Fires, AI and human-machine prototype unites: Army gears up for Project Convergence

Fires, AI and human-machine prototype unites: Army gears up for Project Convergence
Fires, AI and human-machine prototype unites: Army gears up for Project Convergence

A trio of Army generals recently described the service’s plans for two-part Project Convergence event that will include new sensor-to-shooter integration, two formations with added robots, and a USMC autonomous watercraft.

‘It’s not translating’: Army general says to focus on realistic robotic integration

‘It’s not translating’: Army general says to focus on realistic robotic integration
‘It’s not translating’: Army general says to focus on realistic robotic integration

“Every time it’s like, go watch one [robotic tactical vehicle] follow another one around the parking lot and it runs over the curb and I’m like, ‘Come on, we got to do better than this,” Gen. James Rainey said today.

Why ground robotics are now critical in modern combat

Why ground robotics are now critical in modern combat
Why ground robotics are now critical in modern combat

Autonomy in the pursuit of interoperability is today’s path for ground robotics.

‘Lightning in a bottle’: Inside the ‘Origin’ of the Army’s future robotic fleet

‘Lightning in a bottle’: Inside the ‘Origin’ of the Army’s future robotic fleet
‘Lightning in a bottle’: Inside the ‘Origin’ of the Army’s future robotic fleet

The Army’s Project Origin robots have already changed the battlefield in exercises, but the office running the program says they’re just getting started.

Army robotics official: More autonomy could ease battlefield bandwidth worries

Army robotics official: More autonomy could ease battlefield bandwidth worries
Army robotics official: More autonomy could ease battlefield bandwidth worries

“What we’re trying to do is send as little information as possible that will allow you to build that battlefield visualization for the platoon,” Ted Maciuba, deputy director of robotics requirements at Army Futures Command, told Breaking Defense.

Army Researchers Tap Super Shrimp Tech, Envision Super Jumpers

Army Researchers Tap Super Shrimp Tech, Envision Super Jumpers
Army Researchers Tap Super Shrimp Tech, Envision Super Jumpers

“The idea of a loaded spring released by a latch is a staple in mechanical design, but the research team cleverly observed that engineers have yet to achieve the same performance out of a Latch-Mediated Spring Actuator that we find in nature,” Dean Culver, program manager at the lab, writes. “By more closely mimicking the geometry of a mantis shrimp’s physiology, the team was able to exceed accelerations produced by limbs in other robotic devices by more than tenfold.”

Army Robots Go Rolling Along – Ahead Of Schedule

Army Robots Go Rolling Along – Ahead Of Schedule
Army Robots Go Rolling Along – Ahead Of Schedule

Industry’s prototype Robotic Combat Vehicles are proving more capable than the Army expected, Brig. Gen. Richard Ross Coffman told me: “It is really exciting.”

Robot Wars: Shawn Brimley Responds

After our story yesterday on Robert Work and Shawn Brimley‘s disconcerting vision of future robotic war, we got a thoughtful response from Brimley that, with his permission, we’ve published below. The Editors. Bob and I wrote the paper because we feel strongly that there are some powerful trends affecting the relationship between technology and military…

Bird Dogs & Drones, Terminators & Swarms: The Race Towards Robotic Warfare

Bird Dogs & Drones, Terminators & Swarms: The Race Towards Robotic Warfare
Bird Dogs & Drones, Terminators & Swarms: The Race Towards Robotic Warfare

More robots, fewer people. That’s where the US military is headed in the future. But what kind of robots? Army Gen. Robert Cone, four-star commander of the powerful Training and Doctrine Command (aka TRADOC), said that the service is studying how robots could help replace 25 percent of the soldiers in each of its 4,000-strong combat brigades. That’s because the…

Robot Shoots ‘Em Up: Army Assesses Northrop’s MADSS

Robot Shoots ‘Em Up: Army Assesses Northrop’s MADSS
Robot Shoots ‘Em Up: Army Assesses Northrop’s MADSS

Here’s the latest exciting — and unnerving — unmanned system to catch our eye: a 1.5-ton robot that shoots the ever-living crap out of things. Oh, and the manufacturer, Northrop Grumman, most famous for building the B-2 stealth bomber, decided to call it MADSS, as in angry or insane. Perhaps they could’ve been a little…

Northrop Shows Off Smaller, Modular Robot For Tighter Budgets

NATIONAL PRESS CLUB: Since 9/11, robots have become commonplace tools for the military, police bomb squads, and hazardous materials teams. But as budgets tighten, not even the Pentagon can afford to buy many types of robots, each for a different mission. So Northrop Grumman’s subsidiary, Remotec, is rolling out a new robot called Titus specifically…

Navy’s ‘MacGyver’ Robot Turns Obstacles Into Tools

WASHINGTON: The US military wants robots that can work alongside soldiers without needing constant remote-control attention to keep them from knocking into things. That isn’t as easy as it sounds. While computers can out-process a human mind now by crunching huge numbers of numbers, when it comes to physical objects, even state-of-the-art robots make human…

Why The Military Wants Robots With Legs (Not To Run Faster Than Usain Bolt)

Why is the military’s elite research arm so interested in robots with legs? It isn’t speed. Boston Dynamics’ Cheetah robot, funded by DARPA, made headlines after it broke its own speed record yesterday and became the first robot to run on legs faster than the fastest human, track star Usain Bolt. Cheetah got up to…

Less Money, More Bureaucracy: Military Robotics After Afghanistan

LAS VEGAS: “We’ve been spoiled,” the colonel said. Since 9/11, the military has had “giant pots of money” to throw at urgent problems without going through the full acquisition process. It’s been a bonanza for contractors with innovative technology to offer. But as the war winds down, Lt. Col. Stuart Hatfield of the Army Capabilities…