The U.S. Navy is rolling out a new program to use artificial intelligence for unmanned, armed patrol boats within the next year.

These new patrol boats, which use technology adapted from NASA's Mars rover, will help escort and defend warships when traveling through sensitive sea lanes, Agence France-Presse reported.

Currently, these patrol boats include four sailors on board to help guide the ships, but with the robotic system on board there will only need to be a single sailor who can oversee up to 20 ships.

The Office of Naval Research released the results of a study Sunday that they deemed a breakthrough in the use of the technology.

The unprecedented demonstration in August involved 13 robotic patrol craft escorting a ship on the James River in Virginia, AFP reported. While no shots were fired during the test, the boats are designed to be able to do so and can be equipped with lights, blaring sound and a 50-caliber machine guns.

The demonstration involved simulating a threat to the Navy ships, which the boats responded to by circling the target to allow the ship to pass safely.

But the robotic technology can do much more. In addition to detecting threats and responding, they also follow vessels and determining best routes, as well as sensing other obstacles.

The potential for this much autonomy has raised concerns about robotic warfare and the hazards of not having comprehensive regulations in place to deal with such crafts.

The Navy responded by saying that there are fail-safes, and if communication with the craft broke off, it would be cut off, leaving it dead in the water to prevent any mishaps.

The new technology, dubbed CARACaS, or Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing, would be outfitted into the 11-yard long vessels known in the military as rigid hulled inflatable boats for a low cost.

"We have every intention to use those unmanned systems to engage a threat," naval research chief Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder said. "There is always a human in the loop of that designation of the target and if so, the destruction of the target."