Small fleet of robotic boats will protect US warships Bashny.Net

US Navy провёл successful test fleet of autonomous boats , who, acting jointly in the automatic mode, will accompany and guard large warships and the US Navy base. Each of the 13 boats that participated in the trials, was equipped with a system of sensors and onboard computer, which allowed them not only to work without people on board, but also to work together, "flock" surrounding the potentially dangerous vessel and blocking its movement toward the protected ship. If necessary, the boat can even use weapons, but such a decision takes longer man who, while on board the ship, at any moment can take control of the boat.



Developers automated boats emphasize that the management system, called CARACaS (Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing) is quite compact, cheap and can be easily installed on a conventional boat and the boat, which is already available to the sailors, so that the actual operation of the system can begin in the next year. Interestingly, some of the elements of the automatic control system were borrowed from NASA, from programs to create rovers.

One of the main reasons for the creation of such a protection system was инцидент the destroyer USS Cole , who in 2000 in the port of Aden, was attacked with explosives stuffed with small fiberglass boat with two suicide bombers. The blast killed 17 sailors, 39 were injured, and the ship was severely damaged. Huge armed to the teeth and equipped with the latest security systems ship was completely unprepared for this kind of attack.

In the future, such systems could be used for the protection of civilian objects - ports, oil platforms, large merchant ships. Such technology is perfectly suited for protection from pirates and terrorists who typically use a small boat to get closer to the victim, according to the creators CARACaS.



Source: habrahabr.ru/post/239705/