Welcome to my secondary research post.
In this post I will focus more on Autonomous Weapon Systems and use of AI in military technology. The best way to safe a soldiers life is to provide him with proper training and expose him to as few life-threatening situations as possible. With the emergence of Artificial Intelligence and it taking soldiers places might sound like next logical step, it comes with its own set of problems and challenges.
Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems or Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS/AWS) is a type of weapon that once activated does not need any human operator interaction. As what might first appear in our mind as an autonomous weapon system might be something from science-fiction movie, the first examples of autonomous weapon system might be simpler that we imagine, as a landmine also fits the description. Once deployed and left, unfortunately often forgotten, the mechanism inside mine can stay active indefinitely. As once military conflict ends, disarming dormant mines can take years without a guarantee that all of them has been found.
After a ban of anti-personal landmines in 1997, other types of mines are still in use in conflicts around the world. Recent development of robots dedicated to detect landmines, boosted by deep learning AI, will allow armies and humanitarian organisations to better mitigate the consequences of leftover minefields, allowing safer detection and following removal of a mine. With the improvement of cameras being able to detect and distinguish various land shapes and obstacles with the help of AI, previous challenges become easier and easier to topple, minimising human interaction with the explosives more and more. Potentially in the future, robots will be able to complete the whole operation by themselves.
Another AWS that is most commonly mentioned is an armoured drone. Being also labeled as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), it serves in advanced armies around the globe. Having a drone in the sky eliminates the need for the crew to operate the aircraft above friendly and enemy positions, minimising exposure of soldiers to potential deadly threats. Continuous use of UAVs proves, that armies are able to use such drones with the same degree of effectiveness as manned aircrafts.
With different types of drones being used for different purposes, we can distinguish main types that can let us segregate them into groups.
Fixed-Wing UAV's are mainly used for gathering intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (IRS), with such operations requiring the aircraft to stay in the air for a prolonged amounts of time. Compared to Helicopter drones, fixed-wind UAVs can stay in the air for much longer, with the disadvantage of needing much more space to start and land safely.
Helicopter drones are more commonly used in areas such navy surveillance or in places, where the drone has not much space to launch and land without the risk of colliding with obstacles. Rotors also give the drone more carrying power, allowing them to transport equipment in dangerous or difficult environments.
DeltaQuad VOTL fixed-wing UAV
MQ-8B Fire Scout helicopter UAV
As military drones has been operating without the use of AI in the past, implementation of said AI in the future could optimize how well the UAVs might be able to operate. Some of the challenges that engineers try to overcome are energy use and harsh conditions in which the machines are operating. With the required resources for AI to operate effectively, and with the same battery, the drones expected working time drops down significantly to the point in which its use is sub-optimal. UAVs present an unique challenge for scientists and engineers, as drones need to avoid obstacles and communicate wirelessly, and making sure that connection is private and secure is another problem.
Communication technology with applied AI technology
If future AI implementation is successful, AWS ability to adapt to everchanging environment in which it operates will increase dramatically. As eliminating wars from our potential future does not sound possible, having machines as our defenders might be something, that will leave the realm of science-fiction and become a reality. Let us hope, that the further development of Artificial Intelligence and weaponry will not end in apocalypse, as the James Cameron's 1984 action movie "Terminator" presented.
Writing this post helped me practice my information finding, with more focus on academic resources. Writing this post also helped me remove it from my priority matrix, freeing more time to resolve another important tasks.
Thank you again for reading my blog and I will see you in the next one.
References:
Longpre, S., Storm, M. and Shah, R. (2022) Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems & Artificial Intelligence, sciencepolicyreview.org. Available at: https://sciencepolicyreview.org/wp-content/uploads/securepdfs/2022/08/MITSPR-v3-191618003019.pdf (Accessed: 04 December 2024).
What you need to know about autonomous weapons (2023) International Committee of the Red Cross. Available at: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/what-you-need-know-about-autonomous-weapons (Accessed: 04 December 2024).
Landmine policy white paper - state.gov (2004) 2001-2009.state.gov. Available at: https://2001-2009.state.gov/t/pm/rls/fs/30047.htm (Accessed: 04 December 2024).
Ponraj Krishna, J. and Thilagar, K.V. (2024) Landmine Detection and Safe Booming Using 6 DOF Articulated System With Artificial Intelligence, ieeexplore.ieee.org. Available at: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10725245/authors#authors (Accessed: 04 December 2024).
Tactical Drones: Military-grade UAV: UAS & Helicopter Drones for ISR (2024) Unmanned Systems Technology. Available at: https://www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com/expo/tactical-drones/#:~:text=Battlefield%20intelligence%2C%20reconnaissance%20and%20surveillance,Aerial%20targets%20for%20training (Accessed: 04 December 2024).
Cheng, N. et al. (2023) AI for UAV-Assisted IoT Applications: A Comprehensive Review, ieeexplore. Available at: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10113154 (Accessed: 04 December 2024).
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