U.S. military use of robots increases

Published: Aug. 5, 2008 at 12:36 PM

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Military robots are no longer only science fiction, with the U.S. Army planning to have 30 percent of its forces composed of robots by 2020.

Washington University Assistant Professor Bill Smart and doctoral student Doug Few said the Army's robots won't resemble robotic soldiers from movies such as "Star Wars" and "I, Robot."

"When the military says 'robot' they mean everything from self-driving trucks up to what you would conventionally think of as a robot," said Smart, codirector of the university's Media and Machines Laboratory. "You would more accurately call them autonomous systems rather than robots."

All of the Army's robotic force is teleoperated, meaning someone operates the robot from a remote location.

"It's a chain of command thing," said Smart. "You don't want to give autonomy to a weapons delivery system."

While movies display robots as intelligent beings, Smart and Few aren't necessarily looking for intelligent decision-making in their robots. Instead, they're working to develop an improved, "intelligent" functioning robot.

"It's oftentimes like the difference between the adverb and noun," said Few. "You can act intelligently or you can be intelligent. I'm much more interested in the adverb for my robots."

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
Your Daily Horoscope
The almanac
Helicopter Moms: We are the champions
NBA: Golden State 146, Minnesota 105
NBA: New Orleans 112, LA Clippers 84
COL BKB: California 75, Murray State 70
PSA velocity may not help detect cancer
fark
Make sure your cell phone is locked so you don't accidentally dial numbers. Numbers like 911. While...
Photoshop these spirited students
Bunnies with penis implants. Hugh Hefner not amused
In a prelude to 2012, North and South Korea are shooting at each other
We miss George Bush because Obama has been attacked by a vampire. Or something like that
Mount Alvernia College suspends student for shaving her head to raise money for cancer research....