Insect-Swarm Style Robot Weapons in the Works in OZ

Australian scientists are using the collective intelligence found in insect swarms to develop the next generation of hi-tech military hardware.

Alex Ryan, a mathematician with the government�s Defence Science and Technology organization, heads a team that is working on computer software recreating swarm behavior for use on the battlefield.

The goal is to develop swarms of small, expendable unmanned vehicles that can carry out missions in ground, sea and aerial environments too dangerous for humans.

Source: AFP, Australian Scientists Turn To Insect Swarms for New Generation Weapons, By NEIL SANDS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, SYDNEY
www.defensenews.com...

how scary/crazy is this?

-koji K.

Yea, I read that in Aviation Week. Its a potent new tactic for future weapons. DARPA has been looking into it for sometime.

Nice article. It is another example of reality movng toward the scenarios put forth in fiction. This reminds me of Michael Crichton's book, Prey, which features a swarm of tiny robots. In that particular case, they are microscopic.

Add this to the self-deploying minefield and the autonomous stand-off attack drones and I wonder if the scientists involed in developing the tech have seen the Terminator or Matrix movies!

ATS Threads on Drones
Self-healing Minefield

This is old news, the US actually has functioning weapon systems that use this technology already. Its called something to the effect of Autonomous Self Guided Munitions. Its like an advanced cluster bomb. Little "bomblets" that get released into a target area and then seek out matching "targets" fly to them and then burst over them raining down a high explosive/ frag or chemical anti-personnel agent.