COMMON KNOWLEDGE
THE NATURE OF SENSORS
Sensors have existed in nature for millions of years. Dolphins and bats use echolocation, a specialized form of sonar. Sharks use electroreception, sensing the electric fields of their prey. Pit vipers use infrared radia- tion. Birds use the earth’s magnetic field to navigate during migration. Bees use ultraviolet light to find food.
Humans have been trying to catch up over the last two millennia, starting with primitive devices like weather- vanes and water sensors developed by ancient Romans. Scouts or reconnaissance patrols were the original human sensors, serving as eyes and ears ahead of an advancing army. Automated sensors for commer- cial use became important during the Industrial Revolution and for military applications during World War I. With the advent of World War II, the speed of innovation increased, and radar, sonar, infrared and magnetic sensors became indispensable for fighters on land, sea and air.
The Cold War accelerated sensor innovation, especially for radar systems. However, the most dramatic changes came with the digital revolution. By the 1990s, military strategists were incorporating vastly improved temperature, pressure, infrared, motion, acoustic, seismic, environmental, electro-optical and biometric sensors in their operations. Digital technology has made possible increasingly accurate laser guidance systems; multi-spectral imaging; improved sonar systems; cyber sensors; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear sensors; and electronic warfare sensors. The latter is used to detect, analyze and often confound enemy signals.
The concurrent rise of Internet of Things and—more recently—artificial intelligence and machine learning have resulted in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, and other independent or semi- independent devices. These new technologies, reliant on ever-more-sophisticated sensors, are continuing to change the nature of warfare.
SPECIALIZED SONAR Dolphins have been practicing sophisticated echolocation for millions of years. (Photo by Tetsuo Arada, Shutterstock)
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Army AL&T Magazine
Spring 2025
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