Concept Development of Unmanned Ground Vehicles in Dual-Use Operations

Sammanfattning

Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) are becoming increasingly relevant in militaryand dual-use operations due to their ability to reduce risks for personnel and supportmissions in high-risk environments. Recent conflicts have demonstrated the growingneed for resilient autonomous and remotely operated systems capable of supportingcasualty evacuation, medical evacuation, and logistics close to the frontline. Despiterapid technological development, there remains a need for structured methods tosupport early-stage concept development of such systems. This thesis investigateshow Systems Engineering (SE) methods can support early product development andconceptual system-level design of UGVs for dual-use and near-front operations. Thestudy aims to identify stakeholder and user needs, define relevant operational scenarios,and develop concept proposals adapted for CasEvac, MedEvac, and logisticsmissions. The project was conducted through theory research, market and competitoranalyses, and semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, users, and experts.A Systems Engineering approach was applied using Concept of Operations (ConOps)and Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) methods to structure operationaland system-level analysis. Identified requirements and operational scenarios weretranslated into functional system models and visualized through CAD-based conceptdevelopment. The results show that modularity, adaptability, compact dimensions,and safe patient transport are key design considerations for UGVs operatingin high-risk environments. Three mission-oriented concept proposals were developedand evaluated based on identified operational needs. Furthermore, the studydemonstrates that Systems Engineering methods support traceability, communication,and structured decision-making during early product development. The thesiscontributes with a conceptual framework and design approach for future developmentof resilient dual-use UGVs in evacuation and logistics operations