The Pentagon is looking for a contractor to come up with a "multi-robot pursuit system to search for and detect an uncooperative human." Yes, packs of robots will be sent to hunt down people like packs of dogs.
The software and sensor system will be controlled by a human operator. Potential scenarios include search and rescue, fire fighting and reconnaissance. The sensors could be those that detect human breath and the radio waves which betray a human heart beat.
However, New Scientist raised the question about whether the trend may lead to armed droids. The premier science magazine pointed out that since last year, iRobot is working with Taser International to mount tasers on their droids.
Imagine an army of armed robots in say a crowd control situation or even lethally armed droids controlled by just a single soldier in a war scenario.
The concerns expressed by experts in robotic engineering and police/military technologies is whether packs of hunting robots could be used responsibly and the tremendous risk to innocent bystanders could be adequately averted.
Robotic Hunting Packs
Pentagon to Produce Multi-Robot Pursuit System
Trend Themes
1. Multi-robot Pursuit System - The development of a multi-robot pursuit system that can search for and detect uncooperative humans presents disruptive innovation opportunities in search and rescue, fire fighting, and reconnaissance.
2. Armed Droids - The potential integration of armed droids raises disruptive innovation opportunities in crowd control situations and war scenarios, with the ability to deploy a controlled army of armed robots.
3. Responsible Use of Hunting Robots - The responsible use of hunting robots raises opportunities for disruptive innovation in robotic engineering and military technologies, ensuring the safe and effective deployment of packs of hunting robots.
Industry Implications
1. Robotics - The robotics industry can explore disruptive innovation opportunities in the development of multi-robot pursuit systems and the integration of armed droids.
2. Security and Defense - The security and defense industry has the potential to leverage disruptive innovation in the responsible use of hunting robots for crowd control and military operations.
3. Emergency Response - The emergency response industry can benefit from disruptive innovation in the development of multi-robot pursuit systems for search and rescue missions and fire fighting operations.