Slashdot Mirror

(Wasn't this book reviewed once before on Slashdot?)

That book is all about the previous generation of military robots. Take a look at the next generation:

• The Legged Squad Support System. This is the next generation of "Big Dog" - fully militarized, no more annoying two-cycle engine noise, stronger, faster, more range, about the same size. This isn't even considered a research project; it's on the weapons deployment track.
• The Multi-Robot Pursuit System. Packs of robots to hunt down uncooperative humans. Your tax dollars at work.
• The Foster-Miller robot gun turret. This machine gun turret accessory turns any moving platform into a killbot.

Wait until China starts cranking out these things by the millions.

There is a good story about the only armed ground robot ever used "in theater" being pulled from Iraq at Popular Mechanics. This robot made the cover of Popular Mechanics in March 2008. Some details about the robot, SWORDS, and other versions of military robots in production can be found at Foster-Miller's website.

So after reading the article and associated links, I gather that:

1. The U.S. Army commissioned Foster-Miller to modify their TALON remote-controlled vehicle to carry and operate various types of weapons. The modified vehicle is named SWORDS, and erroneously described as a "robot", although it is neither human-like in appearance nor autonomous in operation.

2. Some time later, the Army canceled the production order, citing an "unexpected movement" of a single test unit.

3. Simultaneously, the Army purchased, from the same company, a bigger, badder version of the same product.

Folks, this isn't a failed robotic uprising. It isn't even the over-reaction of a safety-conscious Army Executive. This is an excuse to kill a little project in order to start a bigger one.

If they start releasing games that have the same controls and abilities of UAVs and armed ground robots like Talon Swords, think of what they will have. Kids start training in elementary school, by the time they turn 16 they could be ridiculously skilled with the use of remote operated war machines. Heck, the upgrades for the machines could well come from the feed back from the kids playing the game. It could be very like the end of "Ender's Game" real battles could be remotely won by kids thinking of it as playing a tournament.

http://www.foster-miller.com/lemming.htm http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=12 2

Here you go:
http://www.defensereview.com/modules.php?name=News &file=article&sid=704
http://www.foster-miller.com/projectexamples/t_r_m ilitary/ferret.htm

That little baby will keep your home safe - guaranteed.

For some reason the link to Foster-Miller didn't get included in the final post. Here is our public page for http://www.foster-miller.com/lemming.htm Talon Robots with links to some brochures and media. And no, I don't know who named the html page "lemming" or why.

I work at the company that makes these although I'm not in that group. I've heard that when they were first developed the army was afraid that the controls were too complicated for the soldiers. However, because many soldiers were raised playing Nintendo controlling the robots was second nature to them. You can read more about them here, and here is their data sheet.

I work at the company that makes these although I'm not in that group. I've heard that when they were first developed the army was afraid that the controls were too complicated for the soldiers. However, because many soldiers were raised playing Nintendo controlling the robots was second nature to them. You can read more about them here, and here is their data sheet.

How long will it take for Foster-Miller to implement the software from whatever team wins this thing into their Talon system...?

DARPA, and the DOD would *love* to have semi to full autonomous "kill bots" - in a way, today, they already have them for some tasks - they are called "cruise missles", which can be launched, told to stay on "hold" above possible targets, then commanded to strike on located targets. I would assume "located" likely means some form of lat/lon coordinates or painted with a laser (either by troops or from the air).

The exact same thing could be done with a kill bot: send it to a predetermined position, and tell it to "hold fire" unless acted upon agressively, or if non-friendly comes into position (at which point it could bark a series of commands in different languages to the offender - think of it as an active landmine with intelligence that can move on command), which if not heeded, shoots a warning, then if continued, shoots to kill. Friendlies are identified by RFID or similar tags. Equip them with the ability to identify each other, as well as to flock or coordinate efforts with one another. Other commands could be something like "fire on ident", where they could be set up, then when a target is painted with a laser (perhaps from a troop's rifle), it fires on that target.

You better bet that the DOD and DARPA would be all over such a system if it was proven field safe (to our troops) and easy/quick to use, and rugged. They are half way there with the TALON robots already, they just lack the rest of the package, which the Grand Challenge is dealing with...

Of course, one can also easily see the potential of scaled up versions - robotic Humvees and M1A tanks, as well as robotic quads, and perhaps legged versions...

BTW - this last was actually funded by DARPA back in the 1980's, which culminated in the Odetics, Inc. (now known as Iteris, Inc. - based in Anaheim, California - interesting the strange things going on at this company, whatwith name changes, etc - plus, they are developers of an "electronic highway" concept - I am sure there is no relation to the Grand Challenge - wink, wink) ODEX-1 legged walker - a very unique leg design that proved to be fairly robust and strong, while keeping outboard weight (on the legs) to an absolute minimum by moving all the electric motors inward toward the torso of the machine.

Think about it - if you could, in addition to GPS coordinates, vision systems, etc - also bury in the ground or nearby some form of active or passive "locator" beacons, such as what Odetics - oops, I mean Iteris - is developing - wouldn't the problem become just a little bit simpler...?

Nah - DARPA hasn't been thinking about this, not at all, not at all...

Ok, I need one of these

Now, what options do I want?

Gripper manipulator.
Smoke dropping module.
Grenade dropping module.
Breaching tool.
Gen III night vision camera.
NBC sensors.
UXO/countermine systems/sensors.
Anti-Tank (AT4) launcher.
Light Anti-Tank Weapon (LAW) launcher.
40-mm grenade launcher (M203 barrel).
12-gauge shotgun.
Mounts for remotely controlled weapons including: M240; M249: M16; M82A1 (50-cal).

Oh screw it, I'll take all the options. But... where's the pusher module?

Click on the photo on that page, and you will see a number of weapons systems attached, including TOW and mortar tubes!

I want one of these for my toddler to play with.

The company I work for, Foster-Miller, actually develops multi-functional clothing for the military for just this sort of application. This page gives a very brief example of including antennas in "electro-textiles". We also produce a number of other really cool integrated electronic capabilities for armor and clothing, but my NDA prevents me from listing them here. I can tell you though that clothing specifically designed to meet the future electronic device needs of the military is being developed and is well beyond the prototype stage.

The company I work for, Foster-Miller, actually develops multi-functional clothing for the military for just this sort of application. This page gives a very brief example of including antennas in "electro-textiles". We also produce a number of other really cool integrated electronic capabilities for armor and clothing, but my NDA prevents me from listing them here. I can tell you though that clothing specifically designed to meet the future electronic device needs of the military is being developed and is well beyond the prototype stage.