The US Army, along with defense contractor Lockheed Martin say they’ve successfully tested an autonomous vehicle convoy system that does away with human drivers in the name of safety and speed. Lockheed ran the test in Fort Hood, Texas earlier this month, and says the driverless convoys successfully navigated all sorts of “hazards and obstacles” including pedestrians, other vehicles, and basic changes in road topography.
Self-driving cars might be super convenient for civilians, but take that technology to the battlefield and it could be potentially lifesaving. So it’s no surprise that the U.S. military is developing driverless vehicles of its own. The Army and defense contractor Lockheed Martin this weekannounced a successful test of fully autonomous convoys with various vehicles. The test, which took place earlier this month at Ford Hood, Texas, was part of the Army and Marine Corps’ so-called Autonomous Mobility Appliqué System (AMAS) program. The AMAS hardware and software is designed to automate driving on existing tactical vehicles. During the recent test, driverless tactical vehicles navigated hazards and obstacles such as road intersections, oncoming traffic, stalled and passing vehicles, pedestrians, and traffic circles in both urban and rural areas.