As small unmanned systems proliferate on the battlefield and in civilian life, interest is growing in having these devices band together to maximize their effectiveness. Government, industry and academia have a variety of efforts underway to advance such cooperation among unmanned air, land and sea systems. This spurt of activity has been fueled by many factors, including the advent of small, low-cost systems and sensors and the increasing ability of these devices to perform tasks without direct human intervention. Potential benefits of unmanned collaboration include extending the range of the systems, reducing the time it takes to complete tasks and allowing missions to continue even if some systems become disabled.
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