COMMENTARY


DRIVING the FUTURE


The Army needs vehicles to be ‘robotics ready’ for the future force.


by Bryan J. McVeigh and Mark Mazzara R ROBOTICS APPLIED FOR SAFETY


Soldiers can use the RCIS Type I, created by adding a robotics applique kit to an HMEE, to investi- gate suspected explosive hazards. The system can function either autonomously or with a human operator. (Graphic courtesy of PEO CS&CSS)


obotic mules that follow Soldiers to carry and


charge their gear. Remotely piloted aircraft giving Soldiers real-time intelligence. Standoff systems to let Soldiers investigate and neutralize explosives


from the safety of an MRAP. Not too long ago, such capabili- ties were the stuff of movies, but that future is here today—and shifts in the character of warfare could revolutionize the future for tomorrow’s Soldiers in ways we can hardly imagine. Army leaders describe a future environment marked by great-power competition, rapid technological evolution, incredible speed and the advent of autonomy-enabled technologies. In some ways, that era—for ourselves, our allies and our adversar- ies—has already arrived, and we have to plan now so that our programs are prepared for a highly robotic battlefield.


In fact, over the last 40 years, the prevalence of software and digital controls in commercial cars, trucks, construction and mining vehicles and recreational vehicles has greatly increased. Tis has improved the functionality and features of those base systems. Along the way, commercial investment drove down the cost of many technologies—making them relatively easy and cost-effective to apply to military vehicles and enable the growth of modern robotic systems.


https://asc.ar my.mil


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