Where We've Been: Unmanned Ground Vehicles In The War On Terror

摘要

After years of modest progress in robotics, the early war on terror provided an impetus for the U.S. military to quickly field unmanned ground systems, resulting in great operational successes in Afghanistan and other parts of the world. As human life becomes more precious in the modern age, militaries value robotics for the ability to send machines first to crest the hill, leave the safety of the tree line and even engage the enemy in combat, performing the most dangerous work in the war theater. The groundwork for such unmanned systems began in earnest in 1989 when the U.S. Congress consolidated disparate efforts by the Pentagon under the joint robotics program, eyeing in particular the use of robotics to defeat mines and defuse unexploded ordinance-two of the biggest killers in the war theater.