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Human-robot interaction in the Army is a growing field of interest as robots increase their capability to work with soldiers in the field. The skid-steered vehicle HUSKY navigates several outdoors terrains equipped with different motion planners to compare the energy efficiency of terrain traversal with a minimum-distance algorithm versus an energy-efficient one, with or without learning terrain kinematic and friction parameters.

In a burning building prone to collapsing at any second, time is of the essence. The lives of firefighters and the people and animals they rescue grow more endangered by the second. A fire-fighting robot with the capability to “hear” and recognize sounds of distress or danger inside site would help firefighters navigate dangerous terrain and find victims at lower risk of human casualties.

The renewability and employment benefits of solar energy is waylaid by its inherently variable availability dependent on time of day, location, and weather. An energy storage system (ESS) is needed to provide consistently continuous electricity. Advanced Optimal Resource Allocation (AORA) uses predictions of this availability and real-time price of and levelized costs of energy to optimize the combined use of grid power, solar power, and the ESS for significant cost savings.