U.S ARMY WANTS TO GIVE WAR ROBOTS MORE POWER TO MAKE THEIR OWN DECISIONS

Armies of robots including dog-like creatures walking on four legs and huge lumbering trucks are the stuff of science fiction
- specifically, bleak films such as The Terminator series.

But the U.S. military not only wants more robots - it wants more 'autonomous' robots, robots free to make their own decisions on the battlefield.

A new robot is described as 'like a dog' that follows troops on the battlefield - and future models will use technologies such as laser imaging to build their own picture of the world.

Of more than 6,000 robots deployed, about 750 have been destroyed in action

This has saved at least that many human lives, the Pentagon's Robotics Systems Joint Program Office estimates.

Only now is robotics research nearing the stage that the military may soon be able to deploy large ground vehicles capable of performing tasks on their own with little human involvement.

Robotics scientists

The results, among other things, could be more saved lives, less wear and tear on the troops, and reduced fuel consumption.