Elbit Systems of America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Israel’s Elbit Systems, has joined as a team member for the commercialization of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project to develop an Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR).

This ambitious project is to develop an autonomous unmanned ground vehicle, or self-driving vehicle, capable of foraging – finding and consuming its own fuel. Elbit Systems of America joins project leader, Robotic Technology Incorporated (RTI) of Potomac, Maryland, and the University of Maryland in the EATR project.

The initial proof-of-concept demonstration, sponsored by by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), will focus on the ability of the EATR to recognize biomass sources of energy from non-energy materials, properly manipulate and ingest the biomass materials into the engine system and generate electrical power to operate the various subsystems. Elbit Systems of America will contribute to the development of fuel-recognition algorithms and to the large-scale robotic arm.