Making Pilots Obsolete - DARPA Kit Turns Aircraft into Drones - VIDEO

The tech turns military aircraft into drones 'operated by robotic pilots' - it works, and the program took only 18 months to develop. There are a few deficits to remedy, but predictions are that it won't be long before "robots reign over a majority of US defense aircraft." ...So don't be thinking there'll be lots of jobs opening up in the military.

Pentagon’s DARPA Develops Kit Turning Aircraft Into Drones

…The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) envisions a future in which aircrew members are obsolete and high-powered aircraft are autonomous, a concept that was recently successfully demonstrated.

DARPA’s Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS), a technical toolkit that transforms US military aircraft into drones operated by robotic pilots, was announced just days before Christmas. Check out a video of ALIAS in action.

…Given the rapid 18-month development of the program, it may not be much longer until robots reign over a majority of US defense aircraft.

a reply to: soficrow

The majority of missions can't currently be done by UAV. There's a reason there aren't any UAVs flying bombing missions beyond the Reapers. Every UAV currently flying is ISR for a reason.

a reply to: soficrow

So what happens when this tech falls into the hands of terrorists?

We are a long way from pilots being obsolete, not sure I would ever get in a plane that did not have human hands at the controls... way to easy for a computer to have issues.

a reply to: Zaphod58

What aboot stealing jobs from commercial pilot roles?

a reply to: FamCore

DARPA isn't even going to let it into the hands of the people that would be using it for awhile.

ALIAS isn't going to completely automate the aircraft, it's going to increase automation to reduce the load on the crew, and allow aircraft to operate with one pilot, where they would operate with two, or even more.

DARPA’s Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program envisions flight operations with reduced onboard aircrew while improving mission performance and flight safety—all through a tailorable, drop-in, removable kit that would provide advanced automation to existing aircraft. In two important steps toward that goal, DARPA has recently completed Phase 2 of this development effort and has decided to partner on Phase 3 of ALIAS with Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (Stratford, Conn.).

www.darpa.mil...

a reply to: IgnoranceIsntBlisss

The commercial industry is both father away from going automated, and more in need of something like ALIAS than the military.

Kind of a side note, but I was amazed to learn (from an episode of NOVA regarding Hitler's big guns) that the first drone was invented in WWII! We had a bomber full of explosives and a 'mother' ship/plane that would fly above it to control it. It even had vision and that's how Television was born. The goal was to human pilot the drone until it got close then the pilot would parachute out and let the electronic control take over. That pilot was Joe Kennedy, John's older brother. Joe died when the attempt failed and the plane blew up with him in it.

Great episode all around, so much great engineering happening then.

Regarding the OP, this was bound to happen. All of the control pieces are in place, just need to hook up the 'brains'. No different than robot cars really, I give it 15 years before human control of any form of transportation is only an emergency backup.

originally posted by: FamCore
a reply to: soficrow

So what happens when this tech falls into the hands of terrorists?

The terrorists are the ones who create and use this technology.

I have no doubt that one day it will be used against us, the common citizen. Actually, it probably is already being used against us in various forms, some obvious, some not so much.

a reply to: bluesjr

The first one was actually used far before WWII. The first unmanned weapons were hot air balloons used over Venice in 1849.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

originally posted by: FamCore
a reply to: soficrow

So what happens when this tech falls into the hands of terrorists?

Or hackers?

a reply to: bluesjr

No. Philo T. Farnsworth invented television, friend. Sorry.

originally posted by: PRSpinster
a reply to: bluesjr

No. Philo T. Farnsworth invented television, friend. Sorry.

Sorry, my bad. It was presented as a "first" for Television in some way, not sure now what the claim was. In this case, the video was broadcast back from the mothership to the UK so folks in the command center could actually see what the drone was seeing. This was in 1944 and based on TV cameras from Vladimir Zworykin.

For combat I'd say human interaction is still better even if 99% of it is handled by the computer, reminds me of the Buck Rogers series where the computers always followed certain patterns but ended up getting shot down.

The unpredictability of humans makes us better than machines, lots of it can be offloaded to the computer but you still have the human in control and they possibly see stuff and either abort or call in more firepower quicker than some computer or person 5,000 miles away monitoring via a screen.

I wonder how a robot would have handled UA Flight 1549, otherwise known as "The Miracle on the Hudson." you think a robot would have figured out what to do as well as Sully did?

a reply to: bluesjr

There are many inventions that are argued about, Farnsworth probably is the real inventor but it depends on whom and were you ask, ask in the UK and you will be told emphatically that it was John Logie Byrd.
en.wikipedia.org...
www.technologyreview.com...
Then you have argument's about who invented the Telegraph, the Telephone and even the stream train (locomotive - Arguably heron of Alexandria had all the parts for a steam train nearly 2000 years ago but a quirk of history meant it never got invented back then or did it, he had automatic doors for temples and many other contraption's) but the truth is it was not the famous Rocket creator George Stephenson though arguably they both invented it independantly but rather a Cornish man by the name of Richard Tevithick.
en.wikipedia.org...

As for this invention it has already been done in the past so there is really nothing new here except that this is probably a more intelligent autonomous system then previous full auto pilot modification's but in the past auto pilot's that could take off, fly a route and land fairly? safely have existed but never been trusted so why should we really trust this one, and of course artificial pilot's can be very good such as the program that run's cruise missile's etc.

This has only one application, to dispose of human pilot's but it is not even worth the money put into it's development simply because most manned air frames are built around the pilots upper tolerances while pure drone's are built to far higher tolerances than human pilot's (or human piloted air frames) can tolerate meaning that other than a new and slightly better auto pilot this is just a novelty for now and is probably merely a back door way or getting rid of pilot's before moving the air craft fighter fleet over to full automation at some point in the near future.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: FamCore

DARPA isn't even going to let it into the hands of the people that would be using it for awhile.

ALIAS isn't going to completely automate the aircraft, it's going to increase automation to reduce the load on the crew, and allow aircraft to operate with one pilot, where they would operate with two, or even more.

DARPA’s Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program envisions flight operations with reduced onboard aircrew while improving mission performance and flight safety—all through a tailorable, drop-in, removable kit that would provide advanced automation to existing aircraft. In two important steps toward that goal, DARPA has recently completed Phase 2 of this development effort and has decided to partner on Phase 3 of ALIAS with Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (Stratford, Conn.).

www.darpa.mil...

Kind of like the new Carriers being built, right? increased automation, reduced human staff?

originally posted by: FamCore
a reply to: soficrow

So what happens when this tech falls into the hands of terrorists?

You mean like this? (sorry it's not allowing me. To embed links right now) www.theguardian.com...

a reply to: LABTECH767

...probably merely a back door way or getting rid of pilot's before moving the air craft fighter fleet over to full automation at some point in the near future.

Yes. It modifies existing aircraft, doesn't replace them.

Why? ...Budget? Psychological preparation? ...?

a reply to: Arnie123

Exactly. There have been so many accidents, even now, as a result of poor Crew Resource Management, many times while working another problem, that they came up with this. This will help relieve some of the load on pilots, and assist a great deal with emergencies.