Workshop about autonomous robotic systems

General G. de las Hijas in his speech

Workshop attendees at one of the exhibitions

Autonomous robotic systems (RAS in Spanish) were the focus of a workshop held on the 30th of January in ‘Coronel Maté’ base in Colmenar Viejo (Madrid), in which civil and military experts adressed the implications of these systems in Force 2035.

The conference was opened by the director of Acquisitions of the Logisitcal Support Command, General García de las Hijas, who emphasised the importance of the dialogue between the Army, businesses from this sector and universities and research centres.

Next, the Sub-director of weapons systems, General Pérez Pérez, emphasised the cultural change which the RAS will entail in the units, because these systems, both aerial and terrestrial, incorporate disruptive, state-of-the-art technologies such as artificial intelligence or big data.

For his part, General Roca, from the Army´s Chief of Staff, explained the transformation in which the army now finds itself immersed. The plans have three stages: from 2018 to 2024, from 2024 to 2030 and from 2030 to 2035. As part of this transformation, the RAS will have a gradually increasing presence.

Next, the Sub-director General of Planning, Technology and Innovation, General Murga, recalled the role carried out by the Directorate General of Weapons and Equipment, in which he is based, and encouraged both the Army and businesses to get the most out of the investments in RAS.

Finally, Lieutenant Colonel Sánchez Barrio, from the Sub-Directorate of Weapons Systems, listed some of the aspects in which the RAS can be extremely useful for the units, such as the use of unmanned platforms from ones which are manned, transport logistics or ‘last mile’ transport.

The conference continued with speeches from various representatives from the business world (General Dynamics-Santa Bárbara Systems, Robotnik, Navantia, Gogoa Mobility Robots, Everis and Indra) and from the research and development world (the Spanish Robotics and Mechatronics Network, the University of Leon, the University of Malaga, the Centre for Automation and Robotics and the University Institute of Automobile Research).