August 03, 2003
Robots
The DoD is studying robots for the battlefield. It's early days yet, but it seems to be just a matter of time to see sci-fi become real. It sure would be nice to have some of these to patrol the streets of Tikrit right now.
Project Alpha, a U.S. Joint Forces Command rapid idea analysis group, is in the midst of a study focusing on the concept of developing and employing robots that would be capable of replacing humans to perform many, if not most combat functions on the battlefield.Posted by Alan at August 3, 2003 05:29 PMThe study, appropriately titled, “Unmanned Effects: Taking the Human out of the Loop,” suggests that by as early as 2025, the presence of autonomous robots, networked and integrated, on the battlefield might not be the exception, but, in fact, the norm.
Characteristics of a tactical autonomous combatant (TAC) would include the ability to work in ground, air, space, or undersea environments, and in harsh conditions such as extreme heat or cold. In addition, TACs, unlike humans, would be able to operate in chemically, biologically, or radiologically contaminated environments.
In many cases... robots will be more capable than humans. They will be more lethal, more mobile, and more survivable. They will have faster reaction times and have more and superior sensing capabilities. They don’t have fear, they don’t get hungry, sleepy, or tired, and they take humans out of danger. And, from an economic perspective, they are cheaper than humans.
“The robots will take on a wide variety of forms, probably none of which will look like humans,” explained Dr. Russ Richards, Project Alpha’s director. “Thus, don’t envision androids like those seen in movies. The robots will take on forms that will optimize their use for the roles and missions they will perform. Some will look like vehicles. Some will look like airplanes. Some will look like insects or animals or other objects in an attempt to camouflage or to deceive the adversary. Some will have no physical form – software intelligent agents or cyberbots.”