Careers in Robotics by Carol Hand

Author:Carol Hand
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
Published: 2019-06-10T00:00:00+00:00

The Curiosity rover is part of the NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission. In this artist’s depiction, Curiosity uses its sensors to investigate a rock surface.

TALON, a UGV made by Foster-Miller, weighs less than 100 pounds (45 kg), runs on treads, and has seven speeds, with a top speed of 6 feet (1.8 meters) per second. It is controlled by a joystick and can adapt to different situations. TALON was used for search and rescue when the World Trade Center fell in 2001. It has been used in Afghanistan and Iraq to dispose of live grenades and improvised explosive devices. There are even UUVs, or unmanned underwater vehicles, similar to tiny submarines, which carry out tasks such as mine warfare, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

Previously, recruits practiced on pop-up or stationary targets. The first time they shot at a live target was on the battlefield. Marathon Targets, an Australian company, has developed AI robots that react like human targets and can train military recruits how to shoot at live targets. Like self-driving cars, they orient themselves using light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors. They run to rescue wounded “comrades.” If hit in a vital organ, they fall over, but if only wounded, they come after the shooter.

THE FUTURE OF MILITARY ROBOTS

Researchers have big plans for future military robots. Marathon, for example, is considering robot medics that will pull wounded soldiers out of firefights and robots that can navigate tunnels and other dangerous underground spaces. The July 2018 rescue of twelve boys and their coach from a cave in Thailand would have been much easier with such robots. Many experts think that, in the near future, soldiers from rich countries will fight wars without ever coming into contact with enemy combatants. Robots will do reconnaissance and patrolling and will kill the enemy—all while being controlled from a distance. Those who favor robot use think that such robots will decrease battlefield casualties and will not make errors or suffer from fatigue or emotion. But there are concerns. Some think that, if US soldiers are less likely to be killed, US citizens may become more tolerant of our government engaging in wars overseas. Also, when two countries engage in a robots-only conflict, how is the winner determined?

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