BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The U.S. military is getting ready to revolutionize its force—with robots. Currently, such robots only have minimal functionality. However, there is a tremendous need for autonomous military vehicles with enhanced functionality. It is therefore desirable to construct autonomous military vehicles with improved functionality. Accordingly, it is also desirable to integrate such enhanced systems and methods into commercial applications.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An autonomous military vehicle (e.g., a land-based, water-based, air-based, or space-based vehicle) is provided that is operable to defend, for example, a package (e.g., a location, person, or vehicle). In one embodiment, a location (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) signal) is provided to the defensive vehicle. Such a GPS signal may change over time (e.g., a person walking with a GPS receiver may communicate this GPS signal to the defensive vehicle at a delivery rate). The defensive vehicle may then protect the package from attack. The defensive vehicle may be provided with different behaviors dependent on a situation or action event. For example, the defensive vehicle may be in a “follow and shield” behavior until the package, a different vehicle, or the defensive vehicle is attacked. At this point, the behavior of the defensive vehicle may change to, for example, a “counter-offensive”, “shield and escape”, or “protect and defend” behavior.

Numerous methods of sensing an attack are provided. For example, impact-sensing armor, or clothing, may be provided. Such armor, or clothing, may determine, for example, when a hit occurs, the direction the attack came from, the trajectory used, and the type of attack (e.g., a 10 mm gunshot). Such an attack sensing scheme is extremely effective because only in rare circumstances will this type of sensing fail (e.g., friendly fire). However, if a defensive vehicle is in a “shield” mode, even friendly fire may not cause any harm as the defensive vehicle may shield the package from the friendly fire without causing harm to the origin of the friendly fire. Other types of attack sensing include a scheme with one or more methods of, for example, heat sensing, motion sensing, residue sensing, and sound sensing.

Impact-sensing schemes of the present invention may be utilized in numerous useful applications. For example, a sheet of supplemental armor may be stored in a vehicle and deployed to a particular portion of the vehicle if an impact occurs. In this manner, the vehicle may have at least some of the benefits of a heavy-armored vehicle (e.g., ability to take multiple hits) while simultaneously having at least some of the benefits of a light-armored vehicle (e.g., higher mobility). As in another application, if an autonomous vehicle determines that it is damaged on one side then the autonomous vehicle may show its aggressor an undamaged size. Putting this application into perspective, suppose that the vehicle is an autonomous armored personnel carrier. If a rocket propelled grenade damages one side of the autonomous vehicle traveling in one direction, the vehicle may sense this impact, turn 180 degrees (e.g., turn around and drive in reverse), and continue driving in that same direction. Yet, now the undamaged side of the vehicle is facing the direction of attack. Circuitry, such as memory and a processor) may be included in the vehicle (and coupled to the impact sensors) to keep track of damage to the vehicle such that the vehicle may autonomously make decisions on this information.

Similarly, impact sensing clothing may be utilized in a number of applications. For example, an impact sensing system may be provided in a bullet proof vest and this information may be shared with defensive/offensive vehicles such that an impact on the bullet proof vest changes the behavior of the defensive/offensive vehicles. This information may also be utilized by other sources such as, for example, ground commanders, other soldiers, or manned vehicles (e.g., fighter jets).

Without bullet-proofing in clothing, impact sensing clothing may play a vital role in saving the lives of priceless soldiers. The instant a bullet hits impact-sensing clothing, a signal may be sent to, for example, a medical center, ground commander, nearby soldiers, medical vehicles (e.g., choppers) that is indicative of vitals information such as, for example, the soldier's name, weight, height, allergies, impact area, impact type, impact speed, and location of impact. Software may be provided that automatically prioritizes wounded soldiers for pickup/aid.

The defensive vehicles of the present invention may be used to have one or more offensive, or any other kind, of behaviors. Such autonomous vehicles may be miniaturized and attached onto other vehicles. For example, a number (e.g., 4) of defensive vehicles may be attached to a tank or personnel carrier. If the tank comes under small arms fire, one or more of the defensive vehicles may “eject,” or be “ejected”, from the tank and attack in the direction of the origin of the small-arms fire while the tank uses this ejected vehicles aggression as cover aggression (e.g., cover fire) to maneuver and escape.

A gun firing a projectile may be sensed as the gun is fired or as the projectile moves through a monitored portion of a three-dimensional space (e.g., the space in front of a person). The projectile may be distinguished from other movement based on the velocity of the projectile (or a variety of other methods). A shield may then be deployed before the bullet hits a target.

A smart missile is also provided and may be used, for example, as a defensive/offensive counter-measure during an attack of a predetermined package (e.g., a troop transport). Such a defensive missile (or other projectile) may be relatively large—similar in size, for example, to a Predator autonomous aircraft. Missile attacks from battleships take relatively long times to program, initiate, and hit a programmed target (e.g., 30 minutes). An enlarged missile may carry extra fuel. The missile may alternatively carry an engine. Such a missile could be programmed to fly in a pre-determined path (e.g., a loop) above or near a battlefield or selected targets. Thus, when a target is chosen, the smart missile may already be en-route to the target (or at least at a shorter route away from the target than a carrier, or ground, based missile).

Such a weapon could have been especially useful during the 2003 Iraqi war. Here, President Saddam Hussein was allegedly determined to be in a particular area. A ship-based missile allegedly took 30 minutes to program, launch, route, and travel before the missile hit the target. By this time, Saddam Hussein had allegedly left the scene. The reduction of command-to-result time is critical (the time it takes for a command to be carrier out).

