Predictive Maintenance Analytics for US Army Robotic Combat Vehicles

The Real time Assessment and Predictive Status (RAPS) system from Charles River Analytics predicts the health and status of RCVs and relays actionable insights to stakeholders By Joseph Macey / 01 Mar 2023

Asset Management

Discover cutting-edge solutions from leading global suppliers
SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT
Follow DA

Charles River Analytics has received a Phase ll contract under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to keep robotic combat vehicles (RCVs) as mission capable as possible.

The Real-time Assessment and Predictive Status (RAPS) system from Charles River Analytics predicts the health and status of RCVs and relays actionable insights to stakeholders across all Army echelons.

Developed by Army Futures Command, the RCV is a tactical vehicle meant to protect the warfighter and reduce the need for putting humans at risk in combat missions. The remote-controlled RCV also delivers tactical advantages using sensors to perform reconnaissance and other information-gathering operations.

To make the most out of expensive RCVs, the equipment needs robust sustainment, maintenance, and logistics protocols. Army decision makers need to know in advance if the equipment is going to fail so they can take corrective action.

“Predicting future health and status within some actionable time window can really give an important tactical advantage for RCV commanders and maintenance,” says Mr. Kenny Lu, Principal Investigator on the RAPS effort and Scientist at Charles River Analytics. The RCV also needs integration with the Army’s decision-making process. “Service members in every echelon in the Army need to trust the sustainment paradigms that support the RCVs,” Lu says.

On the frontline, connectivity is limited and prone to hacking by nation-state threat actors, so artificial intelligence (AI)/machine language (ML) protocols must account for such challenges. To make the insights easily understood and accessible, RAPS will deliver actionable insights through a role-tailored human-machine interface (HMI).

“The intent is that our models can be easily integrated into any sort of user-facing interface,” Lu says. The system will be intelligent enough to prioritize the information that needs to be relayed immediately, maximizing limited bandwidth, and determine what can be sent after the mission is complete.

“What’s new about RAPS is that we’re incorporating modern AI and ML solutions to perform predictive analytics,” he commented. “The intent is that these AI/ML solutions will incorporate a combination of sensor data with a huge wealth of institutional knowledge from the Army on how to perform predictive maintenance and logistics.”

The hybrid sensor data–human knowledge foundation on which RAPS stands is exciting, according to Lu, because it helps extend the best institutional knowledge and create ideal coworkers for military decision makers.

While Phase I of the RAPS project addressed technical viability, Phase II focuses on the most urgent challenge, sustainment through predictive analytics. As a result of its ability to monitor the health and status of the components of a surrogate vehicle, RAPS hopes to build outward and provide predictions about the entire RCV, Lu says.

One of the long-term goals of RAPS is to make the AI/ML solution easily democratized, which means it will need to be accessible, explainable, modular, and adaptable.

RAPS is part of a suite of predictive health monitoring and condition-based maintenance projects in development at Charles River Analytics. “Our hope is that our suite of technologies can be mixed and matched in meaningful ways to commercial applications, whether that be in sustaining smart cars or complex Internet of Things devices,” Lu added.

Military Asset Management software and technology for military inventory management for army, navy, marines and air force >>

Posted by Joseph Macey Connect & Contact

Latest Articles

Meltio’s Metal 3D Printing Technology Introduced in Mexico

Meltio’s wire-laser metal 3D printing technology has been introduced in Mexico through a strategic alliance with Sitres Latam, Alar, and Tecnológico de Monterrey, with applications spanning industry, education, and research

May 16, 2025
New RF C-UAS Technology for Mobile & Fixed-Site Operations

AeroVironment is introducing Titan 4, a compact and lightweight RF counter-UAS system designed to detect and neutralize small drone threats rapidly, supports mobile, dismounted, or fixed-site use

May 16, 2025
Dual Role AUV Torpedo Expands Undersea Warfare Capabilities

Vatn Systems unveils the Skelmir S12 AUV-torpedo hybrid and a new manufacturing facility, advancing modular undersea warfare capabilities for multi-domain deployment

May 16, 2025
Who to see at Xponential 2025

Defense Advancement is pleased to be collaborating with so many companies participating in AUVSI's Xponential this year...

May 15, 2025
EOD/IED & Countermine Symposium to Spotlight Advances in Counter-IED Capabilities

DSI's EOD/IED & Countermine Symposium is returning for its 12th annual gathering on July 16–17 in National Harbor, MD, convening experts and solution providers from the DoD, federal government, academia, and industry

May 15, 2025
Protector RG Mk1 Issued Military Type Certification by the UK

GA-ASI has become the first manufacturer of large, unmanned aircraft to receive an MTC (Military Type Certificate) following the issue from UK’s Military Aviation Authority to the Royal Air Force’s Protector RG Mk1

May 15, 2025

Featured Content

Next-Gen Group 2 UAS Enters Production with Extended Endurance & Upgrades

Aurora Flight Sciences upgrades the SKIRON-X Group 2 UAS with greater versatility and tactical mission endurance, as well as announcing the hydrogen-powered SKIRON-XLE variant

May 13, 2025
Discover ANELLO’s SiPhOG™ for GNSS-Denied Navigation at XPO25

CEO of ANELLO Photonics, Dr. Mario Paniccia, will present at Xponential 2025 on the company's SiPhOG-based inertial navigation technology in GPS-denied and GNSS-contested environments.

May 09, 2025
U.S. Army Partnership Advances Autonomous Helicopter Logistics Program

The U.S. Army is partnering with Honeywell and Near Earth Autonomy to retrofit Black Hawk helicopters with scalable autonomy kits for uncrewed logistics operations

May 08, 2025
Advancing Defense Capability Through Strategic Collaboration Defense Advancement works with major OEMs to foster collaboration and increase engagement with SMEs, to accelerate innovation and drive defense capabilities forward.