De beste gadgets die je oude televisie slimmer dan een smart-tv maken

Ukraine has also been a test bed for attacks using multiple drones working together in so-called swarms, which by weight of numbers can be difficult for air defense systems to track or attack. Both sides have deployed dozens of relatively small drones at a time, most likely still operated by human controllers. But the US and others are counting on more sophisticated AI to make it possible for even larger numbers of drones to collaborate in sophisticated ways. Anduril, which has made software a central part of its products, appears to be trying to lay the groundwork for swarm warfare. The company’s Lattice platform can be used to connect and coordinate different sensors and weapons systems, providing an integrated visualization of a battlefield. Anduril now markets the platform’s ability to control a swarm of drones and has collaborated with another defense startup, Epirus, to offer a counter-drone system that uses powerful microwaves to neutralize swarms of drones. “The counter-drone swarm is a rapidly emerging emerging threat,” says Andy Lowery, CEO of Epirus. “We are geared particularly and especially toward combating drone swarms.” The Pentagon’s vision for US drone swarms would eventually see them making decisions during a mission both individually and collectively, with little or no human input. “You will have communications and artificial intelligence mechanisms operating on all the parts of the swarm,” Gerstein of Rand says. “They could go to a target, select the target, and if they saw that they were under attack they could change their flight path.” Such autonomy might test public attitudes toward the use of autonomy in weapons systems but it would be permitted under official policy. In January 2023, the Pentagon updated a directive on the acceptable limits of autonomy in weapons, which now states: “Autonomous and semi-autonomous weapon systems will be designed to allow commanders and operators to exercise appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force.” The US Department of Defense is also investigating how autonomous aircraft could collaborate with sea-going drones. One US Navy project is testing whether autonomous surface vessels, submarines, and drones spot targets in the Red Sea and other parts of the Middle East. Gerstein says there is some evidence that Israel has developed and deployed more intelligent drone swarms. The Israel Defense Forces used a swarm of AI-controlled drones to hunt Hamas militants in 2021, according to a report in New Scientist. ALTHOUGH DRONE WARFARE has been pitched by militaries as more clinical than conventional weaponry, there’s also evidence US drone missions have caused significant civilian casualties and crossed legal boundaries. Some experts believe that deploying huge numbers of swarming autonomous systems will bring new risks. “Swarming means more drones operating in more complex ways across more domains,” says Zachary Kallenborn, a drone expert affiliated with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, another think tank. “Swarming also means many more weapons operating without human control, creating more risk for error—and when the systems communicate, one drone's mistake may cascade to a thousand more.” The US appears committed to building and deploying more drones and giving them more complex autonomy. Air Force officials have said it will spend around $6 billion on the CCA program over the next five years, including future contracts. Another major US aerial drone project is the Replicator initiative, announced by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks last August. It aims to spur the development of thousands of flight-ready autonomous systems and related technology within the next 18 to 24 months. Anduril issued a lengthy statement applauding the initiative when it was announced last year, suggesting it hopes to secure contracts through the program. DefenseScoop recently reported that the company will be among the first to receive Replicator grants, for a surveillance system capable of tracking drones called WISP. Fury could just be the start of Anduril’s role in the Pentagon’s plans for the swarm era of aerial warfare.

Heb je een oude televisie? Dan kan je ‘m zelfs slimmer maken dan een smart-tv. Dat doe je met een van deze drie gadgets.

WANT