Military robot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (March 2008) |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008) |
This article or section contains speculation and may try to argue its points. Information must be verifiable and based on reliable published sources. Please remove speculation and discussion from the article. |
- Artificial Soldier redirects here. For the album by industrial group Front Line Assembly, see Artificial Soldier
Military robots are autonomous or remote-controlled devices designed for military applications.
Such systems are currently being researched by a number of militaries. Already remarkable success has been achieved with unmanned aerial vehicles like the Predator drone, which are capable of taking surveillance photographs, and even accurately launching missiles at ground targets, without a pilot. A subclass of these are Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles, which are designed to carry out strike missions in combat.
Contents |
[edit] History & Developments
Broadly defined, military robots date back to World War 2 and the Cold War in the form of the German Goliath tracked mines and the Soviet teletanks. However, these were simple and made little real impact on the war. It was not until the war in Afghanistan and the Second Iraq War that military robots became more than a footnote. Since then, they advanced rapidly. Defense contractors in the USA are hard at work developing autonomous "robot soldiers", but most current models look more like tanks than humans. There are problems with threat recognition and response; some models will not shoot cows with guerillas crouched behind them, but will fire at anything stenciled with an AK-47 silhouette.
In December 2003, the Associated Press reported that The Pentagon had purchased several Segways, as part of a research program called "Mobile Autonomous Robot Software", an attempt to develop more advanced military robots.
[edit] Examples of systems in development
- US Mechatronics has produced a working automated sentry gun and is currently developing it further for commercial and military use.[1]
- MIDARS, a four-wheeled robot outfitted with several cameras, radar, and possibly a firearm, that automatically performs random or preprogrammed patrols around a military base or other government installation. It alerts a human overseer when it detects movement in unauthorized areas, or other programmed conditions. The operator can then instruct the robot to ignore the event, or take over remote control to deal with an intruder, or to get better camera views of an emergency. The robot would also regularly scan radio frequency identification tags (RFID) placed on stored inventory as it passed and report any missing items.
- US scientists at MIT are known to be "looking into building a mechanical super-fighter ... able to heal his own wounds, leap buildings, deflect bullets and even become invisible" which "won't be ready for at least 10 years."[2]
- Tactical Autonomous Combatant (TAC) units, described in Project Alpha study 'Unmanned Effects: Taking the Human out of the Loop' - TAC robots are seen as being faster and more lethal than human soldiers, and able to work in more hazardous environments. This study, which was done in 2003, saw TACs as a reality by 2025.
- ARV
- ACER
- ARTS
[edit] Systems in current use
- Foster-Miller TALON (the weaponised version being known as the Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection System or SWORDS)
- RQ-9 Predator B
- RQ-1 Predator
- Goalkeeper CIWS
- Guardium [1]
[edit] Issues
There are many advantages in robotic technology in warfare however, as outlined by Major Kenneth Rose of the US Army's Training and Doctrine Command[2]: "Machines don't get tired. They don't close their eyes. They don't hide under trees when it rains and they don't talk to their buddies ... A human's attention to detail on guard duty drops dramatically in the first 30 minutes ... Machines know no fear." However, even so, military robots face a variety of issues, many of which are not even remotely a problem for human soldiers.
[edit] Friendly fire
Because AI is not sufficiently advanced enough to prevent friendly fire, researchers continue to stress the importance of keeping a human in the loop. One Internet rumor about friendly fire emerged when funding for the US Army's machine-gun-equipped SWORDS was pulled. According to the Army's Program Executive Officer for Ground Forces, Kevin Fahey, "The gun started moving when it was not intended to move". Rumors quickly massed about the robots turning on their comrades and their subsequent suppression. [3] However, the story proved unsubstantiated. [4]
[edit] Fiction
Military robots are common in fiction of all media.
[edit] Film
[edit] Near Future
Land Models
- Red Planet (2000) - AMEE (Autonomous Mapping Exploration and Evasion)
- Tomb Raider (2001) - S.I.M.O.N.
