5.1 Experiment No. 1: Reconnaissance group movement

Both reconnaissance groups were given a task to move unnoticed and as quickly as possible to the object of interest to monitor it. The load carried by each group member included a personal weapon, individual protective equipment, and a backpack of a total weight of 20 kg. Both groups were given the task mentioned at the same time and in the same initial area. Then, their decision-making and planning process to accomplish the task followed; they planned the fastest and safest movement route to the object of interest. In the phase of approach to the object, both groups should have used the route concealed from the identified enemy units' observation in the area of maneuver and should have begun the immediate monitoring of the object. The ALFA reconnaissance group used only a printed topographic map, compass, and GPS receiver to plan and cover the movement route. The planning process of this group lasted 16 minutes. The ALFA group commander tried to estimate the conditions of the terrain passability, the visibility of the enemy, and protecting terrain features. The result of his rapid assessment was a movement route along the edge of the forest, which protected the group from the observation over a distance of more than 50 m. The route was 4190 m long (see Figure 3). The group covered the route in 113 minutes. During this movement, the group was not observed by the enemy soldiers. In the time of 118 minutes, the group took up positions in the vicinity of the object of interest and started its observation.

As a support for the decision-making process to create a movement route, the BRAVO reconnaissance group used the optimal movement route model, implemented in the TDSS, the possible application of which is described in [19]. The planning process of the BRAVO reconnaissance group took 7 minutes, including entering the identified enemy positions into the TDSS and the minimum necessary preparation to accomplish the task. Its route designed by the model is shown in Figure 4. When designing the optimal movement route, the TDSS calculated the

control and the influence of microrelief were eliminated thanks to the four-wheeler driver. The optimal movement route model implemented in the TDSS was used to plan and cover the UVG movement route. Entering the identified enemy positions in the TDSS and the minimum necessary preparation for the movement took 3 minutes. The UGV route was designed in the passability mode "for wheeled vehicles," and its course can be seen in Figure 6. As in the BRAVO reconnaissance group, the TDSS assessed the passability possibilities of the vehicles in the field and calculated the areas concealed from the observation and fire of the identified enemy. Covering the proposed fastest and safest route (3419 m long) of the fourwheeler took 7 minutes and 25 seconds. During the movement, the vehicle at 124 cm high was not observed by the enemy. However, its engine running was audible, which could be replaced by a silent electric motor. The time calculated by the TDSS

As for the movement of reconnaissance groups in experiment No. 1, a noticeable difference in time required for planning the movement route was observed. When planning the movement route, the ALFA group commander used mainly his knowledge and experience and a printed military topographic map. He was not able

to cover this route was 7 minutes and 4 seconds.

The Yamaha Grizzly four-wheeler (source: own).

Model of the Optimal Maneuver Route DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.85566

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

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5.3 Evaluation of experiments No. 1 and No. 2

Autonomous vehicle movement route (source: TDSS).

Figure 3. The movement route of the ALFA group (source: TDSS).

Figure 4.

terrain passability characteristics, in which the system also included the possibilities of the enemy visibility. The priority was to lead the movement route off roads for safety reasons, which was achieved by the deliberate suppression of variable speeds on the routes in the TDSS. Through linking the calculations together, the system calculated the areas concealed from the identified enemy's observation. Subsequently, it used the areas identified in this way to create the fastest and safest movement route. The group covered the route (2963 m long) in 75 minutes. The time calculated using the TDSS to cover this route was 68 minutes. During this movement, the group was not observed by the enemy soldiers. In the time of 78 minutes, the group started observing the object of interest.
