A Glimpse of the Future

Sometimes we can get an idea of what lies ahead on the road before us, though we seldom recognize the clues when we see them. Here is a hint of the future to come.

Time Magazine named it "one of the most amazing inventions of 2004," but to terrorists in Iraq it may be the scariest. By April, GIs in Iraq will be deploying 18 robots so small they could almost crawl between your legs. But don't let size fool you; these motorized midgets pack a powerful punch. They can fire anything from a light machine gun to a six-barreled 40 millimeter grenade launcher or multiple rocket systems.

Robots are the future of warfare, and the US military is leading the charge. Right now these robots cost about 25k, but that number will drop considerably in 10 years. Soon the battlefield will be littered with robots, some on the ground like Sword, others in the air like Predator, and some on the water, and others under it.

Military robotics may be a long way from Isaac Asimov's vision of evolved, synthetic intelligence in I, Robot, but thinking machines already have become familiar sights, flying above or rolling through today's battle spaces. And now the U.S. Navy is ready to unveil a master plan that charts the course for new generations of warrior robots to help dominate the seas as well.

The last Navy unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) master plan was approved in 2000. That plan charted a 50-year course for UUV development, including their roles and missions -- intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR); mine countermeasures; oceanography; communication and navigation; and antisubmarine warfare.

The war of the future is going to be a war of robots, no doubt about it. The Terminator may very well come to be in the wars of tomorrow.