Although this entry in this intermittent thread might be better likened to STARSHIP TROOPERS (the book by Heinlein, not the movies), it’s also clearly a step towards the killer robots that are the raison d’être of this thread. The source article from a year ago, “All About The XM157 Next Generation Fire Control System for the XM5 Rifle,” by Jennifer Sensiba, is in The Truth About Guns, a source with which I have no familiarity.
One thing that makes this optic really special is that it has a full display with pixels. It doesn’t just light up a few different spots to give different reticles. Where a pixel is lit up, you see something on top of the optical image from the scope. Where pixels aren’t lit up, you see right through the display.
This gives the shooter a lot of options. Ballistic drop, wind holds, the range to the target (as detected by a built-in rangefinder), menus, augmented reality (including ability to tag objects and see what other soldiers have tagged), waypoints, and basically anything else that the Army wants it to display.
The optic will calculate and adjust for bullet drop, windage, angle, etc. The optic has a number of sensors, including a compass, atmospherics, and a laser rangefinder to get the data it needs to make ballistic calculations and move the digital reticle automatically in fractions of a second to make it a true point-and-shoot system. That means people with less skill can shoot faster and more accurately at the longer ranges the 6.8x51mm round has the energy to work well at.
And more interestingly:
Perhaps more importantly, the optic networks with not only other XM157 optics, but computers, smartphones, and even augmented reality visors the Army is developing. Data can potentially come from commanders, satellites, UAVs, and military aviators. It can also be sent to all of those other people who are also in the fight. This gives everyone rapid access to a common operating picture and sensor fusion data, much like the pilot of an F35 or F22 gets.
While there is no self-agency reported, this is a step in that direction because the recognition phase is now arguably in the domain of the machines, rather than exclusively in that of the soldier, the entity making the moral decisions. Moreover, it’s networked between the various weapons. I wonder how much vetting security experts had in the design phase.
Give it full control of the weapon and a decision making capability, and it’s the “tip of the spear” for the killer robot.
