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ROBOTS TO TREAT SOLDIERS
Robots could replace battlefield medics in the future, according to the US Defence Department.
The Pentagon has given £6.6m in grants to a defence firm to research remote-controlled machines designed to operate on wounded GIs while under fire.
The "trauma pod" would be able to perform full scalpel and stitch operations on injured soldiers, operated wirelessly by a surgeon sitting miles out of harm's way behind the front line.
Research company SRI International says the project remains at least a decade away from deployment, but the initial technology is already being used in civilian hospitals.
Around 300 hospitals worldwide have machines which allow the doctor to view three-dimensional images from inside the patient while they operate using robotic arms.
The trick for the military will be to transfer this to a much tougher and smaller machine able to work in real-time and in a battlefield environment.
The US already uses military robots for bomb-disposal, recon and combat missions.
The drone Predator aircraft is used extensively in hotspots such as Iraq and Afghanistan and can be armed with anti-tank hellfire missiles.
Dalje
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