Singapore has launched a contest to build a robot that can operate autonomously in urban warfare conditions, like a human soldier.
SINGAPORE: Singapore has launched a contest to build a robot that can operate autonomously in urban warfare conditions, moving in and out of buildings to search and destroy targets like a human soldier.The country’s Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) said on its website it is offering one million Singapore dollars (US$ 652,000) to the developers of such a robot that completes a stipulated task in the fastest time.
DSTA said individuals, companies, universities and research institutes are welcome to participate in the contest, dubbed TechX Challenge. Foreigners must to collaborate with local partners to join the contest.
“Operation in urban areas represents a significant challenge to militaries,” DSTA chief executive Richard Lim said at the launch of the contest on Tuesday. “Recent military experiences in Iraq, the Middle East and other locations have clearly illustrated these challenges.”
Currently, robots deployed for urban warfare missions are remotely operated by a human, limiting their effectiveness and tying down resources, Lim said.
The robot DSTA wants “must, on its own, be able to navigate both indoors and outdoors in an urban landscape and accomplish a set of assigned tasks within a stipulated time,” he said.
This robot must be able to negotiate a staircase and use the elevator to dash from one floor to another even without the aid of satellite navigation which may not be available indoors.
Designing a robot that would be able to use an elevator, for example, will be a technological challenge, as not all elevators are designed similarly.
Navigation without satellite help would require the robot “to have machine vision capabilities to identify visual cues along its intended path to serve as waypoints,” Lim said.
Participants must submit their applications by the end of May this year and shortlisted participants will be announced in June.
The robots will be submitted for testing in a qualifying round in May 2008. A final round in August will crown the robot warrior that can complete the assigned task in the fastest time.
The DSTA hopes the project will sharpen the Singapore military’s technical edge.
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