ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: ABI Research
16February2011 2:02pmEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: New York - Between 50 and 80 countries either already utilize defense robotic systems, or are in the process of building or acquiring the technology to incorporate 
them into their military programs. These robots may take the form of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), and even unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), but they all have in common the purpose of taking the place of, or supplementing, humans in battlefield situations.
According to a new study by ABI Research, Defense Robots: UAVs, UGVs, UUVs and Task Robots for Military Applications, the global market for military robotics will grow from $5.8 billion in 2010 to more than $8 billion in 2016.
Says Larry Fisher, research director of NextGen, ABI Research’s emerging technologies research incubator, “While the use of semi-autonomous or autonomous robots can improve military efficiency, accuracy, and operational performance, the overriding ROI for these systems is the ability to reduce the likelihood of injury or death.”
The key drivers for the defense robotics market include the strong desire to reduce or prevent military casualties in the field of operations; changes in the tactics of warfare requiring new reconnaissance, combat and task machinery, and tools; the need to reduce military spending; and developments in the fields of materials science, computer programming and sensing technology to help create more advanced robots. (read full report)
