Why AGVRA?
Autonomous Ground Vehicle Reference Architecture (AGVRA) was chartered by U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center Ground Vehicle Robotics to provide a framework for establishing Army-sanctioned architectures to enable the scalable design and integration of Autonomous Ground Vehicle (AGV) capabilities.
Reference Architecture
AGVRA is a reference architecture for AGVs that provides architectural guidelines and best practices, as well as a breadth of representative models to apply, for the Army Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) community and beyond. AGVRA satisfies the DoD definition of a reference architecture as โan authoritative source of information about a specific subject area that guides and constrains the instantiations of multiple architectures and solutions” and provides:
- Common language for the various stakeholders
- Consistency of implementation of technology to solve problems
- Support for the validation of solutions against proven reference architectures
- Encouragement towards adherence to common standards, specifications, and patterns
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DoD Digital Transformation
The DoD’s transition from traditional paper-based design to model-based systems engineering (MBSE) as part of its digital transformation is a pivotal step towards achieving agile development of complex military systems and ensuring high-quality outcomes across the system lifecycle. However, in the specialized field of autonomy-enabled missions, meeting modeling needs with existing tools can be challenging due to the rapid evolution of technology and its impact on requirements. AGVRA was developed as a solution to bridge this gap by providing a comprehensive modeling framework and libraries of reusable content. The products offered by AGVRA are designed to promote the implementation of the five key principles of the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA):
- An Enabling Environment
- Modular Design
- Key Interface Designation
- Open Standards Use
- Conformance Guidance
The products developed under AGVRA enable Government, academia, and industry defense robotics partners to readily and uniformly meet objectives.