UGV Interoperability Profile

Lore & Background

The UGV Interoperability Profile was initially created by the U.S. Army Robotic Systems Joint Project Office (RS JPO) and is currently maintained by the U.S. Army Project Manager Force Projection (PM FP). The DoD intends to publish revisions every other year; the current version is IOP version 2.0, with version 3.0 scheduled for release at the end of 2017. Since version 3.0, the entire set of IOP documents is auto-generated from XML files.

The IOP addresses interoperability at multiple levels: between Operator Control Units (OCU) and one or more Unmanned Vehicles (UxV(s)); within OCU hardware and software; within UGV subsystems, payloads and platforms; and between OCUs, UxVs and external C2 systems. A key solution is the use of JAUS to establish a common message passing layer, with rules for standard JAUS messages and custom extensions. The IOP also specifies hardware plugs and mounts for physical interoperability.

The IOP consists of several documents: an Overarching Profile providing base concepts and requirements; a Capabilities Plan defining mission-related requirements; SAE JAUS Profiling Rules; Custom Services, Messages and Transports; a Control Profile for OCU architecture and HMI requirements; a Payloads Profile; a Communications Profile; and an Applique Profile. TARDEC developed a Conformance Validation Tool (CVT) that checks JAUS message interfaces and protocols, using the original IOP XML files to generate test messages, serving as the IOP reference implementation.

Reader's Guide

The UGV Interoperability Profile has gained significance beyond its original U.S. DoD scope. The NATO Team of Experts on UGV has recommended the IOP to become a NATO STANAG, with the proposal under consideration by NATO Land Capability Group Land Engagement (LCG LE). NATO conducted several interoperability exercises and demonstrations to prove the IOP's applicability to military robots. Several robotics companies already support IOP-compliant interfaces for their software or hardware products. In academia, contests such as the IOP Challenge of the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition and the European Robotics Hackathon (EnRicH) recommend or require IOP as a common interface definition. The IOP's reliance on JAUS message passing allows IOP-compliant software to be connected to other robotics middlewares through translating software bridges; studies have shown that IOP-compliant software can coexist with ROS-based robotics software. The IOP documents are approved for public release and are made available by the National Advanced Mobility Consortium (NAMC) at their website for registered users.