New robots well trained for war

[Grasshopper27]

In future wars, robots may drop from the sky by the hundreds from unmanned aircraft, swarming like giant insects over battlefields in coordinated, terrifying assaults. But that is a decades-away scenario. For now, military planners and robot designers are simply trying to improve devices ? some of which could see action soon in Iraq ? by incorporating lessons from Afghanistan, where robots saw their first significant military action.

Hmm, sounds impressive, doesn't it?

Now look at the pic at the top of the story:
MSNBC

Now what do you think?

Prior to Afghanistan, the military was using robots for search-and-rescue and ordnance disposal, but mostly viewed them as long-term research. Airborne drones had proved easier to build than effective land robots.

But the new conflict persuaded the military to move faster. At the time, the state-of-the-art means for clearing a cave was to tie a rope around the waist of an infantryman, who would crawl in and toss ahead a grappling hook to probe for mines or booby traps.

The Pentagon asked iRobot, a startup that emerged out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology?s artificial intelligence program, to rig up its latest prototypes of the 42-pound, remote-controlled PackBot.

The Terminator it is not...

HOWEVER...

That being said, I think we all know that sooner or later, be it 10 years from now or 50 years from now, something along the lines of the Terminator will show up. The usefulness of such a robot is so high that we'll get there at some point.

Hopper

 

[ScrapSilicon]

yep

 

[MacBaine]

And then they will turn against us.

 

[Grasshopper27]

Another lesson from Afghanistan: One size does not fit all.

Sometimes, Jette said, soldiers wanted an 80-pound workhorse like a model built by Foster-Miller of Waltham, which was also tested in Afghanistan. Sometimes, the PackBot was just the right size.

And sometimes, especially in towns, what the soldiers really wanted was a ?throw bot? they could toss over a wall or through a window.

LOL! A "throw bot"... Funny, but probably true... Sounds a lot like a "GoBot" however.

Hopper

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: MacBaine
And then they will turn against us.

and we will send our best friend back in time to impregnate our mother

 

[HappyPuppy]

Originally posted by: Grasshopper27

In future wars, robots may drop from the sky by the hundreds from unmanned aircraft, swarming like giant insects over battlefields in coordinated, terrifying assaults. But that is a decades-away scenario. For now, military planners and robot designers are simply trying to improve devices ? some of which could see action soon in Iraq ? by incorporating lessons from Afghanistan, where robots saw their first significant military action.

Hmm, sounds impressive, doesn't it?

Now look at the pic at the top of the story:
MSNBC

Now what do you think?

Prior to Afghanistan, the military was using robots for search-and-rescue and ordnance disposal, but mostly viewed them as long-term research. Airborne drones had proved easier to build than effective land robots.

But the new conflict persuaded the military to move faster. At the time, the state-of-the-art means for clearing a cave was to tie a rope around the waist of an infantryman, who would crawl in and toss ahead a grappling hook to probe for mines or booby traps.

The Pentagon asked iRobot, a startup that emerged out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology?s artificial intelligence program, to rig up its latest prototypes of the 42-pound, remote-controlled PackBot.

The Terminator it is not...

HOWEVER...

That being said, I think we all know that sooner or later, be it 10 years from now or 50 years from now, something along the lines of the Terminator will show up. The usefulness of such a robot is so high that we'll get there at some point.

Hopper

I can only say that I hope not. People would be even more willing to go to war then.

 

[RbSX]

this just screams matrix

 

[zCypher]

Nice.. movies coming true are always cool

 

[Grey]

I'm scared! The latest robots coming from the Japanese labs are freaking nuts. Asimo is already 3 generations old and he was pretty impressive!

 

[Kadarin]

Once they turn on us, we'll have to build a clone army to fight that droid army...

 

[Grasshopper27]

Originally posted by: Grey
I'm scared! The latest robots coming from the Japanese labs are freaking nuts. Asimo is already 3 generations old and he was pretty impressive!

Thanks for reminding me of Asimo...

Why have they not stuck armor on him and given him a M-16? I've seen him walk up and down stairs, avoid falling objects, you can push him and he doesn't fall over, and he runs for hours on his battery pack.

Ok, so he costs what, $20 Million, but they hand built him as a one off prototype. What would it cost to build a million of them?

Hopper

 

[Grey]

He can only do a kilometer an hour though, I don't think there would be much difficulty in dealing with him lol.

 

[Grasshopper27]

Originally posted by: Grey
He can only do a kilometer an hour though, I don't think there would be much difficulty in dealing with him lol.

What, Asimo?

I thought he could run, it was the version before him that could only walk.

Or is the version after Asimo that runs?

Hopper

 

[SSP]

Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Once they turn on us, we'll have to build a clone army to fight that droid army...

lol, or use long laser sword to cut them in half/deflect their blaster weapons.

 

[Grasshopper27]

Originally posted by: SSP
lol, or use long laser sword to cut them in half/deflect their blaster weapons.

Oh brother...

You guys are the worst!

Of course, the laser swords won't be enough, so you'll need that clone army after all.

Hopper

 

[Grey]

Funny how we have a thread about machines that are capable of self mobility but it somehow translate into a Starwars geek fight. Laser swords will never happen, you cannot terminate the laser at a fixed length like in the SW universe.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Just for kicks, they should name the network of mainframes that control all of them "Skynet"

 

[THELAIR]

take teh gyro's from teh segway, enhance it a bit more, and make a 2 legged robot that can't be tipped over

 

[justint]

Originally posted by: Grasshopper27

Originally posted by: Grey
I'm scared! The latest robots coming from the Japanese labs are freaking nuts. Asimo is already 3 generations old and he was pretty impressive!

Thanks for reminding me of Asimo...

Why have they not stuck armor on him and given him a M-16? I've seen him walk up and down stairs, avoid falling objects, you can push him and he doesn't fall over, and he runs for hours on his battery pack.

Ok, so he costs what, $20 Million, but they hand built him as a one off prototype. What would it cost to build a million of them?

Hopper

Because some people try and use technology for things other than killing and maiming. They want to eventually market Asimo to perform receptionist duties, assist old people etc. not kill people. They deliberately scaled down Asimo from the original 6 + ft tall massively strong models to the child size ones you see today.

 

[gopunk]

I can only say that I hope not. People would be even more willing to go to war then.

well, those with robots, that is

 

[shiner]

Shut up! Y'all make me sick! All you ever talk about is robots. "Can they have hair?" "Can they have sex?" The answer to these questions would quite possibly drive you all insane!


If you're looking for me,
You better check under the sea,
'cause that is where you'll find me,

 

[JellyBaby]

I'm sure the executive and joint chefs are licking their chops over the day when UCAVs and robotic warriors dominate the scene. No casualties, no problems selling Operation Anyname to the public. Think of how much the U.S. will....accomplish via foreign policy in the years to come!

 

[Grasshopper27]

Originally posted by: gopunk

I can only say that I hope not. People would be even more willing to go to war then.

well, those with robots, that is

LOL!

Imagine the frustration the enemy would feel, knowing that each robot they destroy can simply be replaced, while their own soldiers cannot.

If you saw a thousand battle robots charging across the field, I think you'd reconsider the whole "war" concept too.

Hopper

 

[B00ne]

provided the battelers have nukes, the attacked one would just set up a nuke high up in the atmosphere and watch those charging robots stumble as their cicuits burn

 

[Grasshopper27]

Originally posted by: B00ne
provided the battelers have nukes, the attacked one would just set up a nuke high up in the atmosphere and watch those charging robots stumble as their cicuits burn

We already have tanks with NBC protection, why not robots?

I doubt the EMP from a nuke would shut down future battle robots.

Hopper