Northrop Grumman photograph
Northrop Grumman’s subsidiary Remotec Inc. will begin deliveries in December of Titus(tm), the newest and smallest member of its Andros(tm) line of unmanned ground vehicles.
Northrop Grumman Remotec designed the lighter, faster, stronger and more intelligent UGV for a variety of missions, bringing new capabilities to the small UGV market.
Titus weighs 135 pounds and measures 27 inches long, 16 inches wide and just 23 inches high. It retains the proven four-articulator design that has given Andros vehicles the best performance for more than 20 years. The system also features a unique operator control unit featuring a hybrid touch-screen and game system-style physical controls.
“Titus represents the next-generation Andros,” said Mike Knopp, director, Northrop Grumman Remotec. “When we designed Titus, we challenged our engineers to not only retain certain capabilities but also to innovate and add capabilities – to really make the platform robust, highly functional and easy to use. They responded with a small UGV that was mechanically brilliant and reimagined the entire user experience.”
Knopp said feedback the company has received from U.S. and international military and first responders who have seen the system has “overwhelmingly validated that we achieved our objectives.”
The Andros operating system provides much greater information to the operator while easing user workload through more interactivity with intelligent payloads such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear sensors, along with preset arm positions and the ability to “fly the gripper,” which makes manipulation of objects much easier.
Titus was designed using a modular approach, which allows the robot to be quickly adapted for a variety of mission scenarios. Removable articulators, wheels and tracks provide users with the capability to navigate passageways that are only 16 inches wide or race down range to address a threat at a top speed of 7.5 mph. Industry standard interfaces such as USB and Ethernet make Titus easier to maintain and upgrade and to incorporate payloads and sensors.
“We paid a great deal of attention to reducing life cycle costs,” Knopp said. “Advanced diagnostics for improved maintenance, easily upgradeable features and accessory integration provide great initial value and guarantee that Titus will be a valuable asset to any team well into the future.
“For more than 20 years, Northrop Grumman Remotec has delivered innovative, integrated solutions that reduce the dangers of dealing with some of the most serious threats facing first responders. With Titus, we’re now offering our customers an additional class of unmanned ground vehicles that’s smaller, stronger and smarter to meet a number of new and emerging threats.”
Northrop Grumman Remotec, based in Clinton, Tenn., is the largest provider of robots to the first responder market.