- Robocop (1987) - ED-209 (Enforcement Droid Series 209)
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) - T-1 Battlefield Robot
- Short Circuit (1986) - Nova S-A-I-N-T (Strategic-Artificially-Intelligent-Nuclear-Transport) "Johnny 5"
- Hardware (1990) - M.A.R.K. 13 prototype killer combat droid
Air Models
- Stealth (2005) - EDI (Extreme Deep Invader)
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) - T-1 airborne VTOL craft
[edit] High Futurist
Humanoids
- Terminator series (1984/1991/2003) - Cyberdyne T-800/T-850 Terminator Endoskeleton
- Star Wars Episodes I,II,III (1999/2002/2005) - Eos B-1 Battle Droid
- Star Wars Episodes II,III (2002/2005) - Eos B-2 Super Battle Droid
- Star Wars Episode III (2005) - Holowan IG-100 MagnaGuards
- Transformers (2007) - Decepticons
- Saturn 3 (1980) - "Hector" Model
- The Black Hole (1979) - S.T.A.R. (Special Troops/Arms Regiment)
- Battlestar Galactica (1978) - Cylon Centurion (Military androids with silver armor)
Androids
- Terminator series (1984/1991/2003) - Cyberdyne T-800 (Series 800, Model 101, Version 2.4)
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Cyberdyne T-1000 a shape-shifter android assassin
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) - T-X "Terminatrix"
- Star Trek The Next Generation Movies (1994/2002) - Data, Lore
Other Designs
- The Matrix series (1999/2003) - Sentinels
- Lost in Space (1998) - B9 "Robot"
- Star Wars Episodes I,II,III (1999/2002/2005) - Droideka (Destroyer Droid)
- Star Wars series (1977/2005) - R2-D2 (Astromech droid)
- The Black Hole (1979) - V.I.N.CENT (Vital Information Necessary CENTralized)
- The Black Hole (1979) - B.O.B. (BiO-sanitation Battalion)
- The Black Hole (1979) - Maximilian
Powered Exoskeletons
- Matrix Revolutions (2003) - APU (Armored Personnel Unit)
- Aliens (1986) - Caterpillar Power Loaders J-5000 (Mechanized Exosuits; these aren't intended for fighting, being designed for handling heavy cargo; however they are used for combat in the film)
- Iron Man (2008) - Iron Man Suit (Powered exoskeleton)
- M.A.N.T.I.S. (1994) - M.A.N.T.I.S. (Mechanically Augmented Neuro-Transmitter Interactive System)
[edit] Television
- Battlestar Galactica
- Buck Rogers
- Robot Wars
- BattleBots
- Robotica
- 24 (season 6)
- Stargate SG-1
- Stargate Atlantis
[edit] Literature
- Various books by Isaac Asimov
- Shooting War by Anthony Lappé
[edit] Computer games
- A.I. Wars (The Insect Mind) and (Armor Commander)(video game)
- Armed and Dangerous
- Command & Conquer 3
- Command & Conquer: Generals and Command & Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
- Deus Ex and Deus Ex: Invisible War
- Earthsiege 2
- Empire Earth
- Empire Earth 2
- Starsiege
- Supreme Commander
- Unreal Tournament and Unreal Tournament 2004
- Messiah
- Z
[edit] See also
- Robot combat
- Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle
- Powered armor
- Network-centric warfare
- Mecha
- Robots in warfare
[edit] References
- ^ Guardium Military robot
- ^ CBBC Newsround | SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT | Robot soldiers
- ^ US war robots in Iraq 'turned guns' on fleshy comrades
- ^ The Inside Story of the SWORDS Armed Robot "Pullout" in Iraq: Update
[edit] External links
[edit] Organizations
- United States Joint Forces Command website: "Leading the transformation of the U.S. military"
- irobot.com, builder of the PackBot and the R-Gator systems
- US Mechatronics, builder of the first publicly known, working fully-automated gun
- Boston Global, builder of BigDog
[edit] News articles/Press releases
- USJFC: 'Robotics to play major role in future warfighting'
- 'Iraqi War Robots Recalled Following Alarming Behavior'
- New Model Army Soldier Rolls Closer to Battle (SWORDS)
- TALON Small Mobile Robot
- TWG Military Robots
- Carnegie Mellon University's snooping robot going to Iraq
- PackBot Battlefield robotic Platform
- Miniature Unmanned Aerial Systems - UAV
- Guardium Autonomous Security Vehicle
- Unmanned Ground Systems from Israel
- High-Tech Military in Due Course
- Launching a new kind of warfare
- Gerry J. Gilmore. "Army's Veteran Bomb-Disposal Robot Now 'Packs Heat'", American Forces Press Service, January 24, 2006. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.