Navy Testing Swarm Bots

These new robots move from air to sea to shoot out drones.

The newest advancement in military style weaponry is a robot that will launch up to 30 synchronized drones within one minute, possibly from a single cannon-like device, according to CNN. The robots will be able to move in a pre-designated movement and will not need human contact for up to 90 minutes. The Navy is testing inside, but will move outdoors soon, and will shoot the robots from a cannon. They are calling the program Low-Cost UAV Swarming Technology, or LOCUST.

“In 3-D space you’re doing maneuvers, so that’s very complex. The other part of it is the ability to disaggregate and re-aggregate components,” he said. That means telling the drones “I need three of you to break off and go kill something or do some [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR,] come back and reform,” said Mastroianni. “It’s very, very dynamic.”

The programs will be controlled by lasers and on-board processors that are roughtly the size of a Rubiks Cube. The drones are small, of the Coyote variety, beacuse they are lighter than traditional drones.

The Navy hopes this will keep up the US domination in airspace: “Individually, robotic systems can provide warfighters significant advantages in a range of missions,” one of the inventors says. “Collectively, swarms of robotic systems have the potential for even more dramatic, disruptive change to military operations. Swarms of robotic systems can bring greater mass, coordination, intelligence and speed to the battlefield, enhancing the ability of warfighters to gain a decisive advantage over their adversaries.”

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