Samsung SGR-A1 | |
---|---|
Type | Sentry gun |
Place of origin | South Korea |
The SGR-A1 is a type of autonomous sentry gun that was jointly developed by Samsung Techwin (now Hanwha Aerospace) and Korea University to assist South Korean troops in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. It is widely considered as the first unit of its kind to have an integrated system that includes surveillance, tracking, firing, and voice recognition. [1] [2] While units of the SGR-A1 have been reportedly deployed, their number is unknown due to the project being "highly classified". [3]
The Samsung SGR-A1 project started with an initial investment by the South Korean government in 2003 and was developed by four institutions led primarily by Hanwha Techwin and Korea University. With prototypes produced in 2006, the system was designed to replace human-oriented guarding along the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and to provide the "perfect guard operation". [1] The primary goal of the project, as quoted by Shin Hyun-don from the South Korean defense ministry "is to transform the current guard and observation mission on fronts conducted by soldiers into a robot system". [4] The entirety of the 250 kilometres (160 mi) DMZ is heavily patrolled and is touted as the most militarized border in the world, despite its name. [1] This, combined with the fact that South Korea's military personnel is nearly half the size of North Korea's, may have influenced the South Korean government's decision to invest more in autonomous robot guards.
Many of the Samsung SGR-A1's features resemble the standard sentry gun and similar automated stationary weapons like the Super aEgis II and the Israeli Sentry Tech systems. The system, costing approximately $200,000 (227 million won), includes an uncooled infrared thermographic camera for detection, a weapons interface that allows for mounted weapons, and a combination of an IR illuminator and a laser rangefinder to track and follow targets. It also includes a digital video recorder which captures footage for up to 60 days and three other cameras used separately for surveillance, tracking and zoom. [2]
The Samsung SGR-A1 presumes any person entering the DMZ is an enemy and, upon detection, will attempt to identify the target through voice recognition. If a proper access code is not provided within a short amount of time, the system can choose between sounding an alarm, firing rubber bullets or engaging the target with other weapons. The system can also be overridden by an operator, who can also communicate via built-in microphone and audio system.
The development of the Samsung SGR-A1 (and LAWS in general) has sparked considerable controversy regarding their effect on aggression between states, the issue on ethics of autonomous killing, and innocent killings through collateral damage.
A human-in-the-loop (HITL) system, if applied to the Samsung SGR-A1, would mean the weapon must wait for commands from a human operator before acting upon its targets. This contrasts with a human over the loop (HOTL) system, which would allow the Samsung SGR-A1 to autonomously engage targets while allowing for human intervention to stop it. Opposition groups against the use of the Samsung SGR-A1 and laws including the Committee on International Security and Arms Control and Human Rights Watch believe the Samsung SGR-A1 has HOTL capabilities, and would ultimately increase civilian casualties and lower the threshold for going to war.
Many of these opposing arguments, however, are based on the idea that the Samsung SGR-A1 is a truly autonomous, HOTL system, which has been a heavily disputed topic. A 2008 study, done by California Polytechnic State University's Naval Department, suggested that the Samsung SGR-A1 is a fully autonomous system and reports by major news outlets including The Atlantic , BBC, and NBC also confirm their conclusion. A quote from the report reads, "The firing of the gun can be done manually by a soldier or by the robot in fully-automatic (autonomous) mode." Despite published studies confirming the weapon's autonomy, Samsung Techwin has openly denied that the Samsung SGR-A1 has autonomous functionality. In a 2010 response to a Popular Science article regarding the autonomy of the Samsung SGR-A1, Samsung Techwin Spokesperson, Huh Kwang-hak stated "the robots, while having the capability of automatic surveillance, cannot automatically fire at detected foreign objects or figures." [8] [9] [10] [11]
An autonomous robot is a robot that acts without recourse to human control. Historic examples include space probes. Modern examples include self-driving vacuums and cars.
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The Defense Acquisition Program Administration was founded on 1 January 2006 as part of a comprehensive reform of the defense acquisition project, including the introduction and development of military equipments, and is a central administrative agency of the South Korean Ministry of National Defense. The DAPA has exclusive authority to plan and budget defense development and procurement programs for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and to enact Korean Defense Specifications (KDS). Sub-agencies of DAPA include the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) responsible for defense development and Defense Agency for Technology and Quality (DTaQ) responsible for defense improvement programs and defense quality certification tests.
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Hanwha Aerospace Co., Ltd., formerly Hanwha Techwin Co Ltd, is a subsidiary of Hanwha Group, is an aerospace industrial company headquartered in Changwon, South Korea. It was established in 1977 as Samsung Precision. The company is Korea's only gas turbine engine manufacturer, and specializes in the development, production and maintenance of aircraft engines. In 1979, it started the aircraft engine business with gas turbine engine depot maintenance business, providing various gas turbine solutions to Korea and all over the world and by 2016 the company had produced more than 8,000 pieces of equipment.
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