Yep. I'm old enough to remember the national 55mph speed limit.
(And odd/even gasoline days, too, but I digress...)
Air/rafts again...
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(And odd/even gasoline days, too, but I digress...)
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
So would remote operations, by Traffic Control.
Eh, all of the "flying trucks" I knew about in the 70s had stall speeds higher than 75mph.
Not that I don't appreciate the utility of doing 75 MPH over, well, anything, but that doesn't mean its not slow.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Place the cockpit to the side, like the Millenium Falcon, and you actually have a flatbed.
Self-driving within a nice clean, safe airlane, sure. Out in the wilderness, sure - at several thousand feet. Heck, we can do that today and have been doing it for decades (autopilot, etc.). We can also do low-level terrain-following, so that's also a given.Until self-driving tech is solved.
So, TL-9 maybe.
NoE flight with safe collision avoidance, and off-road ground travel (especially without maps) those are a whole other thing and I do not think Traveller's computers are up to it at TL9. TL12 when decent robot brans become available is where I'd peg that.
Spinward Flow
SOC-14 5K
If the real world is any sort of guide to this question, self-driving tech is a TL=8 advancement.Until self-driving tech is solved.
So, TL-9 maybe.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
It will be a thing long before we have fusion power, air.rafts, and man portable laser carbines.
Technically in Traveller it would be TL12....
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Well, on a more somber note, I think drone warfare will be driving these innovations:
1. Autonomous piloting
2. Laser weapon systems
Gravity?
Quarks?
1. Autonomous piloting
2. Laser weapon systems
Gravity?
Quarks?
Directed energy weapons.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
I guess that's more appropriate, if you include electronic warfare.
I was thinking that a beam laser, also, could cut through any number of glass fibre guidance cables.
I was thinking that a beam laser, also, could cut through any number of glass fibre guidance cables.
Was thinking more along the lines of electromagnetic pulse weapons -- not jamming, but damaging electronics. An analogue to Traveller's particle accelerator weapons, in a sense. But smaller
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
There are several soon to be operational directied energy weapons that can be used against drones. And several already in operation
One subset transmits a cone of microwaves to scramble electronics, while the other uses a cone of radio waves...
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
One subset transmits a cone of microwaves to scramble electronics, while the other uses a cone of radio waves...
Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon - Wikipedia
Epirus Leonidas - Wikipedia
THOR (weapon) - Wikipedia
Doing that in the air or open water is easy, especially if a few crashes/collisions are okay (like for cheap military drones in a warzone) - we can do that now (though not necessarily cheaply enough for cheap expendable drones are are basically slow-moving cruise missiles). Autonomous targeting if you don't care about false positives is also fairly easy (again, especially in the air).
Replacing a human decision-maker and not having horrific accident rates and civilian and friendly soldier deaths in anything but absolute free-fire zones is a very different and much harder. If the tech-bros get their way, someone will try way too soon, and it will be a messy disaster.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
The pilot programme will learn by exception, how not to crash or collide.
The key point about drone warfare, at as it appears to be practiced currently, is that they're using the drones down to the individual level.
That is, they're taking a drone and targeting individual soldiers. This is how cheap the drones are. A soldier seen hiding behind a tree is a target of opportunity. Combined with the pervasive and, again, cheap surveillance, it makes for very harrowing experiences on the battlefield. Add in autonomous behavior, and it just gets worse.
I did have the fortune to see a drone show at a recent baseball game, it was really nice. They would make animated, 3D figures in the sky. They claimed they were using 800 drones for it. It was a really neat experience to see.
That is, they're taking a drone and targeting individual soldiers. This is how cheap the drones are. A soldier seen hiding behind a tree is a target of opportunity. Combined with the pervasive and, again, cheap surveillance, it makes for very harrowing experiences on the battlefield. Add in autonomous behavior, and it just gets worse.
I did have the fortune to see a drone show at a recent baseball game, it was really nice. They would make animated, 3D figures in the sky. They claimed they were using 800 drones for it. It was a really neat experience to see.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
Imagine every one of those drones with a couple of grenades...
Spinward Flow
SOC-14 5K
No need to imagine it.
It's already happening in a live shooting war on the "eastern front" ...
