Integration and demonstration of a distributed computer for vehicle control

Under a Phase II SBIR program sponsored by the US Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), RedZone Robotics built and demonstrated a distributed computing and control system (DCS) for vehicle applications. A distributed network of small, intelligent local controller nodes, a central communications gateway card, and a power/signal bus, the DCS reduces vehicle controller development, installation, and maintenance costs and enhances adaptability to other platforms or applications. The DCS is of interest to vehicle developers needing robust, capable, plug and play components to enable vehicle automation. This paper overviews the motivations for the RedZone DCS project, discusses the installation and demonstration of the technology, and discusses the testing results