Endeavor Robotics has revealed its Centuar robot, the chosen design for the US Army's widely anticipated Man Transportable Robotic System Increment II (MTRS Inc II) effort.
Endeavor Robotics has revealed its Centuar robot, the chosen design for the US MTRS Inc II system. Source: Endeavor Robotics
The unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) will be larger than the company's PackBot offering - it weighs less than the army's stipulated 164 lb (74 kg) maximum, and the platform can be lifted on and off a vehicle by two people, Endeavor Robotics CEO Sean Bielat told Jane's ahead of the Association of the United States Army's (AUSA's) annual symposium.
Centaur has a run time of up to 8 hours, can travel at more than 2.5 mph, traverse a 30° slope, and operate out to 800 m line-of-site or 150 m non-line-of-sight. Its manipulator arm can carry 15 lb at full extension or 30 lb when closed, and has a 75.5-inch vertical reach, according to the company.
Endeavor Robotics created Centaur for the army's MTRS Inc II requirement as a 'clean-sheet' design, but Bielat noted that it has taken some of the successful components from the company's other robots, such as the manipulator arm technology, chassis design, and more.
The army asked for an initial configuration with CBRN sensors, which include MultiRAE Pro, JCAD, FIDO XT, Radiac, and FirstDefender RMX sensor packages. Bielat said he is not yet sure when the army wants to add other senor configurations.
During low-rate initial production, the army can be expected to better glean how it will operate the MTRS Inc IIs, and then provide Endeavor Robotics more feedback. The Centaur is Interoperability Profile (IOP) compatible, so it is relatively simple to swap in sensors.
For example, Bielat noted, "We have a very capable manipulator arm, but there's no reason why the army couldn't use somebody else's."
janes.com