Finding new ways to lower the risk soldiers face has become a top priority for various branches of the military: researchers have an added challenge of developing technology that can adapt to conflict zones in conditions all over the world.
Autonomous military vehicles would need both the ability to go off road in many cases and have sensors that can determine whether a bush beside the road is a camouflaged enemy or merely a plant
“You’re in a very vulnerable position when you’re doing that kind of activity,” Michael Griffin, the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said during a hearing on Capitol Hill in April. “If that can be done by an automated unmanned vehicle with a relatively simple AI driving algorithm where I don’t have to worry about pedestrians and road signs and all of that, why wouldn’t I do that?”
Read the article at The Washington Post.