Robots & Puddles: Surprises From Army RCV Test
Experimental Robotic Combat Vehicles are outperforming Army expectations. But soldiers are finding plenty of quirks to fix.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. on August 07, 2020 at 7:30 AM
WASHINGTON: “Right now, it’s very difficult for a robot that looks at a puddle. It doesn’t know if it’s a Marianas Trench, or if it’s two inches deep,†Army Maj. Corey Wallace told reporters this morning. “It’s something that we as human beings can contextualize, but the robot has a hard time doing it.â€
Private-sector R&D has made for tremendous advances in self-driving vehicles – though they’re still not street-legal – but those cars are designed to drive on roads. Army combat robots must maneuver cross-country, and as soldiers found in five weeks of field tests now wrapping up at Fort Carson, that’s a lot trickier for machines.
https://breakingdefense.com/2020/08/robots-vs-puddles-surprises-from-army-rcv-test/
