MILITARY ROBOTS

Military Robots

Vickey Ho

Jamie Carpio

Joycie Braswell

Edgar Morales

Period 5

Robotics

February 17, 2015

Abstract

This paper explains how military robots have helped humans and their improvements.

Robots are more beneficial than harmful to humans according to research. They can be used

throughout the world. Many companies produce and test robots for military use. Companies like

QinetiQ North America, Boston Dynamics, iRobot, and many more have led us to more advance

military robot use. Robots are lifesavers when it comes to being on the battlefield. Although

robots can cost a lot of money, it is worth it. Military robots give a huge impact in the military

and save more lives by taking the warfighters’ places.

Military Robots

Most people wander about, not realizing the actual concerns and affects that robots have

on humankind.Whether to lift heavy objects or build cars, robots are always helping. Some

robots aid surgeons on operations without having to be in the same room or hospital, others to

serve in military purposes. The weaponized robots are often under constant debate whether or

not they seem moral or safe. These military purpose robots have been a great use so far but there

is a possibility that they might not be for long. The uncertainties about morality and safety need

to be considered.

Because the military can be dangerous for humans, companies create robots as a

replacement for difficult jobs. Robots’ abilities include performing duties that are risky to

humans. They possess the capability to walk through mine fields, deactivate bombs, withstand

damage, and help soldiers. Military robots may help carry an injured soldier or human out of a

trapped area. They come in different sizes which makes small places more convenient for small

robots. Weapons can be included in most robots, because they have faster reflexes than humans

do. Robots include a better chance of success. Boston Dynamics, an engineering and robotics

design company, construct many robots used in the military. Their best known product is

BigDog, a rough-terrain robot. BigDog’s abilities include throwing and carrying items up to 340

pounds. According to engineers, it can lift, carry, and throw a cinder block. BigDog helps carry

military gear for soldiers anywhere. It has assisted the United States’ military and navy,

Although robots cost a lot of money, losing a human life is worse than losing money. Another

military robot created by Boston Dynamics is RHex. RHex devours rough terrain. It is capable to

run and climb on sand, mud, rock fields, railroad tracks, stairs, and slopes. RHex includes two

cameras, one on the front and one on the back. The remote used to control the robot can be
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distant up to 700 meters. RHex can go through wet weather and still operate. Robots give

humans another option. Jobs may be lost by robots, but the jobs can cause the human to have

health risks. Robotics improved overtime and changed the world for better. Less humans have

died from the robots taking their hazardous jobs. An example would be defusing bombs. Robots

are more efficient to do the job than humans. If the human defuses the bomb incorrectly, the

bomb will explode, killing the human. Replacing humans for robots can harm no living creature,

and if the robot collapses, a new one will be constructed. Robots are more beneficial than

harmful to humans and can be used throughout the world like in the military.

Robots have been around for a very long time, and they keep improving as our

knowledge advances; military robot MAARS is an example of this growth. MAARS, or Modular

Advanced Armed Robotic System, is from QinetiQ North America and is a UGV (Unmanned

Ground Vehicle). MAARS is designed for reconnaissance, which is military observation of a

region to locate an enemy. It is also designed for surveillance and target acquisition (RSTA)

missions to increase security of personnel manning forward locations (MAARS). Being agile and

ready for combat, MAARS is a breakthrough in technology, taking the place of warfighters on

the frontline to keep them a safe distance from enemy fires. QinetiQ has not only constructed

robots built for land; they have built Hull Crawlers, an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV)

with a crawler, imaging sensor payload, and an operator control unit that performs EOD hull

inspections (Hull Crawlers). The Hull Crawler(s) removes immediate danger that is associated

with EOD diver inspections by administering operators with high-quality sonar imagery and up-

close video to reduce any detections that were incorrectly made (Hull Crawlers). By using this

hull crawler, EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) technicians are less likely to be injured due to

the fact the hull crawlers will be inspecting the biological, chemical, and even nuclear, weapons.
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The hull crawlers will reduce any pain or harm that might be inflicted to an EOD technician.

This is extremely helpful because those technicians, after inspecting the those man-made

underwater objects, usually demolish the investigated equipment afterwards. These hull crawlers

and the MAARS robots are minimizing the potential threats the EOD technicians and military

fighters face almost every day thanks to QinetiQ North America Company.

Due to the fact that working in the military puts a person’s life in danger, many

companies like IRobot have created UGV, unmanned ground vehicles, robots that can be used to

do most of the risky jobs that can be found in the military. These UGV robots have the ability to

detect and defuse bombs. They perform duties similar to human duties without the harm to

humans. According to IRobot, their “combat-proven defense and security robots perform

multiple missions for troops and public safety professionals.” Though typically unmanned, they

can also be operated remotely. According to Newsweek, Robot dogs have been changing the

face of warfare. With Israel already using UGV robots, no army is complete without them. The

British Army has recently purchased 60 Terriers, ”an armoured digging vehicle designed to

breach enemy obstacles and excavate ditches and trenches.” UGV’s provide significant

advantages in the battlefield. More robots in the battlefield means less bags packed to head to

war. By allowing robots like the 110 FirstLook, the 310 SUGV, and the 710 Kobra from IRobot,

less lives will be put on the line and less bags will be packed.

Subsequently, military automatons offer a potential solution to end and prevent wars.

Military robots, as controversial as they might be, would provoke a series of sociological

impacts. Those ramifications would include an increase in resentment from humans, an

escalation in lethargic people, and an uneasy feeling from the soldiers that could affect their

performance. Military robots do take risks that could save human lives, for example the robots
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that disarm bombs. The bomb disarming substitutes take the risky job from the soldier, instead of

allowing the soldier to be in danger. “The big advantage is that we’re far away from it when it’s

doing any actions.” This quote from the article Explosive Ordnance Disposal Robots help save

Lives displays the help that is given from the robots.The robots take the human’s place in a life

or death situation, this is one of the main reasons why automatons are in use in the military.

However, experts believe that the soldiers could grow resentment towards the mechanical beings.

This resentment is not advantageous for the troops. As stated earlier, one of the sociological

reverberations is an increase in lethargic people. Since robots do most of the hard labor, the

people could just leave most of the work to the automatons, thus losing focus of their real

mission. Another sociological repercussion would be the rising feeling of uneasiness. There is a

chance that the mechanical soldiers could be hacked, therefore turning against the friendly side.

This knowledge affects the soldier’s mentality; the soldier can never really be completely

focused if the soldier thinks the robot could turn on him at any time. To conclude, the

sociological impacts that the military robots cause are resentment from humans, an escalation of

lethargic people, and the uneasy feeling haunting the soldiers. These impacts would cause the

little society of the army camps to become worse.

References

.Boston Dynamics. (2013). Retrieved February 19, 2015 from http://www.bostondynamics.com/

Hull Crawlers. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2015, from

https://www.qinetiq-na.com/products/unmanned-systems/hull-crawlers/

MAARS. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2015, from

https://www.qinetiq-na.com/products/unmanned-systems/maars/

Military Robots. (2015). Retrieved February 19, 2015 from http://www.armyofrobots.com/

Newsweek (2015). Retrieved February 19,2015, from

http://www.newsweek.com/2014/07/04/how-robot-dogs-are-changing-face-warfare-

261590.html

Wilson, D. (2013, May 6). Explosive Ordnance Disposal robots help save lives. Sun Journal.

http://www.newbernsj.com/news/military/explosive-ordnance-disposal-robots-help-save-

lives-1.138481

IRobot. (2015) Retrieved February 19, 2015, from

http://www.irobot.com/About-iRobot/Company-Information.aspx