Recently, the above question was asked in Quora, a social media website. Below is my answer. As you will read, my primary motivation was in preventing people from forming onions based on superficial analysis and insufficient information.
Recently, there has been a bit of press about a Capabilities Advancement Demonstration of autonomous vehicles at TARDEC (Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center). My favorite headline about the demo so far is Is the U.S. developing a ROBOTIC army? (Daily Mail UK). Notice the attention-grabbing, alarm-generating capital letters for “ROBOTIC.” Read more
Ancient Romans looked at the remains of birds to decipher the future. Modern people –specifically those in the unmanned industry – look at government roadmaps. What does the latest Department of Defense (DoD) offering tell us about our upcoming prospects?
Biggest problems facing robot developers
Recently, I interviewed Rob Culver, Director of AMREL’s Business Development and Sales of Unmanned/Manned Vehicle Systems. Rob has done stints as a procurement officer, and in Special Projects Management Office at USASOC. After serving 23 years in the Army, Rob joined iRobot in 2005. He traces his lifelong interest in robotics to reading Robert A. Heinlein’s “Starship Trooper” and Douglas Adams “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.”
My sense is that unmanned systems, especially ground vehicles, are at some kind of crossroads. The technology is advancing rapidly, but the land wars are winding down. The domestic market hasn’t increased to the point to make up for the slacking demand by the Department of Defense (DOD). What do you see as the biggest challenge to the industry?
Sometimes, a simple image contains a lot of info. For example, Dan Piraro’s “Bizarro” cartoon illustrates several real-world issues for unmanned systems, some of which are discussed in this blog:
- Is There a Robot in the House? and Walk N’ Roll describe the controversies concerning human-like vs. non-human unmanned systems.
- Why you should care about the Uncanny Valley explains problems of “almost human” robots.
- Why are there more unmanned platforms than customers? touches on the pros and cons of multi- and single-purpose systems.
You may not have had a chance to see AMREL’s new interoperability capability at AUVSI, but you can read about it on your free download. Just as our Flexpedient® technology revolutionized OCUs for UGVs, we think interoperable Small Lightweight Expansion Devices (SLED) will become standard for handheld applications. Click here.
Wintergreen Research is publicizing a finding that the “…first responder and military ground robot marketplace will expand at close to 20% annually for the rest of the decade.” Furthermore, “Markets at $4.5 billion in 2013 reach $12.0 billion by 2019.”
This is welcome news for the developers of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV). Robohub points out that this projection is consistent with a Markets and Markets report that predicts a 17.4% CAGR for the same time period. Of course, any headline in the media must be greeted with a certain degree of skepticism. Do these projections make sense?
Privacy in the news
If you follow the news, it seems that many technological advances – computers, internet, emails, cell phones, and even unmanned systems – have turned against us. Instead of tools that serve, they have become instruments that watch and track.
Leaked documents revealed widespread government intrusion into emails and telephone metadata. Senators have raised suspicions about intrusive FBI investigative techniques. States fear Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and are restricting police access to them. Activists groups are agitating for privacy protections.
Even Superman is annoyed. In the movie Man of Steel, he trashes a UAV that was following him, while growling, “You can’t find out where I hang up my cape.”
Eye spy
I was having dinner with a new acquaintance when an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) bumped my foot. I looked down and saw a radio-controlled toy.
“Oh, don’t mind that,” said my host. “That’s just my son playing.”
“He plays too much with that thing,” groused the boy’s father. “What really bothers me is that it has a camera. I’m don’t like being spied on in my own home.” Read more
Originally, only the IT guy was supposed to attend the trade show. He had a tech background and frequently doubled as a purchasing agent. However, the police sergeant had performed Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) missions in the military. The chief thought the experienced, older man could bring insight to the department’s process for acquiring an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV)…
Read the rest of the article about handheld controllers here.
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