The Army is moving forward with efforts to integrate robotic vehicles and unmanned aerial systems with human operators.
One example is the robotic autonomous systems platoon, which the Army has tested at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, and Fort Moore, Georgia, formerly known as Fort Benning.
A House subcommittee will urge the Army to concentrate on common battery charging systems rather than relying on so many different types.
In its draft report on the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on readiness asks the Army to do what the Marine Corps has been trying to do since 2016. “Common charging solutions exist,” the report says. “The Army’s use of such platforms has been limited in scope and capability.”
Input from soldiers in the field is a priority for the Army as it continues to develop new, next-generation equipment and technology, a panel of leaders said.
The Army has made soldier-centered design a critical part of its modernization effort because it’s essential to understanding the tactical and operational needs of the Army, said Charneta Samms, the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Science and Technology-Integration chief technology officer.
As the U.S. military continues to explore the use of artificial intelligence in weapons, efforts are underway to enact ethical principles that would bind their activity.
Ensuring continuous soldier readiness is paramount to success on any battlefield.
Unmanned ground vehicles have made the transition from science fiction to reality, with platforms already proving their value to land forces.
There are limits, though, on how fast progress can be made. Alexander Kott, an Army Research Laboratory scientist specializing in cyber resiliency, said the only limit on unmanned systems will be the speed of advances in science and technology. He said transformational, game-changing unmanned systems can be expected.
The Army needs computer-smart technicians to help with its data management, but it also needs bureaucrats, said Don Bitner of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center during a panel discussion hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army.
The chief for strategy and development for infrastructure at the center, created in 2018, Bitner was part of a panel discussing the importance of cloud computing technology for Army strategy.
Morality and modernization are equally important parts of the Army’s efforts to expand artificial intelligence and robotics, a senior Army official said at the opening of an Association of the U.S. Army event focused on the expansion of military capabilities.
Army systems using artificial intelligence will require battlefield security to prevent information from being altered or blocked, says the U.S. Army Research Laboratory director, who specializes in sensors and electronic devices.
Speaking at the Army Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence Symposium and Exposition in Detroit, Philip Perconti cautioned that data can be hacked, and signals and information in the field can be altered. If that happens, soldiers will lose trust in the systems and turn them off.
A panel discussion on how robotics and autonomous systems could aid small units included a warning from a top Army expert that the “biggest danger facing the nation is someone else’s robots on the battlefield.”
