The Near-Future Automated Battlefield

A recent article in The Times talks about current and near-future battlefield technologies:

FORGET the Terminator. The killer robot of the 21st century will be the illegitimate child of a vacuum cleaner and a John Deere tractor. It does not wear sunglasses. And it is as likely to save your life as blow your brains out.

Meet the R-Gator, an unmanned, six-wheeled vehicle that can be programmed to follow soldiers around the battlefield like a mechanical pooch, using laser guidance to avoid obstacles. It can also perform unmanned patrols, carry soldiers’ backpacks and be upgraded to dispose of unexploded bombs.

Plans for the R-Gator were unveiled this week at a military engineering conference in Orlando, Florida, along with blueprints and prototypes of several other next-generation battlefield robots.

At this rate, the most essential piece of equipment for an infantryman will be the IFF transponder!