改变一切：美国无人机展亮点大放送

QinetiQ的MAARS语音战斗机器人

    上图这个全副武装、凶神恶煞的机器人看起来似乎不太友好，仿佛多年以来科幻小说一直在警告我们的情形终于成真了。但是QinetiQ开发的这套模块化高级武装机器人系统（MAARS）并不一定像它看起来那样有威胁。QinetiQ公司的CEO克劳奇博士表示：“它是用武装的方式来应对一些情形，但并不一定非要使用武力。它不需要保护自己，人类才需要保护自己。”

    从这个意义上，克劳奇把MAARS称为“武力降级者”。它既可以搭载致命武器，也可以搭载各种非致命性弹药和激光炫目器等非致命武器。另外它还可以搭载日视、夜视摄像机和声波传感器等设备，以提高对局势的认知。美军已经采购了少量这个型号的机器人，用来开发围绕该技术的战术和操作理念。也就是说，MAARS并不急着部署到前线。

    MAARS系统已经诞生好几年了，不过今年它新增了一个语音控制系统，让士兵们可以直接通过语音指挥MAARS的平台——但不包括它的武器系统。这种感觉就像班里又多了一个人类的战友。（财富中文网）

    译者：朴成奎

QinetiQ's MAARS gets vocal

    The not-so-friendly looking robot above looks like what science fiction has long warned us about. But QinetiQ's Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System (MAARS) doesn't have to be as menacing as it looks. "It's an armed way of responding to something without necessarily taking armed action," says QinetiQ CEO Dr. J.D. Crouch. "It doesn't have to defend itself, whereas humans have to defend themselves."

    In that sense, Crouch describes MAARS as a "force de-escalator." It can be configured to impart lethal force, but MAARS is also designed to carry all kinds of less-lethal projectiles and non-lethal countermeasures like laser dazzlers, as well as day- and night-vision cameras and acoustic sensors to enhance situational awareness. The U.S. armed forces have taken delivery of a small number of the systems to develop tactics and concepts of operations around the technology. That is, MAARS isn't forward deployed -- that we know of.

    The MAARS system has been around for a few years now, but new this year is a voice command system that allows soldiers and marines to direct the MAARS platform -- but not its weaponry -- via vocal commands, much as they would a human member of their own squad.