Battle Bots: PM's resident roboticist scans the horizon for the next generation of autonomous fighting machines

摘要

Robots are no strangers to the battlefield, but current droids rely on human control. The iRobot Pack-Bot, a veteran model first deployed in Afghanistan in 2002, is less a robot than a rugged remote-control car. Other robots employ limited autonomy to make low-level decisions, calling on human help for tougher problems. But new robots are taking autonomy further - while gaining some superhuman abilities. One of the most promising examples is REDOWL (Robot Enhanced Detection Outpost with Lasers), a dictionary-size box that sits atop a PackBot. It can instantly detect gunfire and pinpoint a sniper's position with a laser beam.