Issue #69
Last Update October 31, 2010
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Technology Military Robotics by Sten Grynir May 18, 2009 iRobot is probably unique amongst the military robotics suppliers in having a robust consumer division, maker of the Roomba and similar cleaning devices. Its military/government arm makes a whole range of land and sea robots with military and police functions. These include the Packbot, essentially a mobile robotic platform to which cameras, sensors, gripping tools and other useful accessories can be attached, the Negotiator, and SWAT team unit that allows negotiation in hostage situations without endangering SWAT personnel, the SUGV, a robotics surveillance platform, the Seaglider, for undersea data collection, and the Ranger, for underwater surveillance, mine detection, coastal defense and oceanography. At the Robobusiness conference and expo in Boston in April, Vice Admiral Joseph W. Dyer (USN Ret.), head of iRobot's Government and Industrial Robots Division, outlined the uses of military robotics in a talk titled “How Robots Make War More Survivable”.
The use of the term “robotics” in a military context is somewhat loose. It is applied not just to devices that operate autonomously to perform certain tasks, but also to human-operated devices where the robotics component allows the human to concentrate on an end result, rather than the details of the operation of the device. In these cases, device functions such as movement, navigation and, in some cases, weapons-aiming, are left to the device itself to figure out, while the human controller provides the instructions to stop, start, go to a location, or fire.
Military robots currently function as reconnaissance devices, moving ahead of the troops down trails or into caves and relaying back video of what's ahead, or flying above the terrain and sending back pictures of the ground below, as equipment carriers, robotic mules that allow troops to bring more supplies with them than soldiers could ordinarily carry, as unmanned vehicles, as bomb disposal units, and as mobile armaments platforms. As reconnaissance devices, robots save soldiers lives by exploring areas that could be dangerous for human soldiers. As unmanned vehicles, military lives are saved by reducing the number of human drivers exposed to potential IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices), the roadside bombs that have killed and injured so many in Iraq. As mobile armaments platforms, robots increase the firepower available to contingent of troops, while saving civilian lives through improved precision of targeting and firing. A robot sniper is not subject to arm shake, fatigue, or any of the other human factors that throw off a rifleman's aim, making each shot more accurate and less likely to hit someone other than the intended target. Pilotless drones, while garnering their share of bad press for killing civilians in the vicinity of the real target, are nevertheless far more accurate than bombs dropped from a plane at 30,000 feet.
By providing a virtual presence that relays information where it is needed, fewer people are required on the battlefield, and commanders are able to manage operations down to the lower levels of unit size. All deployed military (and police) robots are currently tele-operated, but robot autonomy is slowly growing. Nevertheless, fully autonomous killing machines are not now being contemplated. As long as a human being is in the loop, responsibility for the robot's actions remains fairly clear. Fully autonomous robots that kill the wrong people presents an ethical, legal and command challenge: who was responsible? The officer that put the robot into action and instructed it on its targets? The programmer who wrote the programs that gave the robot its autonomy? The company that manufactured the hardware? Until these philosophical and legal problems are resolved, fully autonomous killing robots are unlikely.
What will war look like in the future? Will robot armies clash by night, with human beings staying safely home? Will asymmetric warfare pit human guerillas against robot troops, or robot guerillas against human troops? Given the history of the human race up to now, it is very likely we will find out soon.
New York Stringer is published by NYStringer.com. For all communications, contact David Katz, Editor and Publisher, at david@nystringer.com