Using existing systems will help deal with major cutbacks in defense spending – especially for R&D – potentially enabling the Corps to field proven platforms with existing support and maintenance chains to meet a new and evolving requirement. But while a robotic Humvee or truck would resolve a number of issues – such as reducing the IED threat to convoy drivers – they are far too large and noisy to accompany small units moving through rough terrain.

The alternative would be to continue pursuing entirely new types of platforms, including some walking on four or more legs. Early prototypes, such as the four-legged BigDog – likened to a mechanical mule – have shown promise in testing by the Army. And while the Marine Corps is interested, it will leave the high cost of such developments to its far larger and wealthier sister service.

“Another area with potential is just tactical vehicles in general. In my view, there is great utility in having a vehicle you can call up to your position without needing a driver in that vehicle. The same is true for remotely controlled weapons systems, although, in the Marine Corps vision, any such system in the future would have a human, somewhere, deciding when and where to shoot.”

But the size and type of future Marine Corps UGVs is dependent on more than just development costs.

“There are some constraints that guide us more than anything. The first of those is on continuing to reduce the size or footprint of the MAGTF. The problem we have with robots is they take up space at a time when we’re trying to slim down our deploying forces to make them fast, responsive, agile. When you start looking at systems that run counter to that, you have a problem with how robots fit into the MAGTF,” McConnell said, even in cases where a robot may be the answer to another goal – lightening the load on the individual warfighter. “Transferring the load from individual Marines to some other system to counter the growing weight they have to carry is a benefit. But the problem with systems like BigDog is it is another big system that runs counter to the MAGTF-lightening initiative.

“Another area with potential is just tactical vehicles in general. In my view, there is great utility in having a vehicle you can call up to your position without needing a driver in that vehicle. The same is true for remotely controlled weapons systems, although, in the Marine Corps vision, any such system in the future would have a human, somewhere, deciding when and where to shoot.”

With any autonomous system – especially a weaponized platform – a major concern is not only having a human in the loop controlling the weapon, but ensuring the operator has full, real-time situational awareness of the location and movement of both the platform, the Marines it is with, and anyone else in the area, whether civilian or allied or enemy combatant. McConnell said early experiments such as Gladiator demonstrated that, with a combination of very high fidelity sensors, detailed TTPs, and extensive training, it was possible to control a robot from a fair distance and have it operate safely among mounted or dismounted troops.

At the same time, however, software glitches that resulted in unplanned and uncontrolled movements by Gladiator brought a permanent halt to plans to field test it in Iraq in 2003-04.

“I canceled that because, in the later stages of training for deployment, the weapons system actually did a couple of uncommanded movements. No one was hurt or endangered, but the fact is, there was a software problem causing the weapons to move without intent,” he said. “So we canceled all intentions of fielding the system, even on an experimental basis, because the software was not mature enough.

“At any robotics conference, you’ll find a lot of industry is working on that. But in the Corps, we have not restarted any of that work at all, because our focus really is on robots providing specific utility in IED reconnaissance and neutralization. So we have not looked, in almost a decade, at weaponized UGVs and it is not really on the Marine Corps horizon. We are in the late stages of developing a UGV roadmap with a series of goals and objectives and weaponization is not part of that roadmap at all.”

The role of Marine Corps robots today is to be on point or to be called forward for a scouting and reconnaissance role, which also was part of Gladiator’s expected mission. Despite the lack of a plan to weaponize any autonomous ground system or pursue revolutionary technologies – aside from whatever the Army may develop – the Corps is leaving the door open to an increasing role for robotic vehicles in future combat scenarios.

“There is a new focus on using semi-autonomous vehicles, such as leaving it behind to counter a threat or being called in to pick up Marines,” McConnell said. “And as soon as you start doing that, there will be interest in figuring out how to remotely control a weapons station. That is the kind of technology we, as developers, may not plan out as a role for robots to play so much as one that evolves as our Marines in the field figure out ways to use them that makes sense to them.