Autonomous Systems: Challenges and Opportunities
Abstract
Military, intelligence and industry officials are universal in their praise for autonomous systems. These systems have been used extensively in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and are already creating strategic, operational, and tactical possibilities that did not exist a decade ago. However, while these autonomous systems are of enormous value today and are evolving to deliver better capabilities to the warfighter, it is their promise for the future that causes the most excitement. These leading edge -- and indeed, revolutionary, systems -- offer unprecedented potential to be the game-changers that will provide tomorrow's military with heretofore unimagined capability. But for these autonomous systems to reach their full potential, important C4ISR considerations must be addressed. The science of building unmanned air, ground, surface, and underwater vehicles is well-advanced. But the costs of military manpower mandate we move beyond the "one-man, one-joystick, one-vehicle" paradigm that has existed during the past decades of autonomous systems development. We will present examples of ground-breaking work going on in the DoD laboratory community that is paving the way for a completely new paradigm -- multiple autonomous systems controlled by one operator -- providing their own command and control and self-synchronization as the "way ahead" for future autonomous systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA525347
Entities
People
- George Galdorisi
- Jose Carreno
- Rachel Volner
- Steven Koepenick
Organizations
- Naval Information Warfare Systems Command