UAE's Masdar to develop unmanned all-terrain vehicle

United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based environment research Masdar in Abu Dhabi said on Saturday it entered into a partnership with London-based engineering firm QinetiQ and Swiss-based all-terrain vehicle (ATV) developer Sand-X Motors to jointly develop an Unmanned Rover System (URS).

Masdar Institute of Science and Technology said in a statement that the links with QinetiQ and Sand-X Motors will integrate Sand-X's ATV with artificial intelligence and automation to develop a purpose-built ground vehicle to meet the UAE's URS needs.

"The URS program is dedicated to serve both military as well as the civilian sector. It is expected to lead to the development of a UAE-manufactured unmanned tactical vehicle that will provide "logistical solutions, such as route clearance and the provision of relief aid to the front lines and refugee camps safely and securely," said Masdar.

Steve Griffiths, Vice President for Research and Interim Associate Provost at Masdar Institute, said "we believe that the URS program will ultimately lead to the development of disruptive technologies that will enable greater vehicle expeditionary mobility without sacrificing survivability."

Urs Eiselin, CEO, Sand-X Motors, said the firm is pleased "to leverage the SAND-X T-ATV 1200 all-terrain vehicle as a platform for further development of highly sophisticated and efficient ground URS vehicles."

QinetiQ was selected to be the chief industrial partner by PAIDA on the technology development front.

Iain Farley, Managing Director International at QinetiQ, said "we are confident that this collaborative project will build on our previous successes, and support the objectives of the autonomous ground URS program." Endit