Military using more robots than ever

[SUBMAN1]

Terminator, here we come! :p

-S

Army wants 30% of force to be robotic by 2020



Science fiction fans raised on a steady diet of Terminator and Star Wars films have very specific ideas about what a robot on the battlefield would look like. The reality of military robots is that all of them require a human to operate, often with a joystick and a computer.

As far as the military is concerned, anything from an autonomous vehicle to a remote controlled observation drone could be considered a robot. The U.S. Military is using robots at an ever increasing pace for all sorts of tasks. One of the most common military robots is the iRobot PackBot. The PackBot can be configured for different uses including bomb detection. Another war robot called the SWORD can actually carry weapons into battle, though the SWORD has not been deployed yet at this time.


A pair of researchers from Washington University in St. Louis -- Doug Few and Bill Smart -- say that the military goal is to have approximately 30% of the Army comprised of robots by 2020. Smart says, "When the military says 'robot' they mean everything from self-driving trucks up to what you would conventionally think of as a robot. You would more accurately call them autonomous systems rather than robots."


The researchers and other supporters of robots in the military point out that all of the robots currently in service are teleoperated by people remotely. The reason to keep people controlling the robots rather than making the totally autonomous is so that the human operator has to make the decision and analyze the situation before shots are fired. This is to prevent any accidental shootings attributed to a robot and help eliminate the fear that robots could commit war crimes.


Smart says, "It's a chain of command thing. You don't want to give autonomy to a weapons delivery system. You want to have a human hit the button. You don't want the robot to make the wrong decision. You want to have a human to make all of the important decisions."


Few is also working on the relationship between the human operator and the robot in an attempt to make controlling the robot more natural and easy. Being able to control the robot easily and keep eyes on the environment in a war zone is paramount to operator safety.


One method Few is working on to make controlling robots more natural is integrating the Nintendo Wii motion controller into the operating system. This allows the robot to be controlled by the operator without the need for a laptop or screen and allows the soldier to operate the robot and still watch his environment for the enemy.


Smart explains, "We forget that when we're controlling robots in the lab it's really pretty safe and no one's trying to kill us. But if you are in a war zone and you're hunched over a laptop, that's not a good place to be. You want to be able to use your eyes in one place and use your hand to control the robot without tying up all of your attention."


While viewing an iRobot PackBot destroyed in combat after defusing a bomb, Few says he came to a realization. "When I stood there and looked at that PackBot, I realized that if that robot hadn't been there, it would have been some kid," said Few. Replacing the human in some of the most dangerous tasks on the battlefield -- like defusing bombs -- is one of the best uses for military robots in many eyes.

http://www.dailytech.com/Military+Us...ticle12581.htm

[STEED]

SOD IT!

[Wolfehunter]

I wonder what they classify as a cyborg? Hmmmm:hmm:

[Platapus]

The best part about using robots in the military is that you can "F" them over concerning healthcare after the war. All you have to do is wipe the memory and it is like the war never happened.

A politician's dream - Robotic troops to abuse for political agenda and no backlash after the war becomes unpopular.

No awkward congressional hearings
No expensive pensions
No embarrassing lawsuits
Don't have to worry about them voting

A win win situation.

[August]

Even more significant is the Armys development of the "Unmanned Spokesman Drone"...

http://www.theonion.com/content/vide...ed_spokesdrone

[bookworm_020]

Is it me or does the robot pictured looks like one that escaped "robot wars"???

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by bookworm_020

Is it me or does the robot pictured looks like one that escaped "robot wars"???

Looks like a Sci-Fi film I missed. Might have been though.

This is the pretty common iRobot bomb disposal unit however. It is prone to blowing up at times when coming into contact with various suspicious packages!

I remember this one going up in front of an insurgent car to see the guy had completely lost it in Iraq. That guy, surrounded by M1's Abrahms, eventually blew himself up. The robot was unhurt.

The weird thing is, it is almost like this guy was fearing not blowing himself up. Like he was being forced to do it. That always rang hard in my mind.

-S

[nikimcbee]

[quote=SUBMAN1]Terminator, here we come! :p

-S

Army wants 30% of force to be robotic by 2020

I thought this thing looked familiar.

[SUBMAN1]

[quote=nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by SUBMAN1

Terminator, here we come! :p

-S

I thought this thing looked familiar.

I remember that movie! not the second one, but the first one I liked.

-S

[UnderseaLcpl]

Yay! Number Five is is alive.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Platapus

The best part about using robots in the military is that you can "F" them over concerning healthcare after the war. All you have to do is wipe the memory and it is like the war never happened.

A politician's dream - Robotic troops to abuse for political agenda and no backlash after the war becomes unpopular.

No awkward congressional hearings
No expensive pensions
No embarrassing lawsuits
Don't have to worry about them voting

A win win situation.

Agreed

[Stealth Hunter]

I've heard rumors that this design may very well be on the battlefield by 2015.

[Raptor1]

Originally Posted by Stealth Hunter

I've heard rumors that this design may very well be on the battlefield by 2015.

I would think there are much more efficient designs that don't leave the wounded soldier that exposed...

[Stealth Hunter]

Well, you've got to test the concept first.

[Raptor1]

Originally Posted by Stealth Hunter

Well, you've got to test the concept first.

No you don't

Much better to waste money on a thing that is safe in design than on a thing that fails even before it was tested