Telepresence Android Scout/Commando

From: sanman (manofsan_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 07/12/04 

To: sci-military-moderated@moderators.isc.org
Date:  12 Jul 2004 10:13:51 -0700

Okay, after watching a movie preview for the upcoming "I,Robot"
starring Wil Smith, I'd really like to float this idea once again.

How about a remote-controlled robotic android type of platform, that
could be remotely piloted via telepresence?

The point of this android type of platform is that it can go where
only human beings can go, over rough terrain and building/structure
interiors where manned vehicles cannot.

Mountain warfare, jungle warfare, swamps, irregular terrain, and also
inside buildings, houses, tunnels, etc.

By "telepresence", I refer to video/audio/tactile feed from the drone
that could make the pilot feel like he/she is right there, where the
drone is.

These days, we keep hearing every day of soldiers getting killed by
carbombs, boobytraps, improvised explosive devices -- IED is now a
common acronym, since it is a weapon of common resort. Now that
hit-and-run guerrilla attackers have gotten smart and avoid direct
engagements in favor of remote bombs, conventional armies need to
upgrade to deal with this new reality, or risk inviting adversaries to
increasingly use these tactics.

A mass-produced remote-controlled robotic patrolman could make IEDs,
car-bombs and obsolete.

As a machine, the robot would not need all the layers of protective
gear (flak-jacket, etc, etc). You wouldn't need army medics for a
robot -- just pull and replace modules that have been damaged, or
scrap the whole unit and let the pilot login to a new one. If the
robot gets captured -- so what, blow it up, and let the pilot login to
a new one. No more POW worries. No worries about crying families,
spouses, kids, parents.

The pilot would not be situated on the immediate frontline, but would
rather be located some distance behind it. Or even above it, in a
support aircraft. For example, the drone could be para-dropped from
the aircraft into the heart of the enemy-infested area and reconnoitre
it, while the support aircraft maintains a safer distance.

The drone would be impervious to NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical)
weapons. It would not need special adaptive gear for cold, hot, or
harsh environments. As a mechanical chassis, it could be made to much
more rugged standards than the human body could ever meet. It could be
much lighter, much stronger, run faster, leap farther. It would not
suffer from physical exhaustion, illness, or need to carry food. It
could have a lower thermal signature. A fuel cell could power it. The
same fuel cell could be used as an explosive, should the need arise to
destroy the robot to prevent its capture, or even a target of
opportunity.

If you really have to immediately shell or bombard the area where the
robot is, because there's a high-value target, then you'd rather do
that to a robot than if there was a human scout there.

For urban terrorist or hostage situations where there might be
close-quarters combat, it might be better to have an expendable drone,
so that you could focus on saving the hostages' lives.

I don't think an android/anthropomorphic robot that moves like a human
is terribly far beyond today's technological capabilities. I also
don't think that a telepresence link to that robot is terribly far
beyond today's technology either.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Telepresence Android Scout/Commando
    ... it is in the "lets see if we can get a robot across the desert ... > scrap the whole unit and let the pilot login to a new one. ... the drone could be para-dropped from ... while the support aircraft maintains a safer distance. ...
    (sci.military.moderated)
  • Re: Inevitable computer arguments
    ... is not quite accurately programmed in happens, there goes the robot. ... I do not call that intelligence, just repeating a drone. ... I would say even the Turing test could be questioned, ...
    (rec.autos.makers.mazda.miata)