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Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD — This spring, the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC) participated in Rio Robotico, an annual integrated engineering and test event to evaluate the performance of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) detection and autonomy payloads for unmanned systems in operationally relevant environments.

The event brought together numerous partners from government, industry, and academia to look at potential technology solutions for CBRN sensing. It was hosted by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency at the Eldorado Training Grounds in Eldorado, Texas.

Rio Robotico is a culmination of the work that happens throughout the year, mostly through cooperative research and development agreements, which allow DEVCOM CBC to partner with industry and universities to advance CBRN technologies. The ultimate goal of these agreements is speed and capability. This event provided a collaborative environment for operators and developers to foster those relationships, test the capabilities, and gather feedback on real-world application.

“Testing events like Rio Robotico can accelerate the deployment of new capabilities by several years,” said Chika Nzelibe, Product Design and Development Division chief at DEVCOM CBC. “It is a cost-efficient way to test the technology, which is key to getting it into the hands of the warfighter.”

Participants engaged in integration tests on both unmanned ground vehicle platforms and unmanned aircraft system platforms and with many different technologies, ranging in various lifecycle stages from early prototypes to ready to field. The data collected will be instrumental in accelerating the fielding of autonomous, modular payloads, as well as identifying mutual investment areas that could rapidly close capability gaps.

“Our main goal is to collaborate, develop, and push capability to the warfighter. To do that, we must continue to strategically develop these partnerships,” said Andrea Bechtel-Mathias, a technology transfer specialist at DEVCOM CBC. “The future lies in being able to combine the talents and efforts of distinct organizations that are all driving toward the same objectives.”