U.S. Should Invest in Military Robots, Paper Says

The U.S. government should actively pursue technologies that give the American military new robot capabilities during combat operations. That is the recommendation of a new paper written by Dr. James Carafano and Andrew Gudgel of The Heritage Foundation. The paper, titled "The Pentagon's Robots: Arming the Future," argues that robot technology can better enable the military to conduct critical missions like finding and neutralizing improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, scouting hostile areas without putting U.S. military personnel at risk, and flying patrol missions in the skies over battlefield areas.

Some robot technologies are already in use in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and United Press International (UPI) reports that the Army has contracted with the Massachusetts-based iRobot Corporation for approximately 3,000 military robots. UPI says that iRobot technologies are already being used for explosives detection missions in support of the U.S. global war on terror. The new Army contract is worth $286 million over a five year period. Joe Dyer, president of iRobot Government and Industrial Robots, told UPI, "Robots give our troops the distinct advantage of completing critical missions at a safe distance; more robots create a greater strategic advantage."

Right now, the Heritage paper says, U.S. military forces operate three different types of robot technologies, each designed for a specific realm of the battlefield. They are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), and unmanned ground vehicled (UGVs). Research into future technologies falls into three categories, according to the paper: sensors, cognition, and networking.

The Heritage paper offers some ideas for improving the federal effort toward military robot procurement, including better interagency coordination for unity of effort, continued congressional funding of research into military robot technologies, and the establishment of a legal framework that does not restrict research and development efforts. Since the private sector is expected to continue its efforts to develop robot technologies for civilian commercial use, Heritage says, the federal government should take the steps necessary to ensure that defense applications are pursued and properly funded for the sake of U.S. national security.

And while military robots will not bring an end to the blood and gore of modern combat, Heritage says, new robotic technologies can still give American military personnel significant advantages against both regular militaries and in guerrilla-type combat environments. UPI says that iRobot has more than 100 military robots available for immediate delivery to the Army.

Sources: Heritage Foundation Backgrounder 2093, United Press International Industry Briefing