GroundpathTerrain intelligence
In the fieldCombined ResolveHohenfels · October 2026

Route planning
for those on the ground.

Auto-Router is an ATAK plugin for offline route planning.

See Auto-Router

As reported by Stars and Stripes (opens in a new tab)

Offline by design / Built for ATAK

Already in the field.

Exercise / Combined Resolve

JMRC’s opposition force used Auto-Router against the 1st Armored Division.

Rolling out to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and the 173rd Airborne in November 2026.

A soldier plots a route in Groundpath Auto-Router on a handheld device during a field exercise in Germany.
Photo: Matthew M. Burke / Stars and Stripes. Use of this photo does not imply endorsement by Stars and Stripes or the U.S. Department of Defense.

From development to deployment.

2026

  1. Army sponsor

    The 2nd Cavalry Regiment’s Innovation Cell brought the routing problem to CMU’s Hacking for Defense team.

  2. First prototype

    The Carnegie Mellon team built its first Auto-Router prototype.

  3. DIU Commercialization Fellowship

    The project joined the summer cohort.

  4. Early deployment approval

    Auto-Router reached TRL 7 and received approval for early deployment.

  5. 20 devices issued

    Soldiers received Android devices running Auto-Router for Combined Resolve.

  6. Unit rollout

    2nd Cavalry Regiment and 173rd Airborne.

The product / Built for ATAK

Auto-Router.

From 20 minutes of planning
to seconds.

Source: U.S. Army unit memorandum, 25 June 2026.

Auto-Router generates and scores every route option on the device in under 10 seconds. Compare distance, travel time, cover and enemy exposure on foot or by vehicle.ON FOOT · BY VEHICLE · OFFLINE

AUTO-ROUTER / INSIDE ATAK

Auto-Router route comparison inside ATAK: EASIEST is seen or heard along 2 km of 10.9 km, MORE CONCEALED covers 11.1 km out of view under 69% canopy.

About 11 km either way.
3h 20m longer to stay out of view.

EASIEST covers 10.9 km in 4h35 and is seen or heard along 2 km of it, closest 110 m. MORE CONCEALED covers 11.1 km under 69% canopy, out of view, in 7h55. Exposure depends on the marked positions and the terrain data.

AUTO-ROUTER IN ATAK · ANDROID SCREENSHOT · OCTOBER 2026View full-size screenshot
01

Plan without a connection.

When a soldier marks a new threat, Auto-Router replans the route on the device in under 10 seconds. It works offline and keeps route data on the device.

02

See who can see you.

Concealed routes avoid the line of sight of marked enemy positions where possible, with the seen or heard stretch shown per route. Line of sight is graded by canopy, and exposure counts double on crests and close to major ways.

03

Stay off the air.

Predicted radio detectability and GPS jamming are part of the route cost, so the router avoids them the way it avoids line of sight. On a Hohenfels test route with modelled threats, keep comms cut detectable time by 85% for 8% more march. In reverse, it plans a silent approach to a suspected enemy emitter.

04

Keep a map-and-compass fallback.

The ANALOG route provides an exportable sheet with azimuths, pace counts, catching features, backstops and a lost procedure. Copy it to paper before you move, or let it carry the element through a jammed stretch.

05

Route where the map ends.

Where roads and tracks are missing or out of date, Auto-Router builds a routable network from aerial and satellite imagery.

06

Grounded in doctrine.

Planning rules draw on U.S. Army doctrine, with documented tool choices where doctrine does not specify a value. The radio model is a port of NTIA's Irregular Terrain Model, checked against 23,591 archive measurements.

ATP 3-21.18 · ATP 3-21.8 · TC 3-21.76 · FM 5-170 · FM 3-12 · ATP 3-12.3

Groundpath / Press

In the press.

A U.S. Army soldier using Groundpath Auto-Router during a field exercise in Germany.
Photo: Matthew M. Burke / Stars and Stripes.Use of this photo does not imply endorsement by Stars and Stripes or the U.S. Department of Defense.

Print headline

‘Tactical Google Maps’ helps with troop stealth

Stars and Stripes, print edition
· Page 4 · Front-page teaser

By Matthew M. Burke

Read the article (opens in a new tab) View print edition (opens in a new tab)

Groundpath / Founding Team

The founding team.

Hannes Richtscheid in a blue jacket

Hannes Richtscheid

Co-founder & CEO

Led Auto-Router through approval for early deployment and into field tests with JMRC’s opposition force during Combined Resolve in Hohenfels.

DIU Commercialization Fellow, 2026 · TUM · Carnegie Mellon

Raúl Meléndez in a black polo shirt

Raúl Meléndez

Co-founder, President & CTO

Leads engineering. Built the imagery-to-road pipeline and co-developed route scoring.

