The Swiss military rejects Swiss drones – that’s what’s behind it

A robot for the military. He must help on the battlefield, recover the wounded, guard the area and provide the troops with logistics. That was the idea of Mark Hopflinger. The busy head of the Swiss Drone and Robotics Center (SDRZ) of the Department of Defense (DDPS) and his team have been conducting research in the field for years on behalf of the federal government.

For the robot project, Höpflinger needed an initial loan of 5 million Swiss francs. But the military canceled the project in March 2022 for budgetary reasons. The Federal Bureau of Armaments (Armasuisse) justifies the move because it was not assessed as a priority.

A great argument in a country that is more innovative than almost any other country when it comes to robots and drones. One in five of the world’s twenty leading laboratories is located here. ETH Zurich and Lausanne have proven to be innovation drivers. As early as 2013, American internet guru Chris Anderson praised Switzerland as the “Silicon Valley of robotics”.

Höpflinger emphasizes that Switzerland is not exploiting this potential. You can feel a certain frustration in the head of the drone center when he talks about it in his office in Thun. “In international comparison, Switzerland has a unique density of start-ups, knowledge and competence.”

The ETH engineer sees the problem in the industrial sector. Switzerland is lagging behind:

Who takes the risk?

One of the stumbling blocks is money. Attracting venture capital is difficult in Switzerland. It is therefore not surprising that there are many start-ups but no larger manufacturers. Switzerland also has no industrial policy. It’s different abroad: it’s easy to forget that the Pentagon was once the midwife of Silicon Valley in the US.

But government support would be needed. This can be seen, for example, in the example of search and rescue robots in civil protection. Whether it concerns earthquakes, falling rocks or other natural disasters: such robots would be very welcome in the police, fire and rescue services. Only: which agency would want to buy a prototype that doesn’t work in an emergency?

Ruag too acts hesitantly. The federal arms company is working with Höpflinger’s team on research projects. The company intends to use the results of this research in an industrial context. “There are interesting developments, but the applications are still in their infancy for commercial use,” says Ruag about the situation in Switzerland.

The US is involved in Switzerland

In general, the federal government assigns little priority to this area. The research budget of the drone center is only 1.5 million Swiss francs per year. Compared to other countries, Switzerland invests too little money in this area, Höpflinger emphasizes. This has consequences: other countries make money available for promising projects in Switzerland. The US Department of Defense research firm called Darpa is ubiquitous.

For example, Davide Scaramuzza received funding. The professor of robotics at the University of Zurich and his team have developed autonomous drones that fly on autopilot even in rough terrain. This also aroused the interest of the US military. Scaramuzza doesn’t see this as a problem. “The results are transparent and publicly available. The whole world can benefit,” he told swissinfo.ch last June.

The army chief brings a breath of fresh air

There was a time when Switzerland developed its own drones. In the 1980s, RUAG collaborated with Oerlikon-Contraves and Israel Aircraft Industries on the Ranger drone, which was retired in 2019. Switzerland ordered the successor, the Hermes 900 reconnaissance drone, all from Israel.

Robotics researcher Höpflinger now has hope Thomas Suesli. The former banker and IT expert has been at the head of the army since the beginning of 2020 and has brought a breath of fresh air. For example, he created Innovation Board V, which brings together the army command with representatives from RUAG and ETH Zurich.

Unlike his predecessors, Süssli did not become an army chief from the inner circle, but came from the outside. He has only been a professional officer since 2015, before that he worked at various banks. This outsider is the luck of the robot researchers – as well as the fact that his new boss, Federal Councilor Viola Amherd, has not had a military career.

Politicians also put pressure on us. The Security Policy Committee of the National Council has issued a motion calling for measures to promote innovation in the security sector. “Politicians need a push in this area,” says Freiburg Green National Councilor Gerhard Andrey. The National Council has already approved the proposal.

Problem: International rules are missing

There is another – noble – reason why Switzerland is lagging behind industrially when it comes to military drones. It has more scruples than other countries. The focus of the drone center is on unarmored systems. “Technology shows us what you can do, not what you should do,” says Höpflinger. He considers the issue of automation central. “People shouldn’t give up control.”

In the case of legislation, this has long been happening worldwide. Many robotics companies in Switzerland have therefore taken matters into their own hands. For example, Anybotics, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of walking robots, contractually prohibits the armed use of its machines.

As long as the international community of states does not agree on rules, such solo efforts are ineffective. Since 2017, the UN has been discussing a ban on autonomous weapon systems – also known as killer robots.

An agreement has so far failed due to resistance from leading powers such as the US and Russia. Time is of the essence: In 2020, during the Libyan civil war, a drone would have “hunted” a human target without being instructed to do so.

Sources

(aargauerzeitung.ch)