By air, land and sea, the unmanned vehicles are coming

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the AUVSI Conference and Show held in Orlando, FL with emphasis on unmanned vehicles or service robots, their application on the ground, in the air and in the water.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on in‐depth interviews with exhibitors of unmanned vehicles and the providers of the technologies which are fundamental to their design and deployment, as well as attendance at conference presentations.

Findings

The unmanned vehicle industry is largely driven by government requirements, both military and civilian. Unmanned service robots are also found in applications such as crop monitoring and fish school location at sea.

Practical implications

Robot builders need to continue to develop specialized robots and tooling to match with advancements in applications in the plastic industry. Users will need to think of robots as a necessary adjunct to any injection molding application.

Originality/value

The paper offers insights into the unmanned vehicle industry.

Citation

Bloss, R. (2007), "By air, land and sea, the unmanned vehicles are coming", Industrial Robot, Vol. 34 No. 1, pp. 12-16. https://doi.org/10.1108/01439910710718388