JAUS (SAE AS-4)

By utilizing the SAE AS-4 JAUS (Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems) framework, TORC's interoperable and modular products ensure rapid platform development at minimal cost.

TORC is committed to accelerating interoperability through developing, using, and promoting JAUS.

What is JAUS?

JAUS (the Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems) is a DoD-mandated SAE standard for messaging between elements of an unmanned system.  It is intended to enhance modularity, accelerate development, reduce cost, facilitate code reuse, provide a framework for technology insertion, and ultimately, to enable interoperability between UMS elements developed by different organizations.  TORC believes JAUS is critical to advancing UMS.

The Idea behind JAUS

Traditionally, a teleoperated robot is provided with a dedicated controller; as a result, each vendor’s UMS can only be controlled by that vendor’s OCU.  To address the resulting logistical problem in deployment, the concept of developing an architecture to allow systems and subsystems to be interoperable was proposed.

Common Control:  The initial vision for JAUS is depicted below.  In this example of remote control, the Controller translates joystick values to a standard mobility message, which is sent to the Robot, where it is translated to vehicle-specific actuator commands.  Since the only interaction between the Robot and Controller are JAUS messages, the two elements of the total UMS could be developed independently by separate organizations.  Further, in the field, any JAUS-interoperable controller could theoretically be used to control any JAUS-interoperable vehicle.  This is referred to in JAUS as level-1 interoperability.

Payload Expandability:  Taking interoperability one step further, we add a payload to the vehicle, containing a GPS receiver and Waypoint Driver, which receives Target GPS Waypoints from the Controller and generates the above-mentioned standard JAUS mobility message.  This message is sent to the UMS, which then translates the message to vehicle-specific hardware commands and executes them.  In effect, we have added autonomy to the teleop-capable UMS without modifying it at all.  In addition, since the payload interacts with the vehicle using only JAUS messages, it could be replaced with a Road Following or Obstacle Avoidance payload, as long as the payload produced JAUS mobility messages for the vehicle.  This type of payload expandability is referred to in JAUS as level-2 interoperability.

Code Reuse:  If the UMS had supported a higher level of interoperability, we could have added the Waypoint Driver directly to the UMS computer.  This is known as level-3 interoperability.  TORC is a pioneer in this area, having been the first to demonstrate cross-organization level-3 interoperability and leading the task group to realize it in the JAUS standards development committee.

Bringing It All Together

In summary, JAUS defines the message vocabulary (message codes and data encoding), the protocol and sequencing (rules for exchanging messages), and transport specifications (guidelines for passing JAUS messages over a particular medium, such as UDP, TCP, or Serial).  The end goal is modular, reusable, rapidly-developed, and interoperable UMS.

An Analogy to Language

It may help to understand JAUS by thinking about it as a language, in which the JAUS messages are the vocabulary.  If I understand Spanish, I can write it on paper, I can speak it, or I can print it in Braille.  In each of these three mediums, there are different rules of use, but in all three cases I am still communicating in Spanish.  However, the vocabulary alone is insufficient; to properly convey meaning through Spanish, I need grammar and etiquette.  In JAUS, etiquette and grammar corresponds to how to use JAUS messages properly, through protocol and sequencing.

Working Group Involvement:  TORC is an active, contributing member of the JAUS Working Group and the SAE AS-4 subcommittees responsible for publishing the JAUS standard.

• Vice Chair, SAE AS-4 Experimentation Task Group.
• Member / Contributor, SAE AS-4B Network Environment Subcommittee.
• Member / Reviewer, SAE AS-4C Information Modeling Subcommittee.

Services and Products:  Nearly all TORC products are JAUS-interoperable, enabling rapid, nearly seamless integration into both new and existing UMS projects.  Because TORC’s JAUS-interoperable products benefit from extensive testing and experimentation with other leading developers in the JAUS SAE AS-4 Experimentation Task Group, devices such as the AutonoNav™ integrate easily with any JAUS-interoperable vehicle, in addition to TORC’s own ByWire™, WaySight™, and other products.

• ByWire™:  a JAUS-in box to quickly give your DBW UMS a JAUS interface.
• AutonoNav™:  a JAUS-in, JAUS-out autonomy payload with a web interface for configuration.
• WaySight™:  sight-and-click waypoint commands for a waypoint-capable JAUS-interoperable UGV, UAV, or USV.
• Service:  TORC engineers can design and implement a custom JAUS device for your particular application.

InterOp™:  TORC maintains InterOp™, the JAUS community’s Internet-based testbed for experimentation and validation of JAUS implementations.  The system enables UMS developers and system integrators across the globe to debug and integrate over the Internet, saving the time and expense of traveling to a central location for testing and integration.

More Information: For more information on how TORC can assist you in JAUS implementations or to give a more detailed overview of JAUS, fill out the contact form at the top of the page or email us at support@torctech.com.