The Armed Forces need unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) that can autonomously accompany a Warfighter or vehicle during maneuvers through complex environments. These UGVs will help solve logistical problems such as transporting more equipment and supplies that individual soldiers now carry in a backpack. A common problem for unmanned platforms is the need for active remote control or teleoperation, even for mundane tasks such as long-distance travel. Teleoperation is undesirable for these types of situations because it requires “heads down” attention from Warfighters, which both reduces their situational awareness and causes fatigue. It also makes it difficult for the Warfighter to focus on other tasks, such as looking out for threats, or walking without tripping on objects below.

While various semi-autonomous leader-follower prototypes have been developed, current systems remain unreliable, cumbersome, and unable to adapt to changing conditions. A trade off on the Warfighter’s physical burden is replaced by an increased cognitive workload and decreased trust in the system.