Lockheed Martin said it completed the second of a series of tests of a centralized controller device for unmanned air and ground vehicles. During the tests, Lockheed Martin demonstrated control of three different unmanned systems with its second-generation prototype device. The unmanned systems included the iRobot PackBot small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV); the Honeywell Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) unmanned air vehicle and a Lockheed Martin medium-size UGV demonstrator. Phase I demonstrations occurred in December 2006. The centralized controller prototype developed by Lockheed Martin is manufactured by Esterline Mason Controls. It incorporates a touchscreen, hand grips and several switches accommodating diverse control schemes and system operational requirements. In the latest demonstrations, different radio links were demonstrated in conjunction with the centralized controller, including UHF, L-band and S-band IEEE 802.11b. Lockheed Martin said the test demonstrated the centralized controller’s ability to display real-time video on its LCD touch screen down-linked from a camera on the Honeywell MAV, as well as MAV location data on a digital satellite image of the area around the test site. For related news