Slashdot Mirror
Robots for Air Force Protection
Roland Piquepaille writes "During a demonstration held in San Antonio on August 6, twelve robots intended to protect bases and people were shown to Air Force security directors and to 230 other security professionals. In "Robots display force-protection prowess," Air Force Link tells us the story. "Demonstrations included one robot that crawled up walls and across ceilings, another that clambered over rocks with six rotating legs and a third that wriggled like a snake through a pipe." This summary contains more details, including photos of the "Wall Crawler" climbing a wall and of Hexapod, a robot with six rotating legs walking over a pile of rocks."
These new gadgets are all well and good, just don't let them be outside during a thunder storm.
NMG
Now we just need to get the rabbit/human hybrid to be for Air Force Protection. Then the aliens will have to give in!
So when do the bolts of lightning cause the robots to become adorible artificially intelligent friendly meddling do gooders?
-73, de n1ywb
www.n1ywb.com
But I had to get rid of it, kept shitting on guests.
paintball
I'm waiting to see ED-209.
... is whot bwings os tugevza tsuzay.
I saw a documentary on this subject back in the '80s. As I recall, the all-terrain robots were quite impressive, but subject to major, non-reversable programming glitches when subjected to large electro-magnetic fields (such as lightning strikes).
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
Cool stuff, but I think these would be much more intimidating to potential attackers (check out the videos). :)
Did you know you can fertilize your lawn with used motor oil?
.. what happens when the bad guys get hold of one?
Stop the brainwash
Watch your backs, folks!
There's a Mercedes gap too. I want one and can't afford one, but it's not government's job to do anything about it.
Operator: Main screen turn on.
Captain: It's You!!
Cats: How are you gentlemen!!
Cats: All your base are belong to us.
Cats: You are on the way to destruction.
Captain: You'll have to get through my team of Aibos first!!!
They eat old peoples' medicine for fuel. As if the prescription drug problem wasn't bad enough...
IAALS.
On August 6th, 2003 at Lackland AFB, SkyNet became self aware.
On October 7th, 2003 they elected a Terminator to lead them.
October 8th, 2003. Judgement day.
We must build and maintain those robots.
These robots are neat as long as they don't turn against their controllers. I'm reminded by the robots from Itchy and Scratchy Land on the Simpsons.
Too bad Battlebots got cancelled.
These guys could have been contenders.
I for one welcome our new robot masters.
Pulp Audio Weekly - Geek News and Reviews
I think I have that in JKII...force shield or some such.
...you better tell arnold to put aside the elections campaign in California, because this is already starting to look like Skynet...
Robots to defend our military bases, what could possibly go wrong...
These robots look rather cool, but it seems to me that it would be easy to interrupt the radio transmitter controlling these robots. Isn't there a better way to control them (either automate them, or something?)
My Sig Beat up your Honor Roll Sig
RUNAWAY...?
infiltration!
.sig
Ben Jabituya: I am standing here beside myself.
Sorry folks!
Thats it! I can finally get a cooler security system then all you!
The story left out "RoboSlinky (TM)", which patrols stairs, alone or in pairs, and makes a "slinkety" sound. It debuted this Spring.
So, if someone were to fight one of the robots and break it, would it be a DMCA violation as well as a terrorist act?
SAILING MISHAP
someone flips the switch and cedes control of our robotic protectors to SkyNet ;)
Insects and Grafitