Making of ‘Robot’ Army
Entering the elite league of countries like Russia and Israel who are using robots to defend their international borders, India is investing heavily into creation of an Intelligent Unmanned Army Robot (IUAR) for civilian/military use. This next generation hi-tech army is expected to replace human intervention in hazardous and border patrolling missions, and also in diverse military/civilian applications like surveillance, security services, riot control, hostage situations, police/law enforcement, terrorist attack scenario, etc. The unmanned army is likely to be of several strategic use in the event of chemical, biological, radiological and explosive threats, especially at the time of a full-scale war-like scenario against heavy enemy fire.
In 2011, the Indian army achieved its first major milestone enroute its New-Age warfare when Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) handed over the first five units of Daksh – a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) to General Combat Engineers of Indian Army. In this article we try to map the landmark achievements of the country enroute to raising of its own robot army:
- Mission ‘Daksh’: In May 2002, DRDO’s Research and Development Engineers laboratory in association with some private players started work on the project to build India’s first Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), Daksh. This 100 percent indigenous robot was designed to handle, scan and defuse Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). It could navigate through difficult terrains, staircases, steep slopes, narrow corridors and even hazardous sites with great ease. Its induction into the army was seen as infusion of technology in the war against terrorism and neutralization of non-state actors.
- Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV): In December 2011, DRDO set on a Rs. 500-crore UGV mission to develop a wide range of vehicles for military use, over a period of 10-years. These state-of-the-art robots were to be used in the event of counter-insurgency, urban and jungle warfare situations, surveillance and reconnaissance operations and safe handling and disposal of IEDs. However, future UGV applications will require development of more powerful technologies for autonomous navigation in unstructured terrains and harsh environmental conditions. Advances in machine learning will reduce the cognitive burden on operators and enhance efficiency of machine-human interactions, thereby enabling more advanced operations, such as manned and unmanned teaming.
- Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV): DRDO’s Pune laboratories – R&DE, has developed a battery operated UAV – Netra for aerial surveillance and recce operations so as to obtain live video feeds in case of terrorist situations. With thermal imager capabilities for night operations, Netra is currently being used by paramilitary and police force. DRDO has also created a cost-effective re-usable high subsonic aerial target system – Lakshya, which is powered by a gas turbine engine and can be launched from land or ship. It has also designed a multi-mission UAV – Nishant, for battlefield surveillance and reconnaissance, target tracking & localization, and artillery fire correction.
- Unexploded Ordnance Handling Robot (UXO Robot): Considered to be the most dangerous category of military ammunitions, the robot is designed to detect, handle and diffuse unexploded bombs and missiles up to 1000 kg, remotely. Made exclusively for the Indian Air Force, it can manage explosive ordnance that are prepared for action, launched, placed, fired, released or accidentally dispersed in a manner that it fails to explode.
- Multi Agent Robotics Framework (MARF): Centre for Artificial Intelligence (CAIR), a DRDO research lab has made a range of robots – wheeled robot, snake robot, humanoid robot, wall-climbing robot, sentry robot…for varying military uses. It is in the process of developing a Multi Agent Robotics Framework (MARF) to use robots in scenarios like the Pathankot Attack. This dynamic multi-layer architecture would enable a team of robots to seamlessly communicate and collaborate during the course of a live mission, much like the soldiers do in any live military action.
- BEL robot: Scientist of defence PSU, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) are developing all-terrain robots equipped with sensors and programmed to communicate with the Control Centre with the primary objective of border surveillance. This AI-enabled patrol robot is being programmed using customized algorithms that will instruct the robots to perform specific tasks.
- Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs): DRDO’s Hyderabad based lab, Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS) is working on next generation laser-based or microwave-based high power DEWs that can quietly disable enemy drones or missiles temporarily or permanently without a shot being fired or leaving physical debris.
- Swarm Drones: Apart from its current fighter plane projects, the LCA and advanced medium combat aircraft or AMCA, India would look at pilotless hardware such as combat drones or UCAVs (unmanned combat air vehicles), as well as swarm drones that fly in tandem for surveillance, attack or intelligence gathering. There is every possibility of future UCAV programs using the Kaveri engine.
DRDOs Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR) has been dedicatedly working in the field of Intelligent Unmanned Systems, Computer Vision Processing and Artificial Intelligence. It has already developed industrial grade capability robots and futuristic research oriented robotic platform. Presently, CAIR is focused on creating Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies that could be applied in actual military missions, and is working on development of a dynamic robotic technology platform because robot soldiers would need to do a lot of communication with each other in the battlefield. Conscious of the fact that enormous amount of database and analytical intelligence would be generated, the robotic platform would require a robust Artificial Intelligence set-up to avoid collision.
DRDO’s Robots Action Ready
- Robot Sentry – It is a mobile robot designed for patrolling and surveillance applications in urban campuses.
- Snake Robot – Its 14-active joints allow lateral undulation, side winding and rolling gaits to help it navigate through difficult passages, which makes it a potent tool for reconnaissance and surveillance both during defensive and offensive plans.
- Wall Climbing Robot – These miniature tracked robots are capable of climbing vertical walls, and they use impeller to generate suction to remain closer to the walls. The have an on-board camera for video feedback.
- Hexapod Robot – These six legged robots akin to a reptilian leg can travel in any direction with a high degree of stability, and are equipped with ultrasonic sensors for obstacle detection and avoidance
- Wheeled Robot – This robot uses its six actuated wheels is designed to navigate through most difficult terrains with great stability, and can negotiate steps of up to 200mm in height.
Considering the milestones that DRDO has achieved over the last two decades and the nature of projects it is presently engaged with, sooner or later India is likely to have its own robot soldiers capable of doing multiple tasks, including fighting humans, carrying loads of ammunitions and all these controlled from remote locations. This would help the Indian Armed Forces in not deploying people in areas that are very difficult to access. Instead, the robot soldiers could be put to use in crisis situations or carrying of huge payloads for mine detection or surveillance…
-Manoj Mahanta
Team ScienceNow Digital
