Abstract
By contrast to weapons development, which has occurred progressively over thousands of years, the pace of development of information technology and electronics has been staggering. It has led to the ‘age of the machines,’ where robotic warfare and lethality via remote-control are no longer the preserve of science fiction novels. These new ‘machines’ include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), robotic ground platforms (RGPs), unmanned surface vessels (USVs), and unmanned underwater vessels (UUVs), as well as unmanned weapons and surveillance systems (UWS), all of which have already been deployed in military operations. With each passing year, the technologies involved have grown smaller, faster, and more sophisticated, mirroring developments in the ‘smart-phone’ industry, which essentially uses the same electronic components, namely optics, embedded micro-processors, sensors, and batteries. And while robotic technologies to date have featured most prominently in the air environment, state-of-the-art robotic ground vehicles and platforms are proliferating, and they are being incorporated militarily by an increasing number of nations.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 48-53 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Canadian Military Journal |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 4 |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Keywords
- robotics
- technology
- drone aircraft
- Armed forces