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Israel has a world-leading level in the development of artificial intelligence military Robots. After the “9.11” attacks in 2001, the United States has always focused on “asymmetric warfare” with terrorists who do not possess high-tech weapons. But the U.S. is also being forced to accelerate technological innovation in order to counteract Russia and China, which are pushing forward with the development of new military systems. This has led to the expansion of the global artificial intelligence technology competition, both military and civilian, to the field of military robots.

“My son is in the infantry. When my son was born, I thought that when he grew up and entered the army, the robot would be at the forefront of the battle, and he would be in charge of the robot.” Ben-Gurion UniversitymechanicalAmir Shapira, director of the Robotics Institute in the Department of Engineering.He’s not just about weaponsautomationHe was dissatisfied with the progress, and even said that “it would be nice if there were robots that could recognize the risks to soldiers and automatically carry out attacks.” What he emphasized was the need to have fully automatic combat robots including attack capabilities.

Israel is only the size of the Shikoku region of Japan, with a population of 8.3 million. Surrounded by hostile Arab states, Israel has been suppressing the Arab army with advanced technology. Outstanding recruits continue to enrich the military’s R&D department. After the young people are discharged from the army, they continue to engage in research and development work in enterprises or universities, and then return the technology and benefits to the army. This military-Industrial technology cycle system supports Israel’s technological innovation.

According to statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, from 2010 to 2014, Israel exported 165 drones, followed by the United States with 132. The United States began developing drones during World War I. Although drones were used to collect intelligence during the Vietnam War, the military did not fully recognize the need for such equipment and froze related research and development. Also in the 1960s, Israel was eager to learn about the armaments of neighboring Egypt. Later, the then-Israeli military intelligence chief, known as the “father of drones”, installed cameras on radio-controlled aircraft purchased from the United States and used them in reconnaissance operations, with unexpected results. Since then, Israel has devoted its national efforts to developing drones. By 1984, Israel was technologically advanced enough to export drones to the United States.

The development of land-based Robotic vehicles also started earlier. Israel joined the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) robotic racing program in 2004. Four years later, the world’s first quasi-autonomous military vehicle using artificial intelligence technology was deployed.

Noah Agmon, a senior researcher at Bar-Ilan University’s Department of Computing, who collaborates with the military on artificial intelligence research and development, said: “In the not-too-distant future, a single person will be able to operate dozens, if not hundreds, or thousands of robots. The time will come.”

Once a task is given, the “swarm” of robots automatically communicates and assigns work. On job sites such as tunnels or nuclear power plants that are difficult to operate from a distance, operators can have robots that are closer to relay instructions to a deeper location to complete the job. Researchers like Agmon around the world compete fiercely for “decision support software” to give the most accurate instructions. It is said that once this software is available, multiple robots operating on land, sea and air at the same time can be operated by a single person.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, global military spending in 2014 was down 0.4 percent from the previous year, but spending related to drones has skyrocketed to $6.4 billion. The institute predicts that spending will continue to grow at an average annual rate of 5.5% over the 10 years starting in 2014, reaching $10 billion by 2024.

Recent U.S. policy adjustments in the field of drone export and research and development have also contributed to the expansion of related markets. The U.S. government announced in February 2015 that it would ease export restrictions on drones that can carry weapons. Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Walker said in a speech in December 2015 that the 2017 budget will include $12 billion to $15 billion for the development of artificial intelligence and autonomous weapons, and the formation of combat forces for human-machine cooperative operations. . The mixed formations of soldiers and robots that Israel aims to build are also from the same concept.

Walker’s speech addressed the danger that “enemy” technology could overtake the United States. He proposed that with the development of military robots, Russia will become a “resurgent power”, and China is also “a country with strong potential technology research and development capabilities.”

According to Walker, the Russian army chief of staff recently stated that “in the near future, a unit composed entirely of robots will be created.” On the other hand, China has expanded its exports with “low prices” as a weapon. The price of the Chinese-made unmanned reconnaissance aircraft “Wing Loong” is about 1 million US dollars, which is only about one-third of the US Reaper drone.

American scientist Stephen Omohendro pointed out: “The military (of various countries) want to be equipped with (robot) systems that are more powerful than the enemy as soon as possible, which may allow the speed of system development to exceed expectations and trigger an arms race.” Forest)