Posted on 03/20/2018 10:20:16 PM PDT by texas booster
China is testing driverless tanks which could be equipped with artificial intelligence, a state-run newspaper reported on Wednesday, as the country continues with its military modernisation programme.
State television showed images this week of the unmanned tanks undergoing testing, the Global Times reported.
Footage showed a Type 59 tank being driven by remote control, in what the paper said was the first time a Chinese-made unmanned tank has been shown in a public forum.
The Type 59 tank is based on an old Soviet model first used in China in the 1950s and has been produced in large numbers and has a long service life, it said.
“A large number of due-to-retire Type 59 tanks can be converted into unmanned vehicles if equipped with artificial intelligence,” Liu Qingshan, the chief editor of Tank and Armoured Vehicle, told the newspaper.
Driverless tanks will be able to work with other unmanned equipment and integrate information from satellites, aircraft or submarines, the report added.
China is in the middle of a major modernisation programme for its armed forces, including building stealth fighters and new aircraft carriers, as President Xi Jinping looks to assert the country’s growing power.
“It’s safe to say you can program the exact opposite of Uber vehicles.”
Well, not the -exact- opposite :)
Uber is a transportation where the passenger pays the maximum amount they can, the driver makes the least amount they can, and there is still a serious risk to both.
When I was young I drove pizzas around town. My dad didn’t like that risk, and I worked in the richest towns in Fairfield county, CT. I can only imagine the tension now.
That was a great game!
Sure. Given experience with “artificial intelligence,” they might want to rethink that.
the tanks eventually staged a coup and were put down by one student with an umbrella
aggressive intelligent weapons.
I’ve seen that movie, it doesn’t end well.
Marine Armor tried that some years ago at 29 Palms.
The big glitch was terrain. Human eyes can still see depth and terrain better than any video feed. The tanks kept getting stuck or tracks damaged by rugged terrain. An overwatch was used but still missed critical terrain features.
When the way forward is uncertain, controlled driving will be slower. Slow means dead.
A human driver can blend 3D vision with speed judgement.
You can now get stereoscopic video rigs from the commercial telepresence industry that just about replicate said vision, something not an option back then.
How does any new video technology work in dust and fog?
Humans have 3D vision and the judgement to quickly seek better driving terrain that computers will never have.
Um, you can get stereoscopic camera arrays now, which means you can get 3D video for humans doing remote piloting or for computers.
I have no doubt that vision technology will continue to excel.
My point is that it’s the judgement that comes from drivers that see, hear, and feel the movement of any vehicle in rough terrain is what is needed to effectively use armor.
Making choices about where to drive has to be done very quickly, some times intuitively. Computers and remote operators don’t do that very well on rough terrain.
That is what is fatal with armored warfare.
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