A few good robots

The Marine Corps wants to develop robots that can do the grunt work of laying down the matting used to quickly construct Expeditionary Airfields, or EAF, in amphibious beachheads and other remote locations. The project, titled “Automated Expeditionary Airfield Assembly,” calls for robots capable of operating on “uneven or unstable surfaces.” They must also “manipulate and position heavy EAF mat sections with precision” while enduring “harsh environmental and operational conditions,” according to the proposal. The Marine Corps envisions robots with sufficient autonomy to “navigate and control without human assistance, which includes obstacle avoidance, path planning and grasping,” according to the SBIR. Basically what they will be doing is the heavy lifting of what humans would do. The Marine Corps has been working to ease the difficulty of expeditionary airfield construction, including adopting commercial lightweight matting. Semi AI to work along side of a human, what is being done in factories with robots is you teach it do simple moves, it is the same in the field. Those extra hands and strong arms to grab, lift, move, lower the mat. Then repeat. Then repeat.