AFCEC robotics lab hosts Japanese visitors

Rommel Mandapat, senior robotics engineer at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Detachment 1, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., explains features of the Immediate Visual Assessment and Neutralization, or IVAN, robot to members of the Japan Defense Technology Foundation, May 16, 2014. The foundation is composed of members from private industry and provides technical recommendations to Japan’s Ministry of Defense on emerging technologies. AFCEC hosted the event as an opportunity to explore areas where the United States and Japan could potentially collaborate on robotic technology. (U.S. Air Force photo/John Burt)

AFCEC robotics lab hosts Japanese visitors

Christopher Walsingham, robotics specialist at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Det. 1, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., demonstrates the operation of a robotic arm attachment on an All-Purpose Robotic Transport System on May 16, 2014. The demonstration was part of an event that hosted an 18-member delegation from the Japan Defense Technology Foundation. AFCEC held the event as an opportunity to explore areas where the United States and Japan could potentially collaborate on robotic technology. (U.S. Air Force photo/John Burt)

AFCEC robotics lab hosts Japanese visitors

Published May 16, 2014
By John Burt
AFCEC Public Affairs

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Air Force robotics experts in the Sunshine State recently played host to technology delegates from the Land of the Rising Sun.

Eighteen members of the Japan Defense Technology Foundation visited the Air Force Civil Engineer Center's Det. 1 here to see the requirements and acquisition division's robotics lab and examples of unmanned systems. The foundation, composed of members from private industry, provides technical recommendations to Japan's Ministry of Defense on emerging technologies.

"You have wonderful technology in unmanned ground vehicles," said Masao Iwanaga, chairman of Japan's Defense Technology Research Committee for Unmanned Vehicle Systems. "We are studying trends in this field as well as other robotic systems worldwide."

The visitors viewed a demonstration of several robotic systems developed and tested by AFCEC, including the Immediate Visual Assessment and Neutralization, or IVAN, robot. IVAN is a remotely controlled, multi-functional robot that can be used in convoy support, security and emergency management applications. The foundation members were also given the opportunity to control the robotic arms attachment on an All-purpose Remote Transport System, or ARTS.

"Japan is a leader in robotic technologies," said Robert Diltz, a requirements engineer with AFCEC's Readiness Directorate. "Events like this give us an opportunity to see if there are areas where we can work together and potentially collaborate in the future."

The committee can recommend joint collaboration between Japan and the United States to its ministry of defense, said Iwanaga.

"We hope to be able to support a future partnership and exchange of technology between our countries," he added.

The delegation also took part in the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems Conference in Orlando, Fla., May 12-15 and plan to visit the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.