The Impact of Robots on Select Military Operations An Interactive Qualifying Project Report submitted to the Faculty of the WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science by Daniel Duffty, Class of 2010 __________________________ Audra Sosny, Class of 2010 __________________________ Date: May 5, 2009 Approved: Professor David Brown, IQP Advisor Abstract The project focused on the current and predicted impact of robots on surveillance, reconnaissance, automated defense, and bomb disposal operations. It investigated existing products and technologies to create a representation of society’s present opinions. The project considered technological, legal, and ethical concerns affecting the advancement of military robotics. It anticipates future developments by analyzing opinions from interviews and data from a survey. The project concluded that society endorses the evolution of robotics not involving lethal force that benefits the military. ii Executive Summary This project, entitled The Impact of Robots on Select Military Operations, studies the current and predicted impact of robots on surveillance, reconnaissance, automated defense, and bomb disposal operations. The project group, Daniel Duffty and Audra Sosny, investigated what robotic technologies are available, how the military presently uses robots, what society thinks about military robots, and what the future of military robots may hold. The use of robotics throughout all facets of society is rapidly increasing. As an emerging field with few developmental restrictions, society’s reaction to and support of robotics varies greatly. The problem is that society supports the military using robots for some purposes, but not all. Another problem is that society supports robots with certain capabilities, but not all. Thus, it is not only critical but also necessary for the government and those companies designing military robots to understand the current and potential future acceptance of robotics. The main goal of this project is to learn about society’s attitude toward military robots. The results demonstrate how robots do and may affect military operations as well as support speculation about the future development of such robots. This project aims to capture society’s initial stance toward military robots in the hope that the government and robotics companies will consider such information useful. The group started the project by investigating existing products and technologies currently available to the robotics industry. There are presently several companies developing military robots under United States government contract. The group investigated the capabilities and limitations of the robots presently used by the military. These findings are discussed in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of the paper. After collecting sufficient background information, the group used the findings to develop survey questions. iii The goal of the survey was collect society’s opinions about the use of robots for select military operations. The survey questions asked the participant how he or she would define a robot, how much a robot might be trusted to perform a task successfully, and how much a robot might be trusted to perform a task automatically. The questions asked about general military tasks with a focus on the four select military operations: surveillance, reconnaissance, automated defense, and bomb disposal. The group utilized survey development theory by researching how to write survey questions. In addition, Professor Jeanine Skorinko, a Professor from the WPI Social Science & Policy Studies Department, provided advice about the development of the survey questions. She provided ample information and guidance regarding how to eliminate leading questions, order the survey questions, and get the information that we desired out of the survey. The efforts resulted in approval to conduct this study by the WPI Institutional Review Board. The largest source of data for this project is from the survey results. The group used the results to help form opinions about the future development of robots, as well as impact of robots. In addition, the group conducted interviews with professors at WPI who teach courses in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, and robotics. The group also interviewed military cadre of the Army and Air Force ROTC programs at WPI. While the interviews were not mainly used as a reference in the paper, the responses proved very helpful in forming the group’s opinions. The survey results are discussed in Chapter 7 and the interviews informed Chapters 8 and 9. Furthermore, the group remained up-to-date with news related to robotics while forming conclusions. The main outcome of the project is that our research shows that society is generally supportive of robotic development. Overall, society is not supportive of robots using lethal force iv with or without the permission of a human soldier. Society believes that the use of robots by the military is beneficial and there are no major ethical conflicts. Presently, there are no major restrictions hindering the development of military robots. It is likely that in the near future more ethical and legal restrictions will develop. The group concluded that the establishment of such laws is necessary to regulate the future development of robots, specifically those used by the military. As technology advances, the use of robotics by consumers and the military will increase. This emphasizes the importance of understanding the opinions of society, especially as it relates to military robots. The development of robots with capabilities that society does not support may result in major protest. The group recommends that the government seriously consider performing more studies related to society’s opinion of military robots. That type of preventive measure will eliminate most future disagreement and increase support. The development of robotics is serious and should be studied in detail. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... ii Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents .....................................................................................................................................vi Authorship ...............................................................................................................................................ix Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND: A BRIEF HISTORY OF ROBOTS ................................................ 3 CHAPTER 3: MILITARY OPERATIONS .......................................................................................... 9 SECTION 3.1: SURVEILLANCE ................................................................................................................ 9 SECTION 3.2: RECONNAISSANCE ......................................................................................................... 10 SECTION 3.3: AUTOMATED DEFENSE ................................................................................................... 11 SECTION 3.4: BOMB DISPOSAL ............................................................................................................ 12 CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................... 14 SECTION 4.1: BACKGROUND RESEARCH .............................................................................................. 14 SECTION 4.2: INTERVIEWS .................................................................................................................. 15 SECTION 4.3: SURVEY ......................................................................................................................... 16 SECTION 4.4: FUTURE PREDICTIONS .................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER 5: RESTRICTIONS ......................................................................................................... 20 SECTION 5.1: TECHNOLOGICAL ........................................................................................................... 20 SECTION 5.2: LEGAL ........................................................................................................................... 21 SECTION 5.3: ETHICAL ........................................................................................................................ 22 CHAPTER 6: TOOL DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................ 24 SECTION 6.1: SURVEY QUESTION DESIGN ............................................................................................ 25 SECTION 6.2: INTERVIEW DESIGN ........................................................................................................ 26 CHAPTER 7: DATA ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................... 29 SECTION 7.1: SUMMARY OF DEMOGRAPHICS ......................................................................................