DIU Commercialization Fellow, 2026 · Carnegie Mellon

Groundpath / Start a conversation

Get in touch
to request a briefing.

info@groundpath.ai

See Auto-Router and discuss your use case.

Landscape imagery is AI-generated and illustrative.

Website privacy

Privacy notice

Last updated: October 25, 2026

Who is responsible

Groundpath Inc., 1215 Quarterhorse Dr., Alvin, TX 77511, United States, is responsible for personal information processed in connection with this website and enquiries addressed to us. Contact us at info@groundpath.ai for privacy questions or requests. This notice covers this company website and email contact, not the use of our products.

Visiting this website

We use Google Firebase Hosting to deliver this website securely. When you visit, Google receives your IP address and the technical information sent with web requests, such as the requested URL, request time and browser information. This processing supports delivery, reliability, abuse prevention and service operation. Google states that Firebase Hosting retains IP data for a few months. See Firebase privacy information.

Cloudflare provides our domain's authoritative DNS, which translates the domain name into a hosting address. DNS requests may include the requested domain, timing and the address of the requesting resolver. We use Cloudflare in DNS-only mode for this website; website traffic is served by Firebase rather than through Cloudflare's web proxy. See Cloudflare's privacy policy.

Cookie-free website analytics

We use Umami Cloud, provided by Umami Software, Inc., to understand visits, selected button clicks, section views and page performance. Analytics includes the referring website, approximate location, browser, device, language and screen size. We remove URL query strings and fragments and keep only the referring site's origin. We do not send names, email contents or custom user identifiers, and do not use session recordings or advertising trackers.

Umami uses no analytics cookies. It processes IP addresses and browser information to derive approximate location and a rotating, hashed visitor identifier. IP addresses are not stored in standard analytics records, but may appear in separate operational or security logs. These statistics are not a guarantee of absolute anonymity. We selected Umami's EU data region; our current plan retains analytics for six months. Umami and its providers may process operational information internationally. See Umami's privacy notice, data-processing agreement and transfer safeguards and subprocessors.

You can disable analytics below. We also respect supported Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track browser signals. Your choice is saved locally in this browser solely to remember your preference; clearing browser storage removes that choice.

Analytics requires JavaScript.

External content

Website images and fonts are hosted with the site. The analytics script and collection service are provided by Umami. We do not sell personal information or share it for targeted advertising, and we do not make automated decisions about visitors. External links connect to other providers only when you follow them; those providers apply their own privacy notices.

Contacting us

Email links open your email application. If you write to us, we process your email address, name if supplied, message, attachments and related correspondence to answer your enquiry and manage the resulting business relationship. Our email service uses Zoho Mail's EU service infrastructure. Authorised personnel may access correspondence from the United States and other locations where they work. Only provide information needed for your enquiry. There is no contact form, account registration or payment collection on this website. See Zoho's privacy policy.

Purposes and legal bases

Where the GDPR applies, we rely on our legitimate interests in providing a secure, reliable company website, measuring its use and performance with limited analytics, and responding to business enquiries (Article 6(1)(f)). Processing needed to take steps at your request before a contract, or to perform a contract with you, is based on Article 6(1)(b). Where records must be kept to meet a legal obligation, Article 6(1)(c) applies. Providing information by email is voluntary; without the relevant contact and enquiry details, we may be unable to respond.

Recipients, international processing and retention

Information may be accessed by authorised personnel and our hosting, DNS, analytics and email providers as needed for these purposes, and disclosed where required by law or necessary to establish or defend legal claims. The website operator is based in the United States. Our providers operate internationally, and authorised personnel may access correspondence from the United States, the EEA and other locations where they work; processing is not limited to the EEA. Google's Firebase data-processing terms and the provider notices linked above describe their processing and international-transfer safeguards. Contact us for information about safeguards relevant to your enquiry.

We retain correspondence while needed to address your enquiry, manage an ongoing relationship or resolve related issues. Records subject to legal retention duties or needed for legal claims are kept for the relevant period; otherwise they are deleted when no longer needed. Provider-managed technical records follow the applicable provider retention periods, including the Firebase period described above.

Your rights

Depending on the law that applies to you, you may request access, correction, deletion, restriction of processing or a portable copy of your information. Where we rely on legitimate interests, you may object to processing on grounds relating to your particular situation. If processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it without affecting earlier lawful processing. You may also complain to a competent data-protection authority, including in your place of residence, work or the alleged infringement where the GDPR applies. To exercise your rights, email info@groundpath.ai. We may request proportionate information to verify your identity.

Landscape imagery is AI-generated and illustrative.