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The US Army recently held a special military exercise in Pennsylvania to participate in this The field exercises are not tall and strong American soldiers, but robots. These machine corps may become the protagonists in the future battlefield.

The robot of this military exercise is called “Robotic Manipulator”. It is a crawler robot that is easy to be recognized by its robot arm and hand. It is mainly used to remove obstacles on the road of military vehicles. It can be programmed to deal with different obstacles. Complex environment.

It is reported that behind this exercise is the cooperation between the military and a number of scientific research institutions, in addition to a 10-year research project of the US Army Research Laboratory, University of Washington, University of Pennsylvania, NAInstitutions such as SA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory Carnegie Mellon University and General Dynamics are also involved.

This project aims to promote the autonomy of ground robots so that they can support unmanned teams to support ground vehicles for future operations.

Although the US Army did not disclose the technical principles and interactions of these military robots, according to Chad Kessens, a researcher at the US Combat Capability Development Command (CCDC) and the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), it is necessary to complete the “clearing roadblocks.” The task of the robot needs to identify obstacles to determine which interaction mode (push, pull, lift, etc.) to complete the task.

In recent exercises, RoMan has been able to remove debris from multiple items, drag branches and other items, and open containers to remove items inside, while soldiers can voice commands to these robots.

With the maturity of machine learning technology, these military robots can actively adapt to changing scenarios. Although some technology companies that have provided similar equipment to the military have been condemned by public opinion, it seems to be an unstoppable trend.

In November last year, the UK launched the largest robotic military exercise ever. Autonomous Warrior , tested the performance of more than 70 drones and ground systems under simulated combat conditions.

According to the British Ministry of Defence, this exercise aims to test how much the combat effectiveness of robots and unmanned systems can be improved after they are integrated into the land battlefield. Test whether drones and unmanned vehicles can effectively support surveillance, resupply, command and maneuver. Wait for the task.

The most dangerous “last mile” in the exercise, under extreme weather conditions, four unmanned vehicles called “Titan” showed good combat capabilities in both urban and forest environments.

On the battlefield, breaking through enemy position barriers is one of the most dangerous tasks. The biggest meaning of these robots is to complete the task while reducing casualties. An engineer of the US Army representation, the last breakthrough in casualties can be achieved 50%, now it is possible for soldiers not to take such risks.

The drone is already a military robot commonly used by many military countries. At this year’s National Day military parade, domestic high-altitude high-speed drones were displayed. The rules of modern battlefields are being changed by these robots.

Of course, many people do not want technology to be used in the battlefield of killing, but in fact, since the birth of human civilization, the war has not stopped. If the conflict cannot be avoided, then use technology to make fewer soldiers fall on the battlefield. Let’s go.

FIG title from: Popular Science