Joint Ground Robotics Enterprise
Last Update
5 Feb 2010
Enterprise Oversight
The Department of Defense Joint Robotics Program commenced in Fiscal Year 1990 at the direction of Congress. The FY90 Defense Appropriation Bill consolidated the Services' Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) programs and directed the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) to provide oversight. The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) was expected to provide policy and program direction. Specifically, the language stated that "...the Committee believes the creation of a consolidated program should permit OSD and the services to concentrate on establishing definitive, robotics operational requirements and on pursuing those critical technologies to satisfy these requirements." The office assigned by OSD to perform these functions is the office now known as Land Warfare and Munitions (LW&M).
In Fiscal Year 2006, LW&M refocused the efforts of the JRP to ensure a more inclusive reach including but beyond the prior JRP Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) partners (e.g., the Service Laboratories, the Army Research Lab [ARL] Collaborative Technology Alliance [CTA], the National Center for Defense Robotics [NCDR]) and created the concept of the Joint Ground Robotics Enterprise (JGRE). This codified the Department level enterprise approach to overseeing RDT&E portfolios. As an enterprise, strength is gained in pursuit of the top level objectives intended to support robotic technologies to close gaps between warfighter requirements and capability gaps; to ensure coordination between the Services; to emphasize interoperability and commonality among unmanned systems; and support strategic goals of AT&L.
In order to accomplish these objectives, LW&M has formed a three tier oversight structure and established disciplined oversight processes to support well informed decision-making. The three entities are the Senior Steering Group (SSG), the O-6 Council, and the Technology Advisory Board (TAB). They are discussed in detail below, from a bottom up perspective.
Technology Advisory Board
The TAB is comprised of engineers, researchers, and managers from the JGRE community at large. The TAB membership consists of the most technologically experienced and knowledgeable people in terms of ground robotics. Their primary mission is to assess and map ground robotic technology to warfighter (Joint, Service, and Combatant Commanders) capability needs and then recommend funding priorities to the O-6 Council. The TAB has responsibility for the following functions:
- Assess maturity of emerging technologies
- Identify opportunities to leverage experimentation for the warfighter
- Recommend robotic enablers, based on factors of maturity and being able to be traced to capability gaps/opportunities
- Provide inputs to unmanned system roadmaps and other documents
- Plan for and facilitate execution of technology transfers
The TAB meets several times per year to conduct its business.
O-6 Council
The O-6 Council members are military officers and government civilians who are or equivalent to Colonels (Army, Marines Air Force) or Navy Captains. All four Services and the Joint Staff are represented on the O-6 Council. The Council meets as required to accomplish its manifold responsibilities. The first of these responsibilities is to function as the representative of their respective Service to the JGRE. In the case of the Joint Staff, it is to bring the joint perspective to the table. Members are expected to be able to present their Services' positions on issues/decisions. A second responsibility is to assist in generating the DoD strategy for advancing ground robotics. Here, the Council would be responsible for providing input on Service ground robotic programs/efforts and how they integrate into the vision for DoD ground robotics.
The third major O-6 Council function is to set the priority of the robotic enablers as informed by the capability mapping and technology assessment efforts of the TAB. And lastly, the O-6 Council is the source of guidance for the TAB on which capabilities and associated technologies are to be assessed.
Senior Steering Group
The Senior Steering Group for the JGRE is comprised of flag level military officers or civilians as designated by each of the four Services and the Joint Staff. The SSG meets as required, which has been historically once a year. It is the group that gives strategic level advice to the SSG Chair, the Deputy Director, Land Warfare and Munitions. They recommend funding priorities to the Chair, as well as allocations within the program elements. The SSG provides any needed guidance to the O-6 Council regarding JGRE matters, and resolves any issues submitted to them from same. Lastly, the participation of the SSG members signifies the commitment on the part of the Services to the successful accomplishment of the DoD mission pertaining to ground robotics.