Sarcos Defense (Sarcos) has announced that the company has been awarded a US$1m (£819,180) contract by the Army Applications Laboratory of the US Army Futures Command to test a robotic solution for ammunition handling and manoeuvring.
Sarcos is a subsidiary of Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corporation, which designs, develops and manufactures advanced robotic systems,
The Sarcos robotic ammunition handling solution uses a dexterous robotic arm, which was designed to be integrated into the US Army’s fleet of Self-Propelled Howitzer Systems.
Sarcos has said it will perform extensive tests on its robotic system to ensure it meets requirements for use by the army, including shock and vibration absorption and withstanding extreme temperatures, humidity, and sand and dust incursion.
“The Extended Range Cannon Artillery system is used extensively in the US Army for long range precision firing, but the downside to this system is the weight of the ammunition needing to be hand-loaded by Soldiers in the field,” said Reeg Allen, vice president of business development, Sarcos.
“Our ultimate goal with the development of this robotic ammunition solution is to help the army successfully accomplish their missions with lower rates of injury by having a robot lift and place the heavy ammunition rounds.
“We are excited about this accelerated testing that will help get this robotic system into the hands of army personnel soon.”
The robotic system was designed to support soldiers by reducing fatigue and injuries caused by the lifting and placing of 100-pound (45kg) rounds of ammunition from a rack to the cannon loader.
