Be All You Can Be

DANIEL F. MOORE, PH.D. Be All You Can Be: The Meaning of the Nano-enhanced Army

GOAL OF THIS TALK
FRAMEWORK FOR DISCUSSING NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN MILITARY APPLICATIONS
HOW DIFFERENT HUMAN ENHANCEMENT APPLICATIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY FIT INTO THIS FRAMEWORK
Introduction

4 th -3 rd Century B.C. Human Enhancements on a Greek Hoplite
In a sense, all technologies are human enhancement
Personal-use military technologies in particular
Body armor Melee Weapon Missile Weapon Shield

Medieval knight and Medieval Longbowman
Sometimes developments in military technology lead to specialization
Body armor Melee Weapon Missile Weapon Shield

British Soldier in 1742
Developments in new types of weapons can lead to the obsolescence of some types of warfare and other military technology
Missile Weapon Melee Weapon

U.S. Soldier wearing Army Combat Uniform
Developments in new types of weapons can lead to the obsolescence of some types of warfare and other military technology
Missile weapon Body armor Enhanced eyesight / communication

21 st Century Human Enhanced Bruce Banner as The Incredible Hulk
An extreme in human enhanced military technology
Body armor Shield / Melee weapon

Military Technology
Examples of different ways to distinguish military technology
Purpose of use
Level of use/impact
Type of use
Amount of control
Duration of use and/or impact
Locus of use
Autonomous Human controlled Missile Shock Civilization Individual Offensive Defensive Permanent Temporary Internal External

Duration of use/impact
Locus of use
Tools that enable more permanent effects
Tools that are continuous / always on and always available
Allows technology to move towards internal use / impact because of size and capabilities
Comparatively ubiquitous
What nanotechnology brings to the table

Military “Problems”
Technologies are created to solve problems or enhance capabilities
Soldiers need more effective tools to accomplish their goals
Soldiers carry a heavy load, averaging just under 100 lbs in combat operations
Threats to soldiers can come unexpectedly, suddenly, and can cause injuries that cannot be healed quickly
Communication and coordination between autonomous individuals can be difficult
Sleep deprivation hurts soldier performance – “The most immediate human performance factor in military effectiveness is degradation of performance under stressful conditions, particularly sleep deprivation.”

Better weapons toolkit
Lighter load
Healing / Preventing Injuries and Death
Battlefield Communication
Sleep deprivation and mental states of soldiers
None of these is a new challenge
Different technologies/cultures solve these challenges to different degrees and with different methods
Major advances in these solutions can create major changes battlefield outcomes/situations

Nanotech’s approach to solving problems
In general, nanotechnology leads us to military technology that enhances humans more permanently and more internally
Makes strong inroads into previously difficult to solve problems
For example, managing mental states of individuals
This applies to personal use military technology as well as societal level military technology

Future Warrior - Nanotechnology enabled
Future Warrior Concept
Communications and information system
Combat uniform
Weapon system
Soldier status monitors
Power systems
Locus of use
Image from US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, & Engineering Body armor Missile Weapon

More effective weapons toolkit
Nanoscale materials allow for lighter devices/objects that achieve at least the same goal
Different scales of weapons can allow for different types of attack
Strong, lightweight materials for weaponry
Battle-suit exoskeleton can be used to augment soldier abilities
Can create different types of attack
Such as, unleashing a “swarm” of nanoscale robots programmed to disrupt the electrical / chemical systems in a building (as opposed to just bombing it)

Lighter Load / Increased mobility
Historically, load size has been a severe limiter of army mobility
One major boon to armies was when soldier could carry their own load
Livy tells us that Hannibal had more than 2000 head of cattle with his army of 30,000 men
Simply making devices smaller and lighter can make the soldier more mobile with a smaller footprint
Allowing for far greater supply lines
Legionnaire on the march

Lighter Load / Increased mobility
Reducing size of powering devices is key to reducing current load of the individual soldier
Nanotechnology allows for extremely small power generation and storage devices
For example, nanogenerators that turn mechanical motion into electrical energy
ZnO Nanowire Nanogenerator by X. Wang and ZL Wang

Injury/death prevention
Nanotechnology allows for more direct / immediate prevention, detection, and treatment of injuries
Nanoscale materials allow for energy absorbing materials
Nanoscale trusses provide the ability to absorb significant energy with light weight designs
They can be made out of flexible materials such as polymers as well as nanocomposites

Injury/death prevention
Nanotechnology allows for more direct / immediate detection and treatment of injuries
These electro-rheological materials could also be used as exomuscles to augment a soldier’s physical strength and movement
Traditionally, body armor has been the solution to limiting injuries and/or death
Accessing nanoscale materials can give some polymers an electrorheological response
Mechanical actuators can transform a material from flexible and pliant to nonpliant and armor-like

Battlefield communication / information
Ubiquitous, highly sensitive, highly selective sensors
Fast / Enhanced Communications
Image from paper by Y. Cui et al, Science
Nanoscale materials and arrangements allow for chemical / biological sensors that are highly selective and sensitive
Nanodevices can allow these to be placed in otherwise unavailable places
For example, in the bloodstream

Battlefield communication / information
Ubiquitous, highly sensitive, highly selective sensors
Fast / Enhanced Communications
Nanoscale sensors and miniaturized electronics can allow for constant delivery of information to the soldier
Maps, routes, mission data
Vital information about health of individual and of team
Reactive display – integrated night vision, heat vision, etc.
Heightened Awareness

Managing Mental States / Performance
Sleep loss is a key factor contributing to poor decision making
Potentially, automatic injection of chemicals that remove the effects of sleep loss and enhance performance are possible
“ The most immediate human performance factor in military effectiveness is degradation of performance under stressful conditions, particularly sleep deprivation. If an opposing force had a significant sleep advantage, this would pose a serious threat.”
“ Suppose a human could be engineered who slept for the same amount of time as a giraffe (1.9 hours per night). This would lead to an approximately twofold decrease in the casualty rate.”
Both quotes from JASON report on Human Performance

Managing Mental States / Performance
Nanoscale Sensors allow for detection of deteriorating soldier performance
Factors such as brain patterns, hormone production, wayward eye movement, etc. can be monitored
Nanoscale sensors can help monitor wayward eye movement, hormone production, core / skin temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, stress levels, etc.
If needed, care can be triggered automatically

Military Nanotechnology
Lighter materials and devices
Lighter load
Healing / Preventing Injuries and Death
Battlefield Communication
Sleep deprivation and mental states of soldiers
In general, nanotechnology leads us to military technology that enhances humans more permanently and more internal
Lighter loads and devices allow an individual soldier to increase capabilities without sacrificing mobility
Energy absorbing and electromechanical nanomaterials enable ubiquitous, personal body armor and injury treatment
Nanoscale sensors allow for permanently connected/networked soldiers and leaders
Sensors can monitor mental states, performance, and internal conditions

The Nano-Enhanced Army
In a sense, military technologies have always been enhancing humans in the same manner
New technological paradigms have helped change the military in unique ways
Not just a better mousetrap
Nanotechnology allows for military enhancement to become more permanent and more internal

Be All You Can Be

by Daniel Moore on Mar 31, 2009

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Be All You Can Be — Presentation Transcript