Samsung SGR-A1

The Samsung SGR-A1 (or Samsung Techwin SGR-A1) is a type of sentry gun (a weapon that fires autonomously) that was jointly developed by Samsung Techwin (now Hanwha Techwin) and Korea University to assist South Korean troops in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. It is widely considered as the earliest commercialized robot with autonomous capabilities and the first of its kind unit to have an integrated system that includes surveillance, tracking, firing, and voice-recognition altogether.[1][2] While units of the Samsung SGR-A1 have been reportedly deployed, the number is unknown due to the project being "highly classified".[3]

Development and origin

Guards at a South Korean checkpoint along the DMZ, viewed from the North Korean side

The Samsung SGR-A1 project started with an initial investment by the South Korean government in 2003 and was developed by four institutions lead primarily by Hanwha Techwin and Korea University. With prototypes produced in 2006, the system was designed to replace human-oriented guarding along the DMZ and to provide the "perfect guard operation".[1] The primary goal of the project, as quoted by Shin Hyun-don from the South Korean defense ministry "...is to transform the current guard and observation mission on fronts conducted by soldiers into a robot system,".[4] Unlike the Mexico-United States border or the Borders of Israel, the entirety of the 250 kilometer (160 mile) Korean Demilitarized Zone is heavily patrolled and is touted as the most militarized border in the world despite its name.[1] This, combined with the fact that South Korea's military personal is nearly half of North Korea's, may have influenced the South Korean government's decision to invest more into autonomous robot guards.

Design

General Characteristics [1][5]

Features

Many of the Samsung SGR-A1's features resemble the standard Sentry gun and similar automated stationary weapons like the Super aEgis II and the Israeli Sentry Tech systems. The system, costing approximately $200,000 dollars (227 million won), includes an uncooled infrared thermographic camera for detection, a weapons interface that allows for mounted weapons and a combination of an IR illuminator and a laser rangefinder to track and follow targets. It also includes a digital video recorder which captures footage for up to 60 days and three other cameras used separately for surveillance, tracking, and zoom.[2]

A thermal image of a human hand produced by a thermographic camera

The Samsung SGR-A1 presumes any persons entering the DMZ as an enemy and upon detecting a foe, will attempt to identify the target through voice recognition. If a proper access code is not provided within a short amount of time, the system can choose between sounding an alarm, firing rubber bullets, or engaging the target with its mounted weapons. The system can also be overridden by an operator, whereafter the target and operator can be connected through a built-in microphone and audio system.

Components and armaments

Daewoo K3 LMG, the stock weapon on the Samsung SGR-A1

Controversy around the Samsung SGR-A1

The development of the Samsung SGR-A1 (and LAWS in general) has sparked considerable controversy regarding their effect on aggression between states, the issue on ethics of autonomous killing, and innocent killings through collateral damage.

"Human in/on the loop" controversy

A human in the loop (HITL) system, if applied to the Samsung SGR-A1, would mean the weapon must wait for commands from a human operator before acting upon its targets after target identification. This contrasts with a human on the loop (HOTL) system, which would allow the Samsung SGR-A1 to autonomously engage targets while allowing for human intervention to stop it. Opposition groups against the use of the Samsung SGR-A1 and LAWS including the Committee on International Security and Arms Control and the Human Rights Watch believe the Samsung SGR-A1 has HOTL capabilities, and would ultimately increase civilian casualties and lower the threshold for going to war.

Primary arguments by anti-LAWS groups[8]

Many of these opposing arguments, however, are based on the idea that the Samsung SGR-A1 is a truly autonomous, HOTL system, which has been a heavily disputed topic. A 2008 study, done by California Polytechnic State University's Naval Department, suggested that the Samsung SGR-A1 is a fully autonomous system and reports by major news outlets including The Atlantic, BBC, and NBC also confirm their conclusion. A quote from the report reads, "The firing of the gun can be done manually by a soldier or by the robot in fully-automatic (autonomous) mode. " Despite published studies confirming the weapon's autonomy, Samsung Techwin has openly denied that the Samsung SGR-A1 has autonomous functionality. In a 2010 response to a Popular Science article regarding the autonomy of the Samsung SGR-A1, Samsung Techwin Spokesperson, Huh Kwang-hak stated "“the robots, while having the capability of automatic surveillance, cannot automatically fire at detected foreign objects or figures.” [9][10][11][12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Pike, John (November 7, 2011). "The Samsung Techwin SGR-A1 Sentry Guard Robot". Global Security.
  2. 1 2 3 Kumagai, Jean (March 1, 2007). "A Robotic Sentry For Korea's Demilitarized Zone". IEEE Spectrum.
  3. ↑ Rabiroff, Jon (July 12, 2010). "Machine Gun Toting Robots Deployed On DMZ". Stars and Stripes.
  4. ↑ Thomson, Iain (November 15, 2006). "Samsung Develops Gun Toting Robo Guard". Incisive Media.
  5. ↑ Prigg, Mark (September 16, 2014). "Who goes there? Samsung unveils robot sentry that can kill from two miles away". Daily Mail.
  6. ↑ Crane, David (September 17, 2014). "Samsung SGR-A1 Armed/Weaponized Robot Sentry Remote Weapons Station (RWS) Finally Ready for Prime Time?". Defense Review.
  7. ↑ Kee, Edwin (September 14, 2014). "Samsung SGR-A1 Robot Sentry Is One Cold Machine". Uber Gizmo.
  8. ↑ Ekelhof, Merel (February 26, 2014). "Stop Killer Robots While We Still Can". PAX For Peace.
  9. ↑ Velez-Green, Alexander (March 1, 2015). "The South Korean Sentry—A "Killer Robot" to Prevent War".
  10. ↑ Weinberger, Sharon (November 18, 2014). "Next generation robots have minds of their own". BBC.
  11. ↑ Wagstaff, Keith (May 14, 2014). "Future Tech? Autonomous Killer Robots Are Already Here". NBC News.
  12. ↑ Anderson, Ross (March 22, 2012). "Cyber and Drone Attacks May Change Warfare More Than The Machine Gun". The Atlantic.


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