- Scientists say they used the technology to build a pistol-sized coilegun, which is the smallest and most powerful of its kind.
- The Chinese military is already using AI to build powerful weapons like railguns that can fire projectiles hundreds of kilometers in range.
Artificial intelligence could outperform humans in developing futuristic weapons, according to a team of Chinese naval researchers who claim to have developed the smallest but most powerful spiral pistol in the world.
The prototype weapon developed by Professor Zhang Xiao and her team at Naval Engineering University in Wuhan has a 12 cm (4.5 inch) barrel, about the size of a pistol, that contains three battery-operated coils that generate an electromagnetic field.
This electromagnetic field means that, unlike a conventional weapon, the bullet does not touch the sides when passing through the barrel.
The researchers found that the kinetic energy of the bullet, as it was, could reach nearly 150 joules, more than double the energy required to fire a fatal shot.
Bullet speed can vary based on factors such as size and weight, and the scientists said one of the main advantages of using a coil pistol is that, unlike a traditional pistol, it can be set to fire lethal or non-lethal shots.
In an article published in Transactions of the China Electrotechnical Society last month, Zhang said the gun had the advantages of “adjustable speed and very short response time,” adding that it had great counter-terrorism and potential maintain stability.
The researchers say it would have been impossible to achieve this level of performance without the use of AI in the design process.
The most powerful hand-held coil gun today is the GR-1 “Anvil,” a US$3,750 rifle released earlier this year by Los Angeles-based Arcflash Labs that is available for pre-order in the commercial market.
The company says on its website that it can produce a muzzle energy of 85 joules, comparable to a large airgun.
The first model developed by Zhang’s team was similar to the American product, according to the study, but after the introduction of artificial intelligence into the design, the performance of the weapon increased significantly.
An electromagnetic weapon is difficult to develop because it is more sophisticated than a typical firearm, the researchers said.
For example, small differences in the size and shape of the coils can make a dramatic difference in performance, and the battery used in the gun is a complex device with many settings that can also have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the weapon.
This, along with other elements such as the design of the bullet and barrel, made the coilgun too complex for traditional weapon software.
But, according to Zhang, AI can start with an imperfect design and continuously improve by learning from past mistakes.
The AI gave human designers a huge set of optimized data points that nearly doubled the efficiency of the weapon compared to the U.S. rifle by maximizing the combined performance of many different components, he said. This resulted in a massive downsizing of the weapon and increased its energy output.
Chinese military researchers are already using AI to develop large-scale electromagnetic weapons like railguns that can fire projectiles hundreds of kilometers or in orbit.
The Navy recently built a test facility to use AI to develop intelligent railgun ammunition that can withstand extremely high pressures and strong magnetic fields, making them more effective in a variety of operations, according to a recent study.
In July, the United States Navy shut down a railgun program that had been plagued by technical difficulties and slow progress for the past 15 years, and said it would instead focus its resources on developing hypersonic weapons.
China has already carried out numerous test drives with its railguns. The Naval Armaments Department’s Artillery Equipment Bureau in Beijing recently said China would stick to its railgun program.
“The range of electromagnetic railguns on board a ship can be 200 km [120 miles]. In other words, without a carrier-based aircraft having to take off, continuous fire support can be achieved and call attacks can be achieved within 200 km of coast, “according to a study published in the Journal of Gun Launch and Control last week.
“Currently, 80 percent of the world’s population lives less than 200 km from the coast. Therefore, the use of electromagnetic railguns can guarantee the safety of the strategic channel of the ‘Maritime Silk Road’ along the belt and the highway and protect the development interests of our country,” said the marine researchers.
