competitive event focused solely on research and development, an award ceremony was held at the end of the trial to provide participants with feedback and insights from the judges. This year, RHEINMETALL received the award for the best convoy performance, a first for the company and an important milestone for the PATH A-Kit.

In addition to the evaluated scenarios, the field of autonomous driving was demonstrated to the many visitors - including generals and other military personnel from various countries, representatives of the Federal Ministry of Defense, the Federal Office for Information Management and Information Technology of the Bundeswehr (BAAINBw), and WTD41 - on the open presentation area. The vehicles in the competition, which were also exhibited and available for demonstration rides, received strong approval from visitors and generated significant interest.

The Research & Technology division of RHEINMETALL Landsysteme GmbH from Unterlüß participated in the InterRoC project for the first time as Team InterRoC in the automated convoy category at this event in 2022. At that time, they achieved second place with an American autonomy kit provided by BAAINBw and integrated by RHEINMETALL Landsysteme GmbH.

The InterRoC project was initiated four years ago to derive customer requirements for future autonomous logistics vehicles. It is continuously expanded by BAAINBw through additional orders to enhance system capabilities. It includes two military HX2 trucks equipped with autonomy kits and drive-by-wire, following each other in a leader-follower principle. In preparation for ELROB 2024, the Autonomy Kit PATH developed by RHEINMETALL Canada Inc. was additionally installed in the vehicles, enabling participation in the competition with a complete "RHEINMETALL solution."

RHEINMETALL on the Internet