Military robots uses, importance, risks and types

Military robots are autonomous robots or remote-controlled devices which designed for military applications, They can walk through minefields, deactivate unexploded bombs or clear out hostile buildings.

Military robots (Artificial soldiers)

Robot soldiers are autonomous robots or remote-controlled mobile robots designed for military applications, from transport to search & rescue and attack. Military robots can be built and programmed to do a certain task and will do it better than how a human would do it. Military robots can make the difference between a winning war and a losing war, Military robots can include different types of weapons and are more efficient than a human controlling these weapons.

The first military robots were used in the early 2000s. The US military deployed robots to Iraq and Afghanistan to perform tasks such as bomb disposal and surveillance. Today, there are a wide variety of military robots in use, including unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs).

UGVs are used for a variety of tasks, such as reconnaissance, transportation, and combat. Some UGVs are armed with weapons, while others are used for non-lethal purposes, such as firefighting and explosive ordnance disposal. UAVs are commonly known as drones. They are used for surveillance, reconnaissance, and airstrikes. UUVs are used for underwater surveillance, mine detection, and seabed mapping.

Military robots importance

Military robots can do the most dangerous tasks instead of the soldiers, If there were something wrong, we would only lose the money of the robots instead of losing the soldier’s life.

Military robots do not get tired, they do not need to sleep, they do not know fear, they are teleoperated and not equipped with weapons, and they are used for surveillance, and sniper detection and they can neutralize explosive devices.

Military robots include cameras, video screens, force sensors, and special grippers, they can do risky jobs with these integrated systems, and they have different shapes according to the purposes of each robot.

Military robots’ job is the assistant of the soldier, they can help to make human life easier, and they help to save them from risks in dangerous areas.

Military robots can perform duties similar to human duties without the actual danger to human lives, they can endure the damage done by bombs or other types of weaponry that would destroy the human body.

Military robots are used in various sizes, some of them can fit into spaces that are easily accessible to humans as tight and dark spaces that are common and the robots are a perfect fit for doing that task.

Military robots can be used not only to disarm bombs and weapons but also to hold and fire, They are also equipped with machine gun-like features which make these medium-sized robots appear to be small armies.

The military gave the robots jobs that were dirty, dangerous, and boring as Bomb disposal which can expose human life to death as losing the robots is better than losing human life.

Robots can replace soldiers in dangerous missions such as crawling through caves or in the streets during wars, they can reduce the casualties.

Military robots can reduce civilian casualties, they can make faster decisions than humans, and they can not feel anger, revenge, hunger, fear, fatigue, or stress.

Military robots can use video or other sensors to monitor the human soldiers on both sides of a battle for violations of the laws of war, They have been used for reconnaissance and direct warfare.

Types of Military Robots

Army robots come in different shapes and sizes depending on the requirement, they may be remotely controlled or fully autonomous,  Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) can use military satellites, UAVs, UGVs, USVs, ROVs, AUVs, and others are extensively used in the ISR application.

Armed forces use small robots, which can remain almost invisible to the enemy, Robots help monitor enemy forces or specific areas and send videos and images to the ground station with the assistance of GPS.

Rescue Robots are used in the military, and they can play a crucial role in saving lives, The majority of casualties happen due to the delay in offering necessary aid to victims, Rescue robots are highly advantageous in war, They can search, track, and rescue in nuclear, biological, radiological, and chemical environments, They can be operated remotely by soldiers from a command center, and they can work autonomously.

Military robots are used in combat support applications for anti-submarine operations, laying mines, fire support, electronic warfare, battle damage management, strike missions, and aerial refueling, Military robots can achieve information superiority, minimize collateral damage, and fight effectively in urban areas against widely dispersed forces, Military robots offer lethal capabilities in combat missions, along with the ability to make decisions without human intervention.

Army robots are used in mine clearance, they can be deployed for mine reconnaissance and area clearance operations to detect and remove landmines and sea mines, The robot minimizes the risk of unexploded ordnance and other dangerous objects, Land robots and ROVs are used for mine clearance operations.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) robots can identify and disarm traps, fireworks, improvised explosive devices, and other dangerous objects in closed areas, buildings, and vehicles, They are integrated into bomb detection systems, They can carry a variety of payloads depending on the EOD mission.

Firefighting robots are used to address fire situations to avoid casualties, Fire fighting robots can detect fire, implement a broad range of fire-suppressing techniques, withstand high temperatures for longer periods, and respond to different types of movements, Fire fighting robots can detect fire, as they are equipped with a suite of cameras, a gas sensor, and a stereo infrared camera, which help these robots find their way through the smoke and bring the fire under control.

Examples of military robots

• Boston Dynamics Spot is a four-legged robot that can be used for reconnaissance, surveillance, and inspection in dangerous or difficult-to-reach environments.
• iRobot PackBot is a wheeled robot that is used for bomb disposal and other EOD tasks.
• Northrop Grumman MQ-9 Reaper is a large UAV that can be used for surveillance, reconnaissance, and airstrikes.
• Boeing Seaglider is a UUV that can be used for underwater surveillance and mine detection.
• The US military has a robot dog named Spot that it uses for reconnaissance and inspection. Spot can climb stairs, open doors, and even dance.

Risks of artificial intelligence in military

Military robots sometimes carry out unethical or illegal commands, Human rights groups and NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots started urging governments and the United Nations to issue policies to outlaw the development of so-called “lethal autonomous weapons systems”.

Setting up AI machines, and computers comes with huge costs, repair and maintenance run into thousands of dollars. AI machines are more efficient than humans but machines can’t replace humans, But it is impossible to replace humans with AI.

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