Michael Peck
Robot combat vehicles are becoming common features on the modern battlefield. From serving as mechanical mules and bomb disposal devices, unmanned ground vehicles have evolved into automated scouts, and gun and missile platforms that resemble miniature tanks.
But how will human operators control these vehicles? Typing commands into a laptop may be fine in a laboratory, but not in the middle of a firefight.
Hence, the U.S. Army wants to develop a system that allows crews of manned armor, such as tanks and troop carriers, to use plain-language voice commands to control robot vehicles.
“The system should interpret commands such as ‘move 300 meters east’ or ‘retreat to rally point’ and translate them into actionable, autonomous maneuvers,” according to an Army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) solicitation.
Despite predictions that drones will make traditional tanks obsolete, the Army isn’t giving up on old-fashioned manned armored vehicles. But it does envision expensive main battle tanks – and their precious crews – being escorted by hordes of cheap and expendable unmanned combat vehicles.
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