Tags
anthropology, Artificial life, Combat Systems, communication, FCS, fiction, iraq, languages, Matilda, reconnaissance, robot soldiers, robotics, Synthetic antropology, unmanned, worlds
Within the discipline of anthropology, a number of
scholars have begun to examine the ever-expanding
subfield of synthetic anthropology, which examines
artificial beings, worlds, and languages as a means
of reaching a more comprehensive understanding
of human beings. Recent advances in robotics seem
to have brought science fiction to life, intriguing
the general population as well as anthropologists
and other scholars. In February 2005, the U.S.
government announced that it had accelerated its
development and use of what has popularly become
known as “robot soldiers.” Far more than being
entertaining, the use of artificial soldiers is predicted
to have enormous impact on saving the lives of
American soldiers engaged in reconnaissance
missions as well as in actual combat. The army
predicts that robot soldiers will be ready for the
battlefield in less than a decade. Financing the
robot soldiers will raise the cost of the Future
Combat Systems (FCS) project to $127 billion,
making it the most expensive military project on
record.
The United States is already using unmanned
aerial vehicles (UAVs), such as the Shadow, the
Raven, and the Ignat, to expand military capabilities
in Iraq. The military also plans to employ an
Extended Range Multi-Purpose (ERMP) program that
will expand the capabilities of UAV systems, which
are projected to number 8,000 by 2010. These
systems may be used for border patrol and
homeland security as well as in combat situations.
Army robots are the result of ever-advancing
technologies that have allowed the military to plan
for a time when each human soldier will be able
to tap into the resources of robotic trucks and
planes with up-to-date knowledge of targets,
reconnaissance, and communication. As a result,
soldiers will be able to supplement human instinct
with scientific knowledge when making tactical
decisions. As the technology behind the robot
soldiers advances, so will their abilities and uses.
By the middle of the 21st century, robots are
expected to become autonomous, rather than
being controlled by soldiers using laptop computers.
While some future robots will look like humans,
others may be disguised as hummingbirds, tractors,
tanks, cockroaches, or even dust.
Military visionaries began planning military uses
for robots as early as the 1970s, and the new robot
soldiers were preceded by less advanced models. In
the spring of 2003, the army employed “Matilda”
(Mesa Associates’ Tactical Integrated Light-Force
Deployment Assembly) in Afghanistan. About
the size of a dog, Matilda has a retractable arm
and claw. This robot was ideal for traversing
mountainous regions, seeking out members of
terrorists who might be using the mountains for
cover. Equipped with a video camera and sensors
designed to identify the presence of toxic gases or
other potentially dangerous substances in the air,
Matilda was also used in Afghanistan to test for the
presence of possible booby traps and to precede
soldiers into tunnels or other tight spots. Robots
have been used in Iraq since the beginning of the
war to detect mines and to serve as armed sentries
at weapons depots. A robot capable of firing 1,000
rounds a minute was expected be deployed on the
frontline in Iraq in the spring of 2005.
— Elizabeth Purdy