Defense Technology International - July 2007 - (Page 45)

RoboCops The maker of the U.S. military’s PackBot family of robots has teamed with Taser International to integrate Taser’s X26 stun gun on the PackBot Explorer. The goal is to develop robots for military and law enforcement that “remotely engage, incapacitate and control dangerous suspects,” state the companies, which started pitching a prototype of the Taser Robot at trade shows. The PackBot Explorer is a rugged, lightweight robot that can be handcarried and deployed by a single opera- 1 tor to search hazardous areas. The Taser X26 can hit targets 35 ft. away, penetrating 2 in. of clothing with electrical pulses. The military has been reluctant to use armed ground robots in combat, despite intense interest, due to safety concerns. It’s not clear they will feel more comfortable with a stun gun-toting robot, particularly in already prickly urban combat involving civilians. Taser’s recent image problems, prompted by accusations that stun guns caused the deaths of suspects with heart problems, probably won’t help the situation. I BO TC OR P. LANdroids Soldiers moving through urban environments struggle with poor radio communications caused by obstacles that distort signals. Wouldn’t it be handy if ﬁxing the situation were as simple as dropping tiny radios all over an area? That’s the goal of a new Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program called LANdroids. The robotic radios envisioned by Darpa would establish and manage themselves in a mesh network, a temporary local area network designed to establish communications. The network would be self-healing so that radios can reconﬁgure their signals to ﬁll the coverage gap caused by the destruction of any individual radio. (For more information on Darpa’s work in this area, see June 2 DTI, p. 46.) “Through movement and density, the LANdroids will enable effective communications in complex non-line-of-sight environments like those found in urban settings, dealing with phenomena like fades and shadows through strategic self-placement and chaining of the relays,” says Darpa. “Dismounted warﬁghters must be able to drop and go, beneﬁting from the infrastructure while it is in place but not being required NCY GE TS A to move back into harm’s way OJEC H PR EARC ES to retrieve the robots.” The robotic ED R ANC V E AD radios would be about the size of a deck of ENS DEF cards, weigh no more than 2.2 lb. and include the robot, processor and power source. Don’t expect these radios to show up in Iraq anytime soon. Darpa is planning a three-year effort to demonstrate the capability. I OVER THE EDGE ORBITAL SCIENCES CORP. Strike Two The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing an $8.97-million contract to develop a conventional ballistic missile capable of destroying targets around the world in less than an hour. The study is intended to fulﬁll U.S. Strategic Command’s Global Strike Initiative focused on ﬂeeting targets. It is an emerging rival to the Conventional Trident Missile program, which would convert nuclear-tipped Trident missiles by arming them with conventional warheads. Congress has rebuffed the Pentagon’s Trident conversion plans due to concerns that converted Tridents, once launched, could be misinterpreted by other nawww.aviationweek.com/dti 3 IRO tions as a nuclear strike, prompting retaliation in kind. The USAF study, which is scheduled to be completed in 2009, will use a Minotaur launch vehicle and a delivery vehicle designed to carry and dispense multiple BLU-108B/B sensor-fused weapons to the target area. If it works, the conventional strike missile could be available as early as 2013. Supporters of the program expect it will alleviate congressional concerns surrounding the Trident program. I Read Hockmuth’s posts on DTI’s weblog, Ares, updated daily: aresblog.net JULY/AUGUST 2007 DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL 45 http://aresblog.net http://www.aviationweek.com/dti

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Defense Technology International - July 2007

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