Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories (ATL) Director James P. Marsh will discuss the state-of-the-art in military robotics technologies April 21 with students and faculty at University of Pennsylvania's (UPenn) General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Laboratory.

Marsh will assess the reasons behind the dramatic increase and sophistication of unmanned systems over the past 40 years. From those in space, in air, and on ground to those at sea and beneath it, the value of unmanned systems as integral, tactical, and critical assets has become unquestioned.

"As military missions become more complex, unmanned systems are starting to incorporate rudimentary human decision-making and teaming behaviors into their traditional roles of pay-load delivery and surveillance," said Marsh. "Not only will autonomy continue to reduce human workload, but it will also enable missions in which human supervision is limited or absent."

ATL is Lockheed Martin's advanced-computing, applied research and development facility. It develops and transitions technologies in autonomy and intelligence, network-centric operations, cognitive computing, information exploitation, and advanced signal processing for Lockheed Martin and the Department of Defense.

The GRASP Laboratory is an inter-disciplinary research center in UPenn's School of Engineering and Applied Science with faculty, students, and staff from computer and information science, electrical and systems engineering, and mechanical engineering and applied mechanics. GRASP is a leading center for fundamental research in robotics, vision, perception, control, automation and learning.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 135,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services.

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin