A "soldier" with both "intelligence" and "bravery", this issue takes a closer look at the ground armed robot
2024-08-10
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Armed ground robots are coming
■Hou Rong, Hu Tong, and Zheng Chuanhao
It is reported that the US Marine Corps recently provided a new Vision 60 quadruped unmanned ground vehicle to the Special Operations Command. The robot is equipped with a rifle and an artificial intelligence-driven target detection system that can identify enemy targets and is mainly used to replace soldiers in military tasks. The disclosure of this information has once again aroused people's attention to the development of ground armed robots.
As early as the last century, many science fiction movies have created images of various types of armed robots. These robots have left a deep impression on the audience with their characteristics and powerful strength that break through the physiological limits of humans on the battlefield.
With the development of information technology and artificial intelligence technology, armed robots have stepped from the screen into reality. More and more armed robots with higher intelligence and stronger battlefield adaptability have come out one after another and frequently appeared on the military stage.
So, why do armed robots attract widespread attention? What are their advantages and hidden dangers? What role can they play in future battlefields? Today, let us take ground armed robots as the main sample and get closer to the "smart" and "brave" "soldiers".
The quadruped robot Vision60. Photo courtesy: Yang Ming
Military journey——
Perform dangerous tasks instead of combat personnel
Having a tireless, intelligent and precise robot assistant has been the dream of humans since they began using tools.
In the 1940s, robots began to be put into industrial practical research based on fixed programs and memory control. At that time, these robots could only perform simple "pick and place" actions, which made it difficult to cope with the complex needs of the ground battlefield.
It was not until 20 years later, with the advent of "small electronic computers replacing memory control" technology, that it became possible for robots to have basic "feeling" and coordination abilities.
In 1966, the U.S. Navy robot "Corvo" dived to a depth of 750 meters and successfully salvaged a lost hydrogen bomb. This sensational event made people see the potential value of robots in the military field for the first time.
Subsequently, countries around the world have successively developed "military space robots", "robots for working in hazardous environments", "unmanned reconnaissance aircraft", etc., and their battlefield applications have made great progress: During the Vietnam War, the United States used armed robots to drive trains to clear dangers and obstacles for transport columns; during anti-terrorism operations, the British Army used armed robots to clear car bombs many times...
However, the intelligence level of robots during this period was still relatively low. In the 1980s, with the development of computer technology, artificial intelligence technology and the explosive development and use of various sensors, armed robots with "complete limbs, sharp eyes and ears, and qualified intelligence" began to appear.
These armed robots can not only perform heavy physical labor, but also have certain analytical and judgment capabilities. They can not only imitate various human movements, but also perform more complex mental work. So far, the enthusiasm of various countries to develop military armed robots has been continuously ignited.
After entering the 21st century, numerous series of military ground armed robots have flourished.
Armed robots in many countries are equipped with advanced artificial intelligence modules and command and control modules, which can provide direct high-precision firepower support for mobile forces and improve the protection and survivability of the forces. For example, the Viking multi-purpose ground unmanned vehicle developed by the British Mira Company, the ROOK unmanned vehicle developed by the Israeli Elbit Systems Company, and the multi-purpose tactical unmanned vehicle MUTT developed by the American General Dynamics Company can replace soldiers on the ground battlefield to perform tasks such as search, reconnaissance, mine laying, bomb disposal, and support.
In short, facing the possibility of increasing danger and complexity on future battlefields, armed robots can replace combat personnel to perform more dangerous tasks, greatly improve combat effectiveness, and drive combat units to develop rapidly in the direction of unmanned, intelligent, and high-precision operations.
Appearance structure——
Armed robots don’t all look like humans
Influenced by movies, TV shows and animation, many people believe that ground armed robots should look similar to humans.
In fact, the shape of robots is shaped according to the needs of use, and most robots do not look like humans. Especially for armed robots used in the military field, judging from their appearance alone, they may be a smart car, an unmanned tank, an airplane or a cannon, or even a monster that looks like nothing.
Although these robots of various shapes do not bear any resemblance to humans in terms of physical appearance, many of their structures are similar to human functions in terms of the composition of their "organs".
For example, the operating system called "robot arm" is connected by gears, levers and workpieces. It is like a human arm, which can rotate, bend, relax and clamp the clamps. It is the physical labor system of the robot. The function of this system is to grasp a certain work object and make it move according to specific work or combat requirements.
For another example, the robot information transmission system, which is equivalent to the "neural network" inside the human body, is mainly composed of wired and radio communication systems, sonar systems, hydraulic control pipes, etc. The function of this system is to upload various information obtained by sensors and observers to the control center, and then transmit various instructions issued by the control center to various actuators for execution.
The command and control system is equivalent to the "human brain". It mainly uses various coding programs to enable the robot to have certain judgment, decision-making, control and communication capabilities. Its function is to process various information and then command and control the robot's actions.
However, in actual use, people do not require every robot to be "fully equipped" with all functions. On the contrary, according to the needs of military activities, in order to strengthen some functions of armed robots, researchers often weaken or even abandon other functions. Take the reconnaissance robots and combat robots among armed robots as an example. The former is mainly equipped with various reconnaissance equipment; the latter is mainly equipped with various combat weapons, target search and aiming equipment, etc.
Versatile
More than just a powerful battlefield crusher
In the Syrian war, the Russian army for the first time dispatched a robot combat company with "Uranus-9" as its core, adopting a new combat mode of "manned-unmanned" mixed formation. It captured a high ground in just 20 minutes, fully demonstrating the power of armed robots in modern warfare.
As a new generation of unmanned combat platform developed by Russia, "Uranus-9" weighs more than 10 tons and is equipped with machine guns, anti-tank missiles, anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons. It has the ability to deal with multiple threats. At the same time, the operator can remotely control it from 3,000 meters away.
Unmanned combat vehicle robots such as "Uranus-9" are transformed from infantry fighting vehicles into unmanned and intelligent ones. While retaining the advantages of traditional armored vehicles such as fierce firepower and strong protection capabilities, they can also reduce casualties, improve combat efficiency and reduce combat costs through unmanned formation combat or "manned-unmanned" mixed formation combat modes.
Similarly, scientific researchers have carried out unmanned and intelligent transformation of other traditional weapon platforms. The resulting drones, unmanned boats, unmanned underwater vehicles and other robots have been "star" products in the military field in recent years. In particular, some of these robots can directly carry various types of weapons and equipment, and can realize the intelligent upgrade of battlefield firepower platforms, becoming an important development direction of modern military technology.
Based on the asymmetric advantages of armed robots, a new type of combat force, on future battlefields, many countries have emphasized in their defense strategies to step up the research and development of such robots and promote the corresponding combat structure reforms.
In 2005, Boston Dynamics in the United States developed the quadruped robot "BigDog". While carrying a load of about 150 kilograms, "BigDog" can imitate the gait of animals and walk steadily on uneven roads, reducing the burden of logistics transportation for soldiers. The "Spot" robot, a similar product launched by the United States later, has been updated to version 3.0. It can not only climb stairs, grab objects, and run to open doors, but also dynamically plan routes when encountering obstacles to ensure smooth progress.
In 2021, the Russian military conducted a two-week guard duty test on the "Marker" robot. The "Marker" robot is a tracked or wheeled combat vehicle equipped with multiple weapon modules such as target detectors, thermal sensors, infrared cameras, etc. During the test, the robot showed good human-like cognitive abilities such as environmental information perception, autonomous route planning, and target tracking. The Russian military was very satisfied with the test results and then planned to put the "Marker" robot into service in the Russian security agencies to take on the task of guarding national facilities such as launch sites.
In the field of mine detection and explosive disposal, armed robots can replace soldiers to remove and detonate mines. For example, the multifunctional mine-clearing robot "Uranus-6" developed by Russia, the explosive-disposal robot "Iron Tongs" developed by Israel, and the mine-clearing robot "Comet 2" developed by Japan all have advantages over traditional mine-clearing equipment, such as small size, strong environmental adaptability, and relatively low mine-clearing cost.
Subsequent development
The most difficult problem is not technical
Many countries hope to open up new tracks for future battlefields through ground armed robots, but from the current perspective, there are still many challenges in achieving the complete replacement of armed robots for or assistance and coordination with human soldiers in carrying out combat missions.
The most direct challenge comes from the technical level.
Armed robots are generally in the R&D and testing stage. The robots displayed by various countries have either not been tested in actual combat or their performance on the battlefield is far from the estimated capabilities. For example, when the American "Big Dog" robot is working, the sound of its gasoline engine is deafening, which easily exposes its position; even the later improved "LS3" robot has not solved the noise problem and cannot pass through special terrains such as mountain slopes and ridges. Because artificial intelligence technology is not mature enough, armed robots still generally have shortcomings in understanding combat intentions, planning mission paths, and automatically handling faults.
However, technical issues are not the most critical issue for the large-scale application of armed robots. Their subsequent development faces a huge ethical issue: whether intelligent robots equipped with lethal weapons should be granted full autonomous firing authority.
From the design of "Uranus-9", we can see that the most critical weapon firing authority of the robot is limited to the operator. This is not because of technical support, but if the robot is given the right to fire, is it possible for the robot carrying guns and ammunition to attack its own soldiers? Can armed robots without emotions and empathy identify and distinguish between doctors, wounded soldiers and civilians? This series of questions must be considered. It is foreseeable that with the rapid development of technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence and armed robots, how to use robots in war will be a more complicated issue than the robot technology itself.
However, its ultimate role can only be determined by humans themselves, which is also a necessary prerequisite for intelligent weapon systems, including armed robots, to add chips to the "war power".
Source: China Military Network-People's Liberation Army Daily
