Applications suitable for unmanned and autonomous missions utilizing the Tactical Amphibious Ground Support (TAGS) platform

The value of unmanned vehicles is directly related to the applications to which it can be successfully applied. Many applications exist and have been identified as suitable for unmanned vehicles, especially those involving dull, dirty, difficult, and dangerous tasks. This paper will highlight applications, missions, and capabilities that have been demonstrated on the TAGS platform to date as well as future application and mission considerations. When evaluating real world applications for this type of vehicle, one must take into account and balance the complexity inherent to the control and safeguarding requirements of a large autonomous ground vehicle with the simplicity required for commercial or military field use. In addition, suitability for a particular application may be limited by the size, weight, fuel consumption, reliability, terrain crossing capability, and other abilities of a vehicle and the intelligent software system and sensors commanding it.