// 01, The Challenge
One operator, total visibility across a fleet.
The U.S. Military’s vision for UGV operations isn’t one robot, one controller, one operator. It’s a single operator with visibility and control across an entire fleet, including robots on the ground, aircraft above, all managed from one device, in real time, in the field.
FLIR Systems was building toward that vision with their bomb-disposal robot program. The robots save lives by going where humans can’t. The operator interface is what makes the robot useful and what keeps the operator in control when the situation changes fast.
Getting that interface wrong isn’t a UX problem. It’s a mission problem.
// 02, Six Months. No Slip.
Mission-critical deadline. Complex scope. Secure environment.
FLIR needed a complex, production-quality operator control interface built and delivered in six months. The timeline was tied to a U.S. Army program deadline that couldn’t move.
The scope was substantial: a universal controller running on a tablet, built with modern web-based technologies, capable of managing multiple robot types, multiple camera feeds, and real-time communications, all in a secure development environment. The kind of project where cutting corners to hit a date creates problems that show up in the field.
FLIR had worked with Geisel on previous programs. When a U.S. Army deadline couldn’t move and the scope was this complex, they knew who to call.
// 03, What Geisel Built
A safety-critical HMI for the conditions operators actually face.
Safety-Critical HMI Development for Defense UGV Operations
Geisel engineers developed a high-performance operator interface running on a tablet computer, designed for the conditions an operator actually faces, not the conditions of a demo environment. The interface needed to be fast, clear, and reliable when the stakes are real.
The core capability was universal control: one device, multiple robots. An operator could take control of one UGV, relinquish it, and move to another across robot types and unmanned aircraft without switching systems. Real-time picture-in-picture video streaming with multiple camera angles gave operators situational awareness across the full operational environment. Manual joystick and touchscreen control, preset poses for rapid robot positioning, and easy-to-manage camera and lighting settings all had to work together without adding cognitive load to an already demanding job.
Geisel reduced latency in robot communication and video display, resolved a difficult video decode issue that emerged during development, and built status reporting for battery levels, communications, and errors, plus global and local positioning and orientation of each robot. All of it was developed to the standards defense programs require.
Onsite Integration with FLIR’s Engineering Team
During the integration phase, Geisel engineers worked onsite with FLIR’s team to troubleshoot the integration challenges that come with complex robotic systems. That kind of embedded collaboration, showing up, working the problem together, not handing off issues across a ticket queue, is what keeps a compressed timeline from becoming a crisis.
The interface shipped on time. FLIR retained Geisel for their next robot program.
I highly recommend Geisel Software for your small or large development projects. We developed a transparent relationship with the Geisel team. They felt like an extension of our own team and put in the extra effort needed to hit our incredibly tight deadline. They were very flexible as our needs changed, working within our budget and schedule constraints to deliver a quality product on time.
David Weatherwax · Director of Software, FLIR Systems
