One of the toughest missions within the world's military apparatus is that of evacuations. Not only getting supplies in and out, but getting people, both wounded and not, in and out. It's dangerous work, including for those manning the vehicles designed to do the job. But that's exactly the sort of thing this autonomous Polaris Ranger XD side-by-side was built to do.
Built in conjunction with Polaris Defense, the company's military arm, and Forterra, an autonomous vehicle developer out of West Valley, Utah, just over the mountains from my own home, the design brief was simple: build an autonomous CASEVAC (casualty evacuation) vehicle that could conquer terrain.
The duo landed on the Polaris Ranger XD, the stouter cousin to the standard Ranger, with a better payload and towing capacities, and integrated systems that would work for the intended mission. What's wild is that the whole thing looks like an old-school lead sled, i.e., the roof's been chopped, and all you notice are the half doors that likely hold the access points to the vehicle's internal systems.
