PLATON is a modular conversion kit developed by Diehl Defence for unmanned driving of vehicles and transport platforms on the road and off the road. The retrofittable construction kit consists of a computer box, a sensor unit and a communication system.
PLATON can be integrated into any electronically controllable vehicle and allows different modes of operation independently of the platform:
- Teleoperation (line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight): Remote control, for example using a camera aboard.
- Convoy: Follow mode, i. e. autonomous following of another vehicle or a person running in front.
- MULE: Automated driving of a taught route including obstacle avoidance
- Waypoint navigation
PLATON prototypes have been successfully tested on several types of vehicles including trucks (HX58), wheeled armored fighting vehicles (Patria AMV) and smaller military support vehicles (Milrem THeMIs and Mattro Ziesel) in cooperation with the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw), NATO forces and various industry partners.