Technologies made for warAutonomous systems considered the next big thing in defence technologyRebecca Merrett (CIO 29 May, 2014文章主要讲述了无人机和移动设备、可创戴设备在军事中的应用。重点是构建移动应用商店的创意大大胆尝试。As dark as it may sound, warfare and the need to outsmart the enemy is often a catalyst for new technology, making the defence industry a leader in innovation. In fact, some of the worlds most innovative technologies were borne out of war.For example, the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (ENIAC) was initially used for artillery firing tables in World War Two and was 1000 times faster than electromechanical machines.“Everything youve probably seen in the consumer arena today has its roots in a defence project: Computers, GPS, networking, wireless communications everything really started with some military application,” says Alex Zelinsky, chief defence scientist at the Department of Defences Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO).Zelinsky leads a number of research projects at DSTO, one of which is developing a range of autonomous systems. These self-governing systems use sensor data, artificial intelligence, human-machine interfaces, communication networks and fast search algorithms to control actions and are considered the next big thing in defence technology.这些自治系统使用传感器数据、人工智能、人机界面、通信网络和快速查找算法去控制运动，被称为国防技术的“下一个重大事件”。Emerging autonomous systems include submersibles for clearing mines in the ocean, surface vehicles for monitoring and patrol of waters, trucks for moving heavy equipment, and four-legged robotic mules that carry equipment for soldiers.Autonomy in actionUnmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)无人机 , which are now being controlled by autonomous systems, were used by Australian troops in Afghanistan for surveillance of hazardous areas.UAVs carry a range of sensors, cameras and laser systems to capture footage of an area that feeds back to a screen at a base terminal for viewing in real time by a soldier.“The soldiers carry a very small UAV that they literally take out of their backpack and throw into the air,” Zelinsky explains. “It takes off to do some surveillance work, maps out an area and sends live video signals back to see if there are any dangers nearby.”These dangers include improvised explosive devices or bombs. A soldier can then remotely defuse the bomb using the robotic vehicle, Zelinsky says.An example of a UAV is the Royal Australian Air Forces Heron Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), which proved its worth in Afghanistan, says Department of Defences CIO, Dr Peter Lawrence.无人机在阿富汗战场上有所表现。As a result, the Australian Government has extended its deployment to Afghanistan, providing high resolution intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support until July 2014.UAVs are also becoming prevalent in maritime patrol operations through the AIR 7000 project. The project will see the current AP-3C Orions aircraft replaced with high-altitude, long endurance UAVs.UAVs and autonomous systems may be the future of defence, but there are concerns about how they could affect humanity. Zelinksy says its important to keep humans in the “centre of the loop” with the ability to control the systems and make decisions.“The machine shouldnt decide whether something is a red target or a blue target,” he says. “You really need to put people in the loop where they see the information, they get all the intelligence and they say ah huh, we think this is a legitimate target or it is the right target. The person with the right authority actually issues the command.”Autonomous systems can be supervised in the same way people supervise each other, allowing greater degrees of autonomy across certain tasks.“If the systems just go off and act with total autonomy, or are self-governing, then you dont have any control,” Zelinksy says. “Thats not the way the military operates today and we are certainly not proposing any new technology would work any differently.”Having a soldier operate a single UAV is all good and well, but it doesnt offer much of a gain in productivity, Zelinsky continues. The challenge he is working through is to have the UAVs communicate with each other so that one soldier can operate multiple autonomous systems in a coordinated fashion.当前的挑战是能够使无人机能够通信，这样的话一个士兵就可以在协同模式下同时操控多个自动系统。This means flying vehicles need to be self-aware so that they dont collide with each other, maintain high bandwidth communications, and feature high-level command controls.The human-machine interface is another consideration. “You wouldnt have nine joysticks for example; its just impossible to simultaneously fly nine planes,” Zelinksy points out. “We need to think about how to do that differently. These things would require greater intelligence in the machine itself.”Another challenge is making autonomous systems more lightweight and energy efficient so they can stay powered for extended periods of time. According to Zelinsky, many soldiers often have to carry batteries weighing up to 20 kilogra