Hearing of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee of the House Armed Servces Committee - Opening Statement of Rep. Wilson, Hearing on "Advancing the Science and Acceptance of Autonomy for Future Defense Systems:"

Hearing

"I am pleased to welcome everyone here for today's hearing on advancing the science and acceptance of autonomy for future defense systems. The military necessity for autonomous systems is obvious. Many of us recognize that our military is not large enough, and it is not likely to grow sufficiently over the next few years to handle all of the threats we face. On top of this, shrinking budgets will shrink our military, stretching our men, women and platforms even further to be able to accomplish their ever-changing missions.

The promise of autonomous systems is becoming more evident every day. From self-driving cars to smart buildings to the increasing presence of robotics- the full potential of autonomous systems is nearly endless. What is less understood are the technical and policy challenges that must be identified and solved to make those visions a reality. Most of us are more likely to understand what is possible with examples provided from TV and movies, so I am looking forward to having real experts shed light on what the actual state-of-the-art technology is, and what the path to acceptance looks like for the military services.

With that as a backdrop, we look forward to hearing from today's panel of witnesses who will help educate members on many of these issues related to autonomy research and the development of increasingly autonomous systems.
Our witnesses before us today are:

Dr. Greg L. Zacharias
Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force

Mr. Frank Kelley
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Unmanned Systems

Dr. Jonathan Bornstein
Chief, Autonomous System Division, Vehicle Technology Directorate, Army Research Laboratory"

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