New Armed Robot for Israel's Military Raises Concerns
2021-09-16
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1An Israeli military contractor has built an armed, unmanned robot designed to be deployed in many battle situations.
2The vehicle is called Rex MK II.
3It was developed by state-owned contractor Israel Aerospace Industries, also known as IAI.
4The robot is semi-autonomous, with the ability to perform some operations on its own.
5It can also be guided by humans remotely through an electronic controller.
6Officials from IAI said the vehicle was built to support Israeli military ground forces in different levels of fighting.
7It can carry equipment and supplies, gather intelligence and open fire at nearby targets.
8The robot can carry two machine guns and a series of cameras and sensors to support military activities.
9It was also designed with the ability to transport injured soldiers.
10Rani Avni helps lead the development of autonomous systems for IAI.
11He told The Associated Press the Rex MK II is the most advanced in a series of unmanned vehicles developed for the Israeli military over the past 15 years.
12Israel's military is currently using a similar but smaller vehicle called the Jaguar.
13The Jaguar is used to guard Israel's border with the Gaza Strip.
14The Islamic militant group Hamas took control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in 2007.
15As a result, Israel closed off its border with Gaza and enforces a blockade.
16Gaza is home to 2 million Palestinians who face the blockade, which is supported by Egypt.
17Protests take place there and Palestinian militants and laborers try to cross over into Israel.
18The Israeli army's website states that the semi-autonomous Jaguar was designed to reduce danger to soldiers working along the Gaza-Israel border.
19The Jaguar also carries a machine gun and is one of many technology tools used by the Israeli military.
20The army also has used drones with guided missiles in operations against Hamas forces.
21Unmanned ground vehicles are increasingly being used by other armies.
22Countries include the United States, Britain and Russia.
23They are designed for things like providing operational support, removing landmines and firing weapons.
24The military contractor says the new Rex MK II can complete many actions on its own, such as controlling movements and carrying out surveillance.
25Actions such as firing a weapon require a human to operate the electronic controller.
26Critics have raised concerns that robotic weapons could decide on their own, possibly mistakenly, to shoot at targets.
27The company said that while the new robotic vehicle was developed with that ability, the current version being offered does not have it.
28"It is possible to make the weapon itself also autonomous, however, it is a decision of the user today," developer Rani Avni said.
29"The maturity of the system or the user is not there yet," he added.
30Yonni Gedj is an operational expert in IAI's robotics division.
31He said the robot is built to become smarter over time.
32"With every mission, the device collects more data which it then learns from for future missions," he told the AP.
33Bonnie Docherty is a researcher with the arms division of Human Rights Watch.
34She said such weapons can be dangerous because they cannot be trusted to recognize soldiers from civilians.
35The robots are also not equipped to make the right decisions about the harm attacks could cause to civilians.
36"Machines cannot understand the value of human life," Docherty said.
37This "undermines human dignity and violates human rights laws," she added.
38In a 2012 report, Docherty called for fully automated weapons to be banned by international law.
39I'm Bryan Lynn.
1An Israeli military contractor has built an armed, unmanned robot designed to be deployed in many battle situations. 2The vehicle is called Rex MK II. It was developed by state-owned contractor Israel Aerospace Industries, also known as IAI. The robot is semi-autonomous, with the ability to perform some operations on its own. It can also be guided by humans remotely through an electronic controller. 3Officials from IAI said the vehicle was built to support Israeli military ground forces in different levels of fighting. It can carry equipment and supplies, gather intelligence and open fire at nearby targets. 4The robot can carry two machine guns and a series of cameras and sensors to support military activities. It was also designed with the ability to transport injured soldiers. 5Rani Avni helps lead the development of autonomous systems for IAI. He told The Associated Press the Rex MK II is the most advanced in a series of unmanned vehicles developed for the Israeli military over the past 15 years. 6Israel's military is currently using a similar but smaller vehicle called the Jaguar. The Jaguar is used to guard Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. The Islamic militant group Hamas took control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in 2007. As a result, Israel closed off its border with Gaza and enforces a blockade. 7Gaza is home to 2 million Palestinians who face the blockade, which is supported by Egypt. Protests take place there and Palestinian militants and laborers try to cross over into Israel. 8The Israeli army's website states that the semi-autonomous Jaguar was designed to reduce danger to soldiers working along the Gaza-Israel border. The Jaguar also carries a machine gun and is one of many technology tools used by the Israeli military. The army also has used drones with guided missiles in operations against Hamas forces. 9Unmanned ground vehicles are increasingly being used by other armies. Countries include the United States, Britain and Russia. They are designed for things like providing operational support, removing landmines and firing weapons. 10The military contractor says the new Rex MK II can complete many actions on its own, such as controlling movements and carrying out surveillance. Actions such as firing a weapon require a human to operate the electronic controller. 11Critics have raised concerns that robotic weapons could decide on their own, possibly mistakenly, to shoot at targets. The company said that while the new robotic vehicle was developed with that ability, the current version being offered does not have it. 12"It is possible to make the weapon itself also autonomous, however, it is a decision of the user today," developer Rani Avni said. "The maturity of the system or the user is not there yet," he added. 13Yonni Gedj is an operational expert in IAI's robotics division. He said the robot is built to become smarter over time. "With every mission, the device collects more data which it then learns from for future missions," he told the AP. 14Bonnie Docherty is a researcher with the arms division of Human Rights Watch. She said such weapons can be dangerous because they cannot be trusted to recognize soldiers from civilians. The robots are also not equipped to make the right decisions about the harm attacks could cause to civilians. 15"Machines cannot understand the value of human life," Docherty said. This "undermines human dignity and violates human rights laws," she added. In a 2012 report, Docherty called for fully automated weapons to be banned by international law. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English, with additional information from Israel Aerospace Industries. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 18We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 19_________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21autonomous - adj. independent and having the power to operate automatically without human involvement 22remote - adj. far away, from a distance 23advanced - adj. having developed or progressed to a late stage 24drone - n. a small, pilotless aircraft 25surveillance - n. the process of getting information about a place or an area for military use 26maturity - n. the time when someone or something is completely grown or developed 27mission - n. an important job, usually involving travel somewhere 28undermine - v. lessen the effectiveness, power or ability of something 29dignity - n. the state of being worthy of honor or respect