DARPA conducts RACER Heavy Platform vehicle autonomous tests

Published on April 24, 2024



The tests showcased the 12-tonne (t), 20ft-long RACER Heavy Platform (RHP) vehicles' ability to autonomously navigate a 15-square-mile area with diverse terrain.

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has conducted autonomous movement tests on the RHP, as part of the Robotic Autonomy in Complex Environments with Resiliency (RACER) programme. 

The RHP, a 12t, 20ft-long skid-steer tracked vehicle, underwent testing as part of the programme’s efforts to enhance adaptability and capability of RACER algorithms. These vehicles are similar in size to the upcoming robotic and optionally crewed combat vehicles, and complement the existing 2t, 11ft-long, Ackermann-steered and wheeled RACER Fleet Vehicles (RFVs). 

The programme’s second phase commenced in autumn 2023 with its fourth experiment (E4), which included first testing of RHPs and RFVs by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and University of Washington teams. RACER E4, conducted at military training areas in Texas in late 2023, demonstrated the vehicles’ ability to autonomously navigate a 15-square-mile area with diverse terrain such as bushes, vegetation cover, rocks, slopes, trees and other obstacles. 

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