Autonomy In Machinery

As we take a look around us at the world today, we can see how technology has become a big part of our everyday lives as members of society living on earth. The use of technology has assimilated into almost every aspect of everyday life as we know it. From simple task such as waking up in the morning to more difficult ones like calculating very advanced mathematical equations, technology has proven to be an aid at every step in the process. However, the benefits of using technology have created a common dependency among people. The idea of going back to a world where technology wasn’t as capable as it is today would without a doubt be an idea that many would reject. As a society, technological advancement has come so far that we are now looking for ways to have it seamlessly incorporated into daily life. This is where autonomy in technology would come into play. Autonomy is the capability for an object to govern its own actions.

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In terms of autonomy in machinery, I believe that there are three key categories that have been made a focus in today’s society. The three specific categories of autonomy that I speak of are weaponry, land vehicles, and aviation vehicles. It is in these three categories that the greatest advancements will have taken place when they breach the threshold of autonomy. Adding this new aspect into each individual field will undoubtedly propel the world into a new phase. Various task that a person may have to accomplish on the daily basis, no matter what sort of work they do, will be revolutionized.  

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When discussing the field of autonomy in weaponry, I am referring to the government use of military weapons in the most practical situations. The field of autonomous weaponry falls under the umbrella of LAWS, an acronym which stands for Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems. A major reason why LAWS is such a topic of discussion nowadays is because they need little to no human assistance in order to seek out and recognize their targets. This has posed the question as to whether it is ethical that weapons have the capability to seek out, target, and fire on enemies without a person handling it. In order to ensure that autonomous weaponry is headed in the right direction, a group called the GGE has been tasked with overseeing the field. The acronym GGE is used to abbreviate the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts; the overseeing group that governs the use of LAWS throughout the entire world.

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Autonomous land vehicles are a much less controversial topic of discussion than autonomous weaponry. With many vehicles today already having hints of autonomous features incorporated into its’ design, a future of highly autonomous land vehicles seems to be right around the corner. The two systems used to aid in the vehicles self-driving process are the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) and the ADS (Automated Driving System). There are five levels of autonomy that a land vehicle is capable of attaining, each one using either the ADAS or ADS. Levels one and two use the Advanced Driver Assistance System to help with the steering, braking and acceleration of the vehicle. This means that there must be a driver behind the steering wheel of the car at all times. A level one vehicle like the 2016 Chevy Malibu Hybrid will usually include rear cameras and precautionary warning systems for when drifting between lanes. The Tesla Model S is the perfect example of a level two vehicle because it is self-driving to the extent that there still needs to be someone sitting behind the wheel. Levels three through five all use the Automated Driving System, meaning there doesn’t have to be anyone sitting behind the wheel to ensure a safe trip. Vehicles of this level of autonomy are fully capable of performing all driving task. An example of a level three vehicle would be the Google Driverless Self Driving Autonomous Car.

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There are three types of aviation vehicles that fall into the category of autonomy in aviation; they are drones, helicopters, and fighter jets. Drones can be classified under either one of the two categories of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) or UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System). In most cases drones will be used for commercial purposes, the only exception would be the use of them for military resolves. The main difference between the two drones is that the UAV serves more of a militaristic role, such as with surveillance drones, while the UAS is typically used for commercial purposes, as is the case with quadcopters. Similar to the UAV drone, the autonomous capabilities of helicopters and fighter jets were created with the purpose of playing a role in the military. This role of autonomous capability could be the task of piloting the aircraft either semi-autonomously, with the help of a pilot, or fully autonomously, without the help of a pilot, in situations when it’s not possible for a human to pilot the aircraft. In addition, the role of autonomous capability could also be the task of increasing the accuracy of the aircrafts weapons systems through the use of LAWS.  

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Lastly, the incorporation of autonomy into machinery has certainly shown to yield great outcomes. The efficiency at which a task can be accomplished with the addition of an autonomous component is truly revolutionary. Certain breakthroughs that propel the technological world into the future would not be possible if it weren’t for autonomy. Autonomy in machinery is the one concept that the world will have to hone, if it truly hopes to push through to the realm of possibilities that exist for modern day machinery.