Robotics and Autonomous Systems: –
The Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Industry has seen ever-increasing relevance and importance in its applications both within the Department of Defense (DOD) and throughout society. Enhancing human productivity in activities ranging from self-driving automobiles to unmanned aircraft that can deliver weapons without requiring human control or consent, the development and advancement of these technologies have the potential to alter daily life as we know it. These emerging capabilities provide ample opportunity for the DOD to influence and leverage these capabilities to support national security strategies. This paper will examine the industry, current and future RAS applications as they relate to increased human productivity, and the implications these advancements have on our way of life. It will then provide recommendations on what the DOD can do to better position itself to capitalize on RAS growth and prevent missteps.
We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before. We do not yet know just how it will unfold, but one thing is clear: the response to it must be integrated and comprehensive, involving all stakeholders of the global polity, from the public and private sectors to academia and civil society.
…an entirely new war-fighting regime in which unmanned and autonomous systems play central roles for the United States, its allies and partners, and its adversaries. U.S. defense leaders should begin to prepare now for this not so distant future – for war in the Robotic Age.
A vital aspect of maintaining the United States’ (U.S.) technological superiority in the area of national security is leveraging and optimizing the most advanced systems available to the Department of Defense (DOD). In order to do so, the DOD has relied upon industry to produce technological dominance, affordability, and capacity. Further, continued technological improvement has been a bedrock economic principle for growing the U.S. economy and improving its citizens’ standard of living. In the past decade, the trend in many of these systems has been to further distance the operator from the battlespace either physically, cognitively, or both, through the collective capabilities of robotics and autonomous systems (RAS). Similarly, many civilian industries have witnessed the introduction of robotics, including systems with some degree of autonomous capability, into some aspect of their operations.
RAS are becoming indispensable for human productivity in two specific aspects. First, the ability to teleoperate in “real-time” to accomplish tasks which are dull, dirty or dangerous; and second, to accomplish tasks with greater speed or precision than humans are capable. The impact of these two aspects of robotics on human productivity is most easily seen through their influence on time – either “expanding” our productive potential by allowing humans to shed simple tasks to concentrate on others, such as with self-driving vehicles; or through time “compression” whereby the system can operate and make autonomous decisions exponentially quicker than humans are capable.
Nevertheless, increasing reliance on these capabilities does not come without a cost. As this paper will demonstrate, the complexities of these machines are mirrored by the difficult issues that arise in their use. Robots are beginning to replace human workers around the world with impacts being felt in labor markets. Additionally, issues have surfaced regarding our ability to trust in these systems or, more specifically, the software that controls them. It is one thing to have a human-piloted jet release weapons against the enemy; it’s another to allow an armed drone to decide whom to attack without human involvement. This uneasiness is only amplified with the near-constant threat of cyber intrusions into “impenetrable” computer systems such as the Office of Personnel Management, Yahoo, and JP Morgan Chase. Finally, there appears to be little consensus on the direction within the RAS enterprise to include standardized terminology, legal norms and regulatory frameworks, or outcomes desired by the U.S. military and civilian communities.
This paper delivers an analysis of the RAS industry, provide examples of how these systems increase human productivity through the ability to teleoperate or gain a “time advantage,” present several issues for consideration, and deliver recommendations on how the U.S. Government in general, and the DOD specifically, can best leverage these systems. This paper also offers several definitions to provide a common frame of reference and enable a broader community to contribute to the discussion on the current and future use of RAS.
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