Jul 10 2020
Robots have led the way in numerous forms of exploration, from underground to outer space. A variety of organizations are counting on them to serve as partners in the next round of endeavors. The collaboration will evolve from solely between institutions and individuals into the personal relationship between specific warfighter and technologies.
SIGNAL Magazine’s July issue features an interview with Chris Giersch, public-private partnership lead at the Space Technology and Exploration Directorate, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. “With human space exploration, humans and robotics will be working hand-in-claw,” Giersch says. “If we can relieve mundane day-to-day duties where robots can handle the activities and allow the astronaut to truly explore, that will be a win-win.”
Researchers also are exploring how robots can learn to perform complex tasks by watching humans. This capability would enable people without technical skills to teach artificial intelligence systems to conduct functions or missions.
Ankit Shah, an MIT graduate student in the department of aeronautics and astronautics and the Interactive Robotics Group, explains, “We want to empower the domain experts to directly program autonomous systems rather than have software engineers act as translators between experts and the systems.”
Shah and his research team developed the Planning with Uncertain Specifications software system, a computer language that enables robotic reasoning about current and future outcomes. The group defined templates that model various time-based consecutive actions.
The ability to discern and conduct sequential acts will be important to getting robots into operations and so will experience on the battlefield. To this end, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory has built the Robotics Research Collaboration Campus as a place to evaluate robotic technology in an environment that resembles a real-world battlespace.
Located on a site where, in the past, nerve gas had been tested, the campus will be the laboratory with areas to test individual robotic technologies along with finished vehicles. Specific aspects of robotic technology can be evaluated during a robot’s development before being outfitted on vehicles. Researchers also can use the testbed to explore ways to link airborne robots with their vehicular counterparts on the field. Ultimately, researchers will test and evaluate future Army concepts that involve robots.
Other articles in the issue include “Teaching a Computer To Read Your Mind,” “Robots: Trusted Partners and Battle Buddies,” as well as “Aging Workforce Brings On COBOL Crisis.”
For more information about these topics as well as to further explore what’s happening in the cyber world through SIGNAL Media’s The Cyber Edge, check out the July issue online.
SIGNAL Magazine is the official publication of AFCEA International, which was established in 1946 as a non-profit membership association serving the military, government, industry and academia. Join online.
Source: https://www.afcea.org/site/