The U.S. Army and Clemson University announced a partnership to study conversion of Bradley tanks and armored personnel carriers to autonomous use.

The study for the conversion of existing Army equipment to self-driving vehicles is enabled by an $18 million Defense Department grant in the school's Virtual Prototyping of Ground Systems, and a partnership between the U.S. Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center and the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, the South Carolina college announced.

The multi-year project will involve 60 faculty members in seven engineering disciplines, and will focus on autonomy-enabled ground vehicles, including digital engineering, next-generation propulsion and energy systems, and manned and unmanned teaming in unknown off-road environments.

It will involve "Deep Orange," Clemson's educational prototyping program, which has been used by BMW, ExxonMobil, Ford, General Motors, Honda and Toyota, among other manufacturers.

"Autonomous systems and connected vehicles are some of the most significant factors shaping the mobility industry today, and the work being done in off-road autonomy is truly the next frontier," Clemson President Jim Clements said.

"CU-ICAR was designed to foster research and partnerships to benefit our future. Through our deep research strengths and interdisciplinary culture, Clemson is uniquely positioned to lead the way in this important work."

The modified Bradley tanks, referred to as Mission Enabling Technologies Demonstrators, and armored personnel carriers, called Robotic Combat Vehicles, underwent a first phase of Army testing during the summer at Fort Carson, Colo., part of the Army's Manned-Unmanned Teaming concept.

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