Could robots soon take over EMS jobs (Click here) in war zones?
A recent article from Wired.com is reporting that could be the case. The Pentagon is currently looking into implementing an autonomous EMS crew, along with an unmanned ambulance and robodocs, to aid fallen troops with minimal intervention by medic or other first responder operators.
“In a war zone, evacuating patients under fire is one of the most dangerous jobs there is,” the article notes. “That’s why the Pentagon’s hoping to capitalize on recent innovations in robotics to finally create ‘bots that operate as ‘combat casualty extraction system(s).’”
Many benefits could result from such a system. First, replacing humans who deliver medical care to wounded soldiers would reduce the number of people at risk during rescue operations. Second, the Army is counting on new technology to deliver better care, such as free-ranging robots with human-like movement and legs that can jump 25 feet.
Although research of such a system has been going on for years, the Army wants to implement robots that are “more autonomous, tough as nails and small enough to fit into an unmanned vehicle.”
Those robots would be able to plan and execute transportation routes; facilitate communication between patients and off-site human medics; coordinate “robot teams”; lift, drag or otherwise remove a troop from harm’s way; and figure out how serious a soldier’s injuries are.
The Army reports the robots would be able to “perform remote/stand-off initial casualty assessment to identify injuries sufficient to prevent further injury during robotic casualty extraction,” and “provide closed loop or semi-autonomous casualty monitoring and en route care sufficient to mitigate risk associated with ‘abandonment’ concerns.”
If robot teams become as powerful as the Army hopes, they will be able to extract casualties from rugged terrain, marshes or ice, and even through “enemy fire or IEDs, contamination from weapons of mass destruction, or any of numerous natural hazards.”
The Army also is considering the possibility of robots working in conjunction with unmanned vehicles, which would effectively create an all-in-one robot rescue crew.
If any or all of these ideas come to fruition, the robot EMS system could potentially be using for other applications, including “civilian emergency services for recovering injured personnel in mine, construction site and nuclear power plant accidents; chemical spills; fire fighting, terrorist, hostage situations; and in police response to situations involving armed suspects.”