Knightscope was founded by William Li, who is working to create fleets of autonomous robots that can act as law enforcement. There are currently four different model robots that perform numerous functions. The 150-pound K1 watches entrances and exits while K3 bots roam malls and parking garages. K5 bots can patrol sports stadiums and office buildings, with the next-generation K7 being more like a Tesla vehicle that can protect federal campuses and prisons.
The “wooden man post” has just been upgraded. Known as Mu Ren Zhuang, the iconic wooden post with hands have been used for centuries as hand-to-hand fight training wooden dummies and are believed to have originated with the Shaolin temple monks who practiced early kung fu. Enter the RXT-1 or RefleX Trainer-1, developed by an army special force veteran and a modern training partner that you can practice and spar with intelligently. Highly customizable for anyone’s training mode, it also sports a 45-strike combination patterned out with no other than the moves of Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The Army’s efforts to address battlefield problems now rely on available tech, state of the art equipment, and techniques dating back to the 1950s. Better sensors and better ways of getting data, and the deployment of a nonhuman contingent at the right place at the right time will help save lives and win battles in the future for the Army. Robots will lead the future of war with the tactical strategies employed from a time long gone but never forgotten. Are semi-autonomous methods the way to go for reaching and route clearance operations?
