What the heck are 'unmanned systems'??

    Humans have sought so automate processes for thousands of years. From the mechanization of windmills used to grind grains and water wheels to cut massive pieces of lumber, all the way to fully automated aircraft, we have found better and better ways for machines to do the work of people. As we have moved deeper into the Computer Age, we have begun developing "intelligent" computer systems-- those which can take in data, analyze them, and make decisions independent of a need for human intervention. We are entering into the era of unmanned intelligent technologies.

    But what does that even mean?

    The international community has established criteria to describe levels of automation, so that we can more clearly delineate between features which support operation versus features which work together to provide automation. In my estimation, saying that a system is fully unmanned would require it to be level 4 or level 5 on the SAE J3016 Levels of Driving Automation as listed in figure 1 below (https://www.sae.org/news/press-room/2018/12/sae-international-releases-updated-visual-chart-for-its-%E2%80%9Clevels-of-driving-automation%E2%80%9D-standard-for-self-driving-vehicles). This means that these systems may not function in all conditions, but in the conditions they are designed to support, they will not need any human intervention at all. They aren't just programmed to accomplish a task; they must also be able to sense their environment and make changes to their proscribed actions based upon immediate needs.

    Many people think of automated cars when the word "unmanned" is used, and there are certainly some cars that meet that criteria. However, this also includes simpler things like automated lawnmowers, which can sense obstacles and weather conditions and make their own decisions about what to do next.

Figure 1