Leveraging the power of robotics to reduce risks to Soldiers and lighten their workloads

Leveraging the unique robotic capabilities and facilities at the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, part of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), engineers are working on a basic research project aimed at lightening Soldier loads and reducing the amount of personnel and machinery needed for down-range missions or front-line construction projects.

The project, which carries the acronym “Co3MaNDR,” uses a series of cable-driven robots that work together to reduce the lifting burden on front line military personnel, ultimately allowing a swarm of robotic systems to conduct complex military and maintenance efforts under the control of a single operator.

“Co3MaNDR is, at a high-level role, trying to take heavy operating machinery out of the field. So, if you're doing construction for bridges or buildings or any other large cumbersome object, usually you have to have a crane, an excavator, something with heavy lifting capable in the field,” Kevin Murphy, a mechanical engineer who is leading the system’s development, said. “And while that is useful and it’s standard operating procedure, it does bring a lot of challenges, whether it's extremely high personnel requirements, dangerous operations with lots of pinch points, or the logistical burden of getting the machine out there.”

Immersed in ERDC’s Robotics for Engineering Operations program, Co3MaNDR aims to deploy robotic systems that can reduce the logistical and personnel burden for heavy lifting or construction efforts within a combat environment.

“The big thing I want to tell those who have an interest in this project is the force amplification, the idea that one person can do the job six people can do,” Murphy said. “You're taking your force of five people and you're doing the job of 30 people. Some of Co3MaNDR’s capabilities allow you to physically amplify forces, but not only physically amplifying forces, but also amplifying the effectiveness of the force or unit force.”

Using a series of Co3MaNDR modules mounted on robotic platforms, Soldiers could potentially handle heavier equipment more easily, endure repetitive lifting tasks longer, or even coordinate equipment near front lines from a remote location.

Co3MaNDR is being developed under ERDC’s basic research program, allowing researchers to test theories, ask questions, and make both mistakes and discoveries.

“It's in its very, very beginning stages,” Murphy said, “what we call 6.1 research, which is very basic applied research where it's saying this isn't a product yet, we're testing out an idea. We're very much in that stage and I'm looking forward and saying, ‘OK, what how else can I apply this technology?’”

The development of Co3MaNDR, and similar basic research programs, is made stronger through ERDC’s culture of innovation and collaboration, in which researchers of different disciplines, training and experience levels challenge and advance one another’s research.

“We have a very wide breadth of knowledge [in ERDC] over a bunch of different areas. And you can just walk up to anyone on the team and say, ‘Hey, I saw you doing this. Can you explain to me why?’” Murphy said. “Or I can walk up to someone and saying, ‘I'm having this problem and I know you know how to solve it.’”

By Tim Reeves, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center