The United States Marine Corps has identified the need for an Autonomous Pallet Loader capable of loading, transporting, and unloading up to a fully laden 463L pallet onto and off military cargo aircraft in austere and tactical environments. The United States Marine Corps is seeking to reduce the burden and exposure of troops in these unsecured environments while simultaneously improving the efficiency of a routine operation. Urbineer has developed an innovative concept that integrates several TRL-7 to 9 technologies to locate, lift, and transfer cargo-agnostic pallets from the lifting mechanism to a restraint platform using powered rollers. The platform is designed to provide stable transport of the pallet to a desired location with reduced autonomous complexity. The concept utilizes a hybrid power system to enable four electric motors to provide a rugged, versatile, and highly-precise 4-wheel drive solution composed around well-established control logic. A diverse family of imaging, navigation, and weight sensors support the autonomous operations to meet specific mission profiles. Urbineer Inc is an engineering firm composed of experienced, hands-on, multidisciplinary engineers with a strong background in driving complex concepts to completion. The team has extensive experience in design/analysis, fabrication, and program management of complex systems.
