I wonder why they are bringing this trial to Australia?Is this...

I wonder why they are bringing this trial to Australia?

Is this the reason??? To date US Congress has resolutely objected to a totally autonomous capability being invested in UMGVs, if they are fitted with weapons, ruling that a weapon-firing capability requires human control.


http://www.asiapacificdefencereporter.com/sept09/uninhabited-systems

www.dsto.defence.gov.au/ Magic 2010

Under a separately funded program the finalists will also have the unique opportunity to qualify for further funding under the US Joint Concept Technology Demonstrator (JCTD) Program, so that their prototypes can be transitioned into operational capability. If an Australian competitor is among the top three finalists, that finalist would also be considered for funding under the Australian DOD’s Capability & Technology Demonstrator (CTD) Program.

Interested readers are strongly recommended to access a definitive document available on the DSTO web site www.dsto.defence.gov.au/ Magic 2010, that contains 17 guidelines for this project.

Comment.
A major thrust of the MAGIC program is that its objective is to be able to field “ multi-autonomous ground robots capable of independent operation in military operations”. This requirement is fairly certainly the most difficult challenge to solve, technically and morally.