Aggieland Supports Army Human-Machine Interaction Summit

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas  – Hundreds of innovators, industry representatives, academia and government representatives gathered here in Aggieland last month for the first of what could become an annual event designed to help the Army accelerate robotics technology development.

Army Futures Command hosted the event, while multiple Texas A&M System facilities served as the venue where Army leaders could meet with a wide variety of individuals to highlight technology needs and discuss ideas on how to best collaborate in designing robotic vehicles—both ground and air—and the network support needed to keep them operating.

The Human-Machine Integration (HMI) Summit was held on Nov. 6-7 and started out at the Hildebrand Equestrian Center, where participants heard from U.S. Army Gen. James Rainey, Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp and other Army leaders about the importance of the effective use of robotics and autonomy in army formations to reduce high risk combat exposure of soldiers and more effectively engage and defeat an adversary. The summit was created in close coordination with the George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex (BCDC) team that conducts research supporting AFC’s HMI initiatives and maintains roughly 150 acres of testing facilities and obstacles used to demonstrate and evaluate vehicle capabilities for the Army and other sponsors.   

“When AFC decided to locate in Austin, Texas A&M asked, ‘What can we do for you?’” said Sharp.  “Their [AFC] leaders told us the nation needed a highly instrumented testing complex.  They needed a place for the military, its partners, and other innovators to experiment and evaluate pilot technologies, get real-time data analysis and feedback from war fighters.  Done. We opened for the nation’s business in three short years,” he said.

At the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus, participants had an opportunity to participate in a range of sessions with experts on specific technologies and gaps, see demonstrations and displays of more than a dozen different vehicle and equipment systems firsthand, and gain a better understanding of the research and testing capabilities at the BCDC.

The second day of the conference was focused on interactions with academia, ranging from high school students to post-doctorate research engineers.  Leaders from Army Research Lab worked with select local school districts to identify students interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and have them participate in the conference.

Army leaders highlighted to participants how this may become an annual event at Texas A&M, in many ways due to the expertise, facilities and investment TAMUS has made in both RELLIS and BCDC.

“We came to Texas A&M with a need to help us better communicate to multiple audiences what the Army needs to maintain our edge in robotics,” said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Troy Denomy, Director of Integration for Army Futures Command.  “They understood our intent and worked diligently with our staff to make it a first-class event.  We look forward to additional partnership opportunities,” said Denomy.

BCDC was born out of a vision Chancellor Sharp shared with Army Futures Command leaders back in 2018.  It represents a more than $200 Million combined investment between the U.S. Army and Space Force, the U.S. Congress, the State of Texas, and TAMUS to build and equip facilities designed to bring together experts to accelerate the development of critical national security technologies needed to keep our nation safe.

“It was truly amazing to see how the Chancellor’s original vision has become a reality,” said BCDC Director U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Tim Green.  “We now have the ability through our combined investments in facilities and people to support our military and provide a venue and expertise specifically designed to facilitate collaboration between government, industry and academia to accelerate critical technology development.  I couldn’t be prouder of our team supporting the event. (Retired Army Colonel) Brian McHugh and Innovation Proving Ground team put in countless hours working with AFC and our teammates from across the Texas A&M System, such as contracts and the Equine Center, were outstanding as we planned and executed the event,” said Green.

Army Futures Command and BCDC leaders are already engaged in initial planning discussions for additional HMI events in 2025. 

Photos can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/armyfutures/albums/72177720321925003/

Points of Contact:

BCDC
Patrick Seiber, Public Relations Director, pseiber@tamu.edu, (979) 317-1310 (o), (979) 255-8981 (m)

TAMUS
Michael Reilly, Executive Director of Communications, mreilly@tamus.edu, (979) 458-6492 (o)