Intelligent unmanned equipment: from battlefield "surprise troops" to industrial "engines"
On the 93rd military parade ground, the unmanned combat group of the equipment team made a stunning appearance. The land-based unmanned combat team, the maritime unmanned combat team, and the aerial unmanned combat team passed through Tiananmen Square one by one, and the weapons and equipment of multiple models made their debut, attracting the attention of the entire audience.
Looking at the land, crossing obstacles, there is no way out. Unmanned combat vehicles such as reconnaissance and assault, mine sweeping and bomb disposal, and team support, with remote control, autonomous action, and flexible formation, have achieved a new breakthrough in coordinated combat on land with both personnel and personnel.
Look at the sea, cruise autonomously, and attack the deep blue. The new type of unmanned underwater vehicle, unmanned boat, and unmanned mine laying system have the combat capabilities of concealed deployment and blockade, autonomous detection and identification, and cluster network attack, making them the "surprise weapon" for maritime operations.
Looking at the sky, artificial intelligence, and the competition in the sky. New types of unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned wingmen, and shipborne unmanned helicopters are capable of stealth attacks, wide area coverage, autonomous collaboration, and innovative new styles of air combat in the future.
It is worth noting that intelligent equipment technology is not only key in the military field, but also the core of China's manufacturing industry upgrade. Based on the same technology, it has provided a continuous driving force for the transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry, widely applied in many industries such as automotive parts, 3C, and white goods, and has become an important support for China's intelligent manufacturing.
New technologies promote the development of intelligent unmanned equipment
Unmanned technology, as an important trend in current equipment development, is profoundly affecting the form of combat. According to the People's Liberation Army Daily, unmanned intelligent warfare is a combat form that relies on autonomous unmanned systems as the main force, battlefield information networks as the system support, intelligence control as the focus of victory, and artificial intelligence as the technology drive. It is the basic combat style of future information-based intelligent warfare.
The development of intelligent and unmanned equipment is a product of interdisciplinary integration, and its key technological breakthroughs and deep integration with artificial intelligence are expected to reshape multiple industries in the future. Yang Hui, the model chief engineer of Beijing Hangjing Innovation Technology Co., Ltd., stated in an interview with China Industry News that the key technologies of intelligent and unmanned equipment include environmental perception and understanding, autonomous decision-making and planning, high reliability and high bandwidth communication, platform control and maneuverability, and intelligent task payload.
In Yang Hui's view, incorporating artificial intelligence technology into intelligent unmanned equipment can enhance equipment situational awareness, increase autonomy, optimize performance, and accelerate research and development iterations. At the same time, AI simulation and digital twin technology accelerate the design, testing, and verification process of equipment, while optimizing flight control and energy management through machine learning improves the efficiency and safety of intelligent equipment.
At present, significant breakthroughs have been made in the capabilities of intelligent unmanned equipment in four aspects: cluster intelligence, autonomous navigation, AI driven perception and decision-making, and power endurance. ”Yang Hui stated that firstly, the collaborative control technology of large-scale unmanned aerial vehicles or unmanned vehicle clusters has moved from the laboratory to the demonstration and verification stage, demonstrating strong distributed combat and operational capabilities. Secondly, in GPS denied or weak signal environments (such as indoor, urban, canyon, underground), the accuracy and reliability of autonomous navigation positioning based on multi-sensor fusion are significantly improved. Thirdly, deep learning has made breakthroughs in object recognition, scene understanding, behavior prediction, and other areas, significantly improving the intelligence of equipment in complex dynamic environments. The fourth is the improvement of battery energy density, the application of hybrid power, and the optimization of efficient propulsion systems, which effectively enhance the endurance and payload capacity of unmanned equipment.
Enhancing the Information System of Intelligent Unmanned Equipment
According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in the first half of this year, the added value of China's equipment manufacturing industry increased by 10.2% year-on-year, driving the growth of all large-scale industries by 3.4 percentage points, fully playing the role of a "stabilizer" for industrial development. Among them, intelligent manufacturing equipment has performed outstandingly. According to data from the Intelligent Manufacturing Branch of the China Machinery Industry Federation, the scale of China's intelligent manufacturing equipment industry is expected to exceed 5 trillion yuan this year.
The expansion of the intelligent manufacturing equipment industry is driven by multiple factors, with market demand being the core driving force. The decline of the demographic dividend has pushed up labor costs, forcing the manufacturing industry to accelerate automation substitution. The explosive growth of the new energy industry chain has given rise to a new manufacturing paradigm, leading to a surge in demand for flexible and high-precision equipment, "said angel investor and senior artificial intelligence expert Guo Tao in an interview with China Industry News.
Yang Hui also believes that in the face of a market opportunity of over 5 trillion yuan, the driving force behind it mainly comes from three dimensions: policy, technology, and market, as follows:
One is the strong policy support. The country attaches great importance to the development of intelligent manufacturing equipment industry and has introduced a series of policy measures. The "14th Five Year Plan for the Development of Intelligent Manufacturing" jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and eight other departments in August 2021 has put forward clear development goals and tasks, providing top-level design and direction guidance for industrial development. At the same time, local governments have actively responded by introducing relevant supporting policies and measures, increasing support for the intelligent manufacturing equipment industry, including fiscal subsidies, tax incentives, land policies, etc., creating a favorable policy environment for industrial development.
The second is driven by technological innovation. The deep integration of new generation information technology, artificial intelligence technology, and traditional manufacturing industry promotes the continuous innovation and progress of intelligent manufacturing equipment technology. For example, breakthroughs in key technologies such as manufacturing perception technology, decision planning technology, and motion control technology can improve the performance and intelligence level of intelligent manufacturing equipment. The application of industrial Internet, big data, cloud computing and other technologies enables the manufacturing process to achieve data driven, precise control, and improve production efficiency and product quality.
The third is driven by market demand. On the one hand, the demand for intelligent transformation in the manufacturing industry is constantly growing. In order to improve production efficiency, reduce costs, enhance product quality and competitiveness, enterprises are increasing their investment in intelligent manufacturing equipment. On the other hand, the rapid development of emerging industries such as new energy vehicles and semiconductors has also provided a broad market space for intelligent manufacturing equipment. These emerging industries demand higher precision, speed, and intelligence in equipment, driving innovation and development in intelligent manufacturing equipment.
It is worth noting that the development of intelligent unmanned equipment cannot be separated from the continuous improvement of information systems. So, how to enhance the information system of intelligent equipment?
In response, Pan Helin, a member of the Information and Communication Economy Expert Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said in an interview with China Industry News: "The development of equipment information systems should be carried out through the integration of industry, academia, research and application. It is necessary to use market openness to stimulate research and development, as well as regulatory control to ensure security
Wang Peng, associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, believes that "standardization is the cornerstone of building an intelligent equipment information system, and unified standards and specifications can ensure information exchange and compatibility. Data integration and management are the core, and efficient platforms can explore the value of data and provide support for decision-making. Network communication optimization is the key, advanced communication technology can improve the real-time and reliability of data transmission, and multi-level protection systems can resist network attacks and data leakage risks
The information system needs to build a layered architecture of 'end edge cloud', with lightweight embedded systems deployed in the front-end to meet real-time response requirements, edge nodes undertaking local data processing and distribution to reduce transmission redundancy, and cloud computing relying on computing power to complete global situation inference and deep analysis, "said Guo Tao.
Accelerate the efficiency of related technology conversion
Dongwu Securities stated that the new equipment showcased in the military parade, such as unmanned clusters and hypersonic weapons, is essentially a revolution of "algorithm defined equipment". The technological breakthroughs are reflected in three aspects: artificial intelligence algorithms achieve a leap from auxiliary decision-making to autonomous decision-making, which increases the response speed of equipment by orders of magnitude; New materials and power systems break through physical limits, giving rise to disruptive platforms such as hypersonic technology; The popularization of low-cost sensors and communication modules has turned distributed warfare from a concept to a reality.
The deeper industrial logic lies in the short research and development cycle and fast iteration speed of such equipment, which breaks the traditional military industry's development model of "sharpening a sword in ten years".
Wang Peng said, "The transformation of civilian unmanned driving and unmanned aerial vehicle technology into the military field can meet combat requirements by improving performance and expanding functions
The technology transformation from civilian to military has formed a mature route, such as the transformation of logistics unmanned aerial vehicles to battlefield material delivery platforms, the transplantation of mature path planning algorithms and the strengthening of anti electromagnetic interference capabilities to adapt to the complex electromagnetic environment of the battlefield. The transformation of warehouse AGVs into explosive disposal robot chassis, optimization of explosion-proof structure design and extension of remote control distance, meets the needs of battlefield explosive disposal operations. Upgrade the inspection drone to a frontline reconnaissance node, install electro-optical pods and data link modules to enhance battlefield reconnaissance and information transmission capabilities. ”Guo Tao told a reporter from China Industry News that in the process of transformation, while breaking through key pain points, it is necessary to establish a joint military civilian research and development mechanism, accelerate the efficiency of technology transformation, and promote the efficient penetration of advanced civilian technologies into the military field.
In addition, in the development process of intelligent equipment, the integration of industrial investment funds and national assets as a platform is highly anticipated.
Guo Tao believes that the integration of industry and finance investment needs to focus on key links in the industrial chain, and should focus on laying out upstream core components such as MEMS inertial sensors and IGBT modules; The middle reaches are system integrators, such as SCARA robot body manufacturers; The downstream mainly serves as solution providers, such as smart factory overall delivery enterprises, forming a full industry chain investment coverage.
Wang Peng believes that industrial investment funds and the integration of national assets as platform investments should focus on core component areas, emerging application areas, strengthen weak links in the industrial chain, and enhance overall competitiveness.
Author: Zuo Zongxin
Information source: China Industrial News Network
