The challenges of UGV positioning

Localising a modern field or service robot should be an easy task in peaceful times. Unfortunately, that is not the case. 

Operating near Russia's borders makes satellite positioning unreliable. Expensive exteroceptive sensors, such as top-tier 3D LiDARs, are also off the table – “thanks” again to our eastern neighbours. Yet autonomous mobile robots still need to handle logistics, evacuation, and threat mitigation, requiring a different approach.

Future military Uncrewed Ground Vehicles (UGVs) must be able to navigate difficult terrain and harsh weather. While human operators will remain involved in most defence missions, these vehicles need reliable autonomous navigation when conditions become challenging. The BadB project combines data from radar, laser, cameras, odometry, IMU and GNSS to create a more accurate picture of the robot's position and surroundings. The focus is on practical, affordable solutions for defence domain that can be deployed at scale while supporting Europe's technological independence.

What makes our project unique is its focus on delivering advanced capabilities through affordable sensors and cost-effective robotic platforms. Rather than relying on a handful of highly sophisticated machines, we aim to field large numbers of practical systems that can support troops, conduct logistics missions, and help counter enemy forces. Together, they can achieve effects that would once have required far larger and more expensive platforms.

In a way, this is a far cry from some of the more desperate ideas military planners have turned to throughout history. During World War II, the Soviet Union famously trained dogs to carry explosives under enemy tanks. The concept was as cruel as it was unreliable, often producing the exact opposite of what was intended.

We prefer a smarter approach. Affordable autonomous systems can work together, adapt to changing conditions, and carry out missions no living creature should be asked to perform. 

If large numbers of small robots one day begin disrupting and destroying the armoured vehicles of a modern aggressor, one could argue that history has finally found a more fitting answer to an old problem.

A small UGV equipped with an anti-tank mine would be a kind of poetic justice.

Data is everything. When developing novel solutions for affordable Uncrewed Ground Vehicles (UGVs) you need to collect huge amount of data with well calibrated and synchronized sensors. Our testbed Laykka going out for another data collection mission.