HistoryThe Great Lakes Chapter, which began in 1986, sponsors one of AUVSI’s oldest student competitions, the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC), now entering its 18th year. The chapter currently has a membership of 67.

The chapter focuses heavily on robotic ground sys-tems, as the area is the home to the Robotic Systems Joint Project Office (RS JPO), which develops, ac-quires, fields and sustains ground robotics for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps; the Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TAR-DEC), which develops, integrates and sustains tech-nology for all manned and unmanned DOD ground systems and combat support systems (and is part of the Tank-automotive and Armaments Command); and the Ground Robotics Reliability Center at the University of Michigan, which was formally launched in 2008.

“I think the center of gravity for robotics in the United States is Southeast Michigan,” says iRobot’s Bruce Legge, the chapter’s vice president. “We’re not do-ing air; we’re not doing underwater stuff here; we’re focusing on the ground vehicles.”

Attendees at a monthly AUVSI-GLC meeting held February 2010 at ABB Robotics in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Great Lakes Chapter,Detroit, MichiganEditor’s Note: This is the second in a series of articles focusing on AUVSI’s chapters around the world. Each Chapter Profile will examine chapter membership, activities and goals, as well as the environment around the chapter.

Chapter Profile

While the economy of the Detroit area is not good, the heavy use of unmanned systems in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan means that some robotics industries in the area are thriving.

ActivitiesThe IGVC has steadily grown larger and more com-petitive over the years; the next competition, to be held 4-7 June in Rochester, Mich., will include more than 40 teams from around the world.

“It’s a big deal,” Legge says of the competition. “It has very high visibility within the Department of Defense and in Congress.”

The chapter is also sponsoring the 2010 Autonomous Drive, Connected Vehicle and Robotics Workshop on 22-24 June at the Troy, Mich., Marriott. The event will bring researchers from the automotive industry’s Con-nected Vehicle Initiative together with DOD ground vehicle researchers to look for “cross leverage” tech-nologies.

“The goal is to reduce the cost of robotics to the military and increase the competence and penetration

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Chapter Profile…coNtiNUeD

For More Information: www.auvsigreatlakes.com

of active safety systems and other

intelligent controls in the auto industries through

dual-use development and technology transfers,” the chapter says.

The chapter also sponsors frequent “lunch and learn” luncheons for members and non-members, which include high-level speakers. See the Web site for more information and a calendar of events.

GoalsThe chapter’s main goal is to “synchronize the activi-ties of government, industry and academia to develop technologies, encourage policies, shape investments and establish leadership in anticipation of homeland security and defense needs for the 21st century and beyond,” Legge says.

OfficersPresident: Dave Thomas, TARDECVice President: Bruce A. Legge, iRobotSecretary: Doug MacKenzie, Mobile Intelligence Corp.Treasurer: David Rohall, Lockheed MartinPast President: Jeff Jaczkowski, RSJPO

global, entrepreneurial and knowledged-based economy of each state.

• Additionally, in the first round of the $2 billion 21st Century Jobs Fund, 61 life science, alterna-tive energy, homeland security and advanced manufacturing companies will share more than $100 million for new development and scien-tific advancements.

• More than 287,000 people work in advanced manufacturing for more than 3,000 Michigan companies.

Education• 150 K-12 school districts• 10 universities• 13 colleges• 18 community college campuses

Source: Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce

Area Facts and Figures

PopulationDetroit Metro Area

2008 (estimated) 5,455,0262008 Households 2,351,227

Top Ten Largest Employers in the Detroit RegionFord Motor Co. General Motors University of MichiganChrysler LLC Detroit Public Schools U.S. Postal Service U.S. Government Henry Ford Health Services St. John Health SystemCity of Detroit

Technology• The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and

The Information Technology & Innovation Foun-dation ranked Michigan 19th in the 2008 State New Economy Index: Benchmarking Economic Transportation in the States report. This report measures 26 categories, ranging from IT pro-fessionals to venture capital and measures the

The University of De-troit-Mercy’s Ceratops, on its way to a win in the IGVC in 2008. All

photos courtesy Great Lakes Chapter.

46 Unmanned Systems — may 2010 read us online at auvsi.org