http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-04-02/the-navys-newest-destroyer-is-a-drone
In the article the Author Drake Bennet wrote:
The Zumwalt also boasts what Raytheon calls a Total Ship Computing Environment, which allows it to be controlled from any of a couple dozen consoles around the ship. If the captain happens to be on the bow or the stern rather than up on the bridge when there’s an emergency, he can still take control of the ship. “He’s got that capability right where he’s at; he doesn’t have to run 600 feet and up multiple levels to get up to where he has to be,” says Knudson. The captain just signs in to the nearest console and enters a password, as if he’s doing some online banking.
If you read at the bottom of the page, you can see the reader comments:
The captain just signs in to the nearest console and enters a password, as if he’s doing some online banking. Oh, just like online banking? LOL
So he first gets a "Username or Password incorrect" message, then he has to have his username sent to his email then he has to get the link to reset his password. Then he gets the 'account locked' please call customer support message. Hello, thank you for calling Raytheon, your call is important to us, please listen carefully as our menu options have recently changed. If you know your party's extension you may dial it anytime during this message. Press 1 if...Press 2 if... Press 3 if...Press 6 if this a Zumwalt captain trying to logon on. 20 minutes later he has control of the ship from the console 15' away from where he was originally. Like that online banking?
You forgot to mention that when he calls customer support, he’ll have to listen to a 30 second commercial offering Zumwalts for 5 easy payments of 1 billion before getting connected to someone in Pakistan who sounds like he’s speaking Portuguese.
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| Courtesy General Dynamics Photo/US Navy |
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| Courtesy General Dynamics Photo/US Navy |
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| Courtesy General Dynamics Photo/US Navy |
When the U.S. Navy christens the first of its newest class of destroyers this month, it will launch the first ship with a brain of its own.
Among the high-tech features included on the USS Zumwalt—cannons that fire rocket-propelled, GPS-guided rounds and stealth design that gives the 610-foot ship the radar signature of a small fishing vessel—there’s also a computer intelligence capable of preparing the ship for battle and engaging enemy targets on its own. Think of it as a gigantic floating drone: “Most UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] are a few million dollars,” says Wade Knudson, who heads the Zumwalt project for Raytheon (RTN), which made most of the ship’s computer systems. “This is a $5 billion UAV.”
Unlike aerial drones, however, the Zumwalt will still have a human crew and it will know how to anticipate their needs. If the ship’s smoke alarms and cameras detect a fire, the ship will turn on the sprinklers and seal off the area. When the fire is out, the ship knows to drain the water so the crew can investigate. All of this automation means the ship will carry a crew of just over 150—half of what would normally be required on a ship of this size. In a pinch, it can be manned by a crew of 40.
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