The US Army's research facility for ground systems technology, GVSC, houses advanced technology. GVSC, located in Warren Michigan, is the United States Army's leading agency for autonomous and driver-optional ground vehicles robotics. It also provides combat support technologies for next-generation combat vehicles (NGCV).
U.S. GVSC partners with industry to accelerate the pace of vehicle modernization, utilizing advanced engineering, materials and production processes in a shared, economies-of-scale environment. These industry-academic partnerships, which are based on a variety different mechanisms such as formal contracts and Other Transaction Agreements and Cooperative Research and Development Agreements have helped the advancement of key ground vehicles technology platforms and paved the way for the future of mobility in all military services.
Clemson VIPR-GS is partnering with GVSC for a multi-year project which will improve digital modeling and ground vehicle fleets. This will support GVSC’s ambitious goals for rapid modernization and adaptation of U.S. Army vehicles to meet rapidly changing operational needs.
GVSC's leadership recently visited campus to review the achievements and innovations that have been made to speed up modernization of ground vehicles. The review took place at the CU–ICAR innovation campus, Greenville, South Carolina. It involved a number of graduate students and faculty members who were engaged in VIPR–GS research projects. Many of these focused on the integration digital engineering tools into design to build processes to speed up ground vehicle modernization.
The GVSC team also reviewed Cyber Defense work, including a simulated bus defender intrusion defense and prevention system. This system aims to protect ground vehicles against attacks by hackers and malware using a combination driver-optional and automated security measures. The project has been ongoing since 2019, and it will be operationally evaluated during a Yuma Proving Ground September 2021 exercise.
The Vehicle Systems Security (GVSC) program is responsible for the development and testing of cyber defensive technology to protect ground vehicle from a growing variety of threats. These technologies include, without limitation, cybersecurity protection of mission systems, communications, or power systems.
The team is also investigating new ways to deploy and incorporate sensors that will help ensure ground vehicle systems are protected against cyberattacks in highly contested battlespaces. This work is done in collaboration with Peraton Labs a cyber security company located in San Jose.
The GVSC team has been working with the Army to ensure its future. They are also trying to reduce the environmental impacts of the current fleet of vehicles by reducing the amount of hexavalent chromium-plated components and cadmium plating. These toxic metals not only corrode the metals, but also damage the environment through their accidental release into water or air.
To combat these issues, GVSC is also working with the automotive industry through partnerships and cooperative agreements, such as those with General Motors, to develop an all-electric fleet of military vehicles. These agreements aim to leverage the technology advancements that have occurred in the automotive industry, allowing for the rapid development of an electric military ground vehicle fleet.