Unmanned convoy tested on the roads of Australia

9 June, 2023 MAN unmanned trucks of the Australian Army during trials. Photo credits: Australian Army On June 6, the Australian Army successfully conducted a convoy of autonomous trucks on a public road in Australia for the first time.

The Ministry of Defense of the country made the corresponding statement. The National Transport Research Organisation and Deakin University supported the -leader-follower trial, in which a convoy of four autonomous Army trucks followed a crewed 'leader' vehicle on a public road in Victoria. Colonel Robin Smith, of Army's Future Land Warfare Branch, said the autonomous vehicles performed well.

Photo credits: Australian Army

"This trial showed how a convoy could undertake a resupply mission between an airfield and a military base, giving us an idea of how this kind of technology could be used in the future," Colonel Smith said. During the highway trials, Army simulated an autonomous resupply mission. The trucks were to transport the supplies from Mangalore Airfield to Puckapunyal using the Goulburn Valley Highway and the Hume Highway.

In addition, this test demonstrated the operation of sensors on roads with a lot of public transport. The test is part of the Army's modernization program, which entails research into autonomous systems, quantum technology, artificial intelligence and electrification. As Militarnyi reported, Australian scientists from the University of Technology Sydney have developed a system that will allow controlling robotic systems with the power of thought.

As reported by Australian researchers collaborating with the country's Ministry of Defense, the subject guided the ground robot to waypoints simply by visualizing them in his head through the Microsoft HoloLens augmented reality system.