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U.S. Army foresees robots becoming squad members

Jango

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The U.S. Army wants to move from using robots as tools to creating a human-robot cooperative that will make machines trusted members of the military.

"The issue is can I have a squad augmented with robots cover more ground, be more effective, do more things on a 72-hour operation than they can today?" asked Lt. Col. Stuart Hatfield, Branch Chief of Soldier Systems and Unmanned Ground Systems with the Army. "We see a transition from a dumb robot being a tool to it becoming a member of the team. Do I have a robot that carries my stuff, or do I have a robot that is a member of the squad?"

The Army is using robots, such as semi-autonomous vehicles, mainly as dumb tools. However, the military has a different vision of the future of robotics and how the machines will fit in a soldier's life at home base, as well as on the battlefield.

U.S. Army foresees robots becoming squad members - Computerworld

The thought of autonomous or semi-autonomous robot soldiers is a little scary, eh? But, I suppose that it would keep our boys and girls out of harm's way. There again, the morality program better be sufficient.
 
U.S. Army foresees robots becoming squad members - Computerworld

The thought of autonomous or semi-autonomous robot soldiers is a little scary, eh? But, I suppose that it would keep our boys and girls out of harm's way. There again, the morality program better be sufficient.

The robots will eventually replace the soldiers, this way pesky things like morality will get in the way of any atrocities.

So far the only robot I've seen that would be of use is the newer version of "big dog", that could hold hundreds of pounds, can handle any terrain, very robust and difficult to knock over...

If memory serves the air force aims to be mostly automated by like 2030...the only military positions will be as technicians repairing robots eventually, and further along robots will replace those technicians.
 
Not really. We had EOD robots in my last unit. It's weird at first, but you get used to it.

Robots like that are kosher. But I'm thinking larger here, man. Like, you know, humanoid robots.
 
Robots like that are kosher. But I'm thinking larger here, man. Like, you know, humanoid robots.
It's more likely that the military will go more toward something like the SWORDS design. Bipedal designs are horribly unstable, and can be outperformed by wheeled or tracked robots any day of the week. It also lets the designer focus on developing more necessary skills that would be required of it. Reasoning ability, target recognition, ROE, weapon system operation, search and rescue, etc. Ditch the legs, maybe the arms, and you have a much higher chance of getting a winner.
 
As far as robots go, I see more effective use out of a semi-intelligent "pack mule" that can return fire than something that looks and tries to act human. It's a supplement, not a replacement.
 
Well... drones are the first step to a fully automated, low manpower army. A drone can do a lot more than any human can or than most planes. Sure, it still needs to be polished... get better equipment and weapons on it. But it's the beginning.

Ofc, for the forseeable future, you won't have humans replaced in the military. Hopefully, there won't be any more large conflicts or wars and may the remaining wars that are now going on be the end of them all. War doesn't need a "big finale" like a WW3 to make us all sick and tired of it. It would be preferable if it died out due to boredom.
 
Well... drones are the first step to a fully automated, low manpower army. A drone can do a lot more than any human can or than most planes. .

No, they do a lot less. What they do is remove humans from harm's way.
 
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