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Pentagon successfully tests micro-drone swarm
The Pentagon may soon be unleashing a 21st-century version of locusts on its adversaries after officials on Monday said it had successfully tested a swarm of 103 micro-drones.
The important step in the development of new autonomous weapon systems was made possible by improvements in artificial intelligence, holding open the possibility that groups of small robots could act together under human direction.
Military strategists have high hopes for such drone swarms that would be cheap to produce and able to overwhelm opponents’
The test of the world’s largest micro-drone swarm in California in October included 103 Perdix micro-drones measuring around six inches (16
“The micro-drones demonstrated advanced swarm
“Perdix are not pre-programmed
Defense Secretary Ash Carter — a technophile and former Harvard professor — created the SCO when he was deputy
The department is tasked with accelerating the integration of technological innovations into the US weaponry.
It particularly strives to marry already existing commercial technology — in this case micro-drones and artificial intelligence software — in the design of new weapons.
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