Opinion ID: 2673152
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Dudenhoeffer Reference

Text: The Dudenhoeffer reference is titled “Command and Control Architectures for Autonomous Micro-Robotic Forces.” Dudenhoeffer, at i–ii. It is an April 2001 publication from the Human Systems Engineering and Sciences Department of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. Id. According to the abstract, this reference “addresses the issues and development of command and control for large-scale numbers of autonomous robots deployed as a collective force.” Id. at iii. The abstract explains that “[t]ele-operation should not be the goal, but rather a level of adjustable autonomy and high-level control. If a herd of sheep is comparable to the collective of robots, then the human element is comparable to the shepherd pulling in strays and guiding the herd in the direction of greener pastures.” Id. The program’s purposes are to enable “[a] large collection of micro-robots that can move, communicate, and work collectively to achieve a collective goal,” and to “permit the human to interact with the robots as a group . . . rather than requiring the human operator to interact with each and every individual robot.” Id. at 1–2. The project “includes the development and evaluation of various command and control architectures for use by humans in the deployment of large-scale micro-robotic forces. Specific areas to be examined include shared control by multiple users, arbitration of control between INTOUCH TECHNOLOGIES, INC. v. VGO COMMUNICATIONS, INC. 11 users, and collaboration and cooperation between autonomous units.” Id. at 4 (emphasis added).