Last week I wrote about the possibility of drones that could capture, rather than kill. Specifically, I wrote:
...the only challenge after stunning the target would be how to “capture” them and haul them off. The capture and securing part could be accomplished by one of Harris Corporation’s robotic arms.
with respect to an aerial form of capture, Boeing has successfully flown 500 hours on an unmanned version of the Little Bird helicopter. The Little Bird is a combat proven platform that was used to evacuate casualties in Grenada, conducted rescue missions in Panama, conducted a pretty famous rescue mission in Somalia, and numerous other operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. This new version of the helicopter is capable of dual-pilot, single pilot, or pilotless operations and is definitely capable of carrying a detainee away. The only questions would be, how do you disable and disarm the detainee? (a stun PHASR perhaps?) And how do you get him onto the Little Bird? (another robotic arm?).
Today, I learned that researchers at Drexel, led by engineering professor Paul Oh, are working to add arms and hands to unmanned aerial vehicles. The research project is funded with a three year, $649,999 National Science Foundation grant. According to a Drexel press release:
UAVs currently perform passive tasks such as gathering in-flight visual data and intelligence, tasks that are performed well above ground. Oh’s team is looking at how UAVs might interact with objects at or near ground level. The group’s research focuses on developing what the NSF calls “Mobile Manipulating UAVs” –with arms and hands capable of performing active near-ground tasks. Oh envisions a broad range of applications from infrastructure repair and disaster recovery to border inspection and agricultural handling.
“These types of aircraft will advance field service robotics for things like search and rescue and disaster mitigation,” Oh said. “It could help with infrastructure repair; instead of hoisting someone up to a bridge, these robots might be equipped to fly up to the bridge and start welding.”
Once these engineers overcome the challenges associated with mounting and operating robotic hands and arms on UAVs, it will only be a matter of time before they scale the technology to allow military UAVs to capture individuals or air lift wounded troops. The future I referenced in my prior post seems closer than I had realized (I will refrain from any Skynet references ... at least for now).
Gregory S. McNeal is a professor who specializes in law and public policy. You can follow him on Twitter @GregoryMcNeal.
