09.00 Chairman’s Welcome And Opening Speech

Frank Schneider
NATO Chair of Applied Interoperability and Autonomy for Military Unmanned Systems
Research Establishment of Applied Science, Germany

09.10 Determining Requirements For Air And Ground Unmanned Systems

• Defining the problem
• Capability gaps and unmanned systems
• Current US Army unmanned systems

Col Robert “Bo” M. Dyess
Jr, Director of Requirements Integration
U.S. Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC)

09:50 Unmanned Ground Systems In Defence And Security

• What are the top five applications?
• Are they feasible in a three year timeframe?
• NATO work on this topic
• Example: German forces CBRNE robot
• Short announcement about ELROB

Frank Schneider
NATO Chair of Applied Interoperability and Autonomy for Military Unmanned Systems
Research Establishment of Applied Science, Germany

11.00 Canadian EOD Procurement Process

• Process involved in choosing the right robot for the task
• Family of robots vs a one size fits all approach
• Utilisation of mission analysis in choosing their family of robots

Shaun Wright
Master Warrant Officer
EOD Equipment Directorate, Canadian Forces

11:40 The Challenges Of Innovation In The Defence Arena

• Grand Challenges in Defence – An effective mechanism to catalyse innovation?
• MoD Grand Challenge 2008 Winners – Team Stellar’s SATURN system
• Interrogating the utility of autonomy for the military user – Team Stellar’s experience

Dr. Julia Richardson
Team Leader, Stellar, MOD Grand Challenge Winners
United Kingdom

13:30 Canadian Forces Evolution Of Training EOD Operators

• How robotics are integrated into initial and high threat training
• A case study on the CF EOD School evolution and current facilities
• How to build upon our successes for future training

Major Chris Durant
OC EOD Sqn
Canadian Forces

14:10 UGV Development In The Middle East

• History of the project
• Addition of teleoperated weaponry to the system
• Addition of autonomy to the system

Dr. Yahya Zweiri
Design and Development Department Manager
King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau, Jordan

15:20 Ethical And Legal Considerations For Autonomous Systems

• Ethical and social views of robots on the front line
• Legal considerations
• Where is the line between full autonomy and human intervention?

Dr. Blay Whitby
University of Sussex
United Kingdom

16:00 Armed Robots: Reasons For Preventive Arms Control?

• Potential for destabilisation and proliferation
• Legal and ethical concerns
• Autonomy: A slippery slope

Dr. Jürgen Altmann
Senior Researcher, Lecturer
Technical University Dortmund, Germany

16:40 Chairman’s Close