Autonomous Truck Being Tested Out

When it comes to self-driving cars such as those from Google as well as Volvo, there has been a fair number of advancements made over the years, although such vehicles have not yet made themselves mainstream as they are still undergoing testing. It seems that ordinary automakers are not the only ones who are working on self-driving technology, but the US Marine Corps has worked alongside the TORC Robotics in order to develop a truck that will feature a Ground Unmanned Support Surrogate system, otherwise known as GUSS in short.

GUSS happens to be a kind of self-driving version of the Marine two-seater truck that has been called the Internally Transportable Vehicle (ITV). It is rather self evident from the name itself that this particularly compact option is able to be carried on a helicopter, or it can be deployed by plane as another option. Apart from that, its beacon is also able to send it to a specific location in order to maneuver it through a remote control.

TORC’s GUSS system has undergone testing of sorts in the past, where it was installed on a Polaris 6×6 ATV a few years ago. The whole idea of GUSS is to help deliver up to 1,600 pounds of supplies, or to evacuate wounded soldiers as it is smart enough to determine its very own route, or it can also be controlled from afar at a speed of 8 MPH. Right now, an unmanned ITV is still in its testing phase, and hopefully a fully working option will hit the ground running in the coming five years’ time.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Military, Transportation
Tags: truck