Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed insight into the global military robot industry with an emphasis on products and their applications.

Design/methodology/approach

Following an introduction which includes a brief historical account, this provides an industry overview, including various market dimensions and a discussion of the geopolitical and technological factors driving market development. The three following sections provide details of land, airborne and marine robots, their capabilities and deployments in recent conflicts. Finally, brief conclusions are drawn.

Findings

Military robots which operate on land, in the air and at sea constitute a multi-billion dollar industry which is growing rapidly. It is being driven by geopolitical tensions, notably the military-technology arms race between China and the USA and the conflict in Ukraine, together with technological progress, particularly in AI. Many robots possess multi-functional capabilities, and the leading application is presently intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. An increasing number of heavily armed robots are being developed, and AI has the potential to impart these with the capacity to deliver lethal force without human intervention. Although heavily criticised in some quarters, this capability has probably already been deployed on the battlefield. With ever-growing military budgets, escalating political tensions and technological innovations, robots will play an increasingly significant role in future conflicts.

Originality/value

This provides a detail account of military robots and their role in modern warfare.

中文翻译：

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政治紧张局势和技术创新推动军用机器人业务

目的

本文的目的是提供对全球军用机器人行业的详细了解，重点是产品及其应用。

设计/方法论/途径

在包括简要历史记录的介绍之后，提供了行业概述，包括各种市场维度以及对推动市场发展的地缘政治和技术因素的讨论。以下三个部分详细介绍了陆地、机载和海洋机器人及其在最近冲突中的能力和部署。最后，得出简短的结论。

发现

在陆地、空中和海上运行的军用机器人构成了一个价值数十亿美元的产业，并且正在快速增长。它是由地缘政治紧张局势（特别是中美之间的军事技术军备竞赛和乌克兰冲突）以及技术进步（特别是人工智能领域）推动的。许多机器人具有多功能能力，目前最主要的应用是智能、监视和侦察。越来越多的全副武装机器人正在开发中，人工智能有潜力赋予它们在无需人工干预的情况下提供致命武力的能力。尽管在某些方面受到严厉批评，但这种能力可能已经部署在战场上。随着军事预算的不断增长、政治紧张局势的升级和技术创新，机器人将在未来的冲突中发挥越来越重要的作用。

原创性/价值

这详细介绍了军用机器人及其在现代战争中的作用。