February 2, 2004
The Military and the Terminator
So, here is an interesting article on the use of autonomous robots in order to remove soldiers from the battlefield. All in all, a good use, but it only works if just one side of the conflict has this capability. If both sides have it, then it becomes an increasingly abstract game of tit-for-tat while each side destroys the others' machines.
Posted by elkaim at February 2, 2004 2:48 PMThe eight-wheeled Stryker has already seen service in Iraq as an armored troop carrier with human drivers. The idea is to teach Stryker to accomplish a mission on its own, as a robot. By 2010, robotic Strykers and similar cont ivances are slated to be in use as all-purpose battlefield vehicles, surveying battlegrounds, sniffing for land mines, or transporting supplies and troops to the front line.
An unmanned Stryker is part of the military's effort to move more machines into battle to save both money and lives. "Well before the end of the century, there will be no people on the battlefield," said Robert Finkelstein, a professor at the University of Maryland's School of Management and Technology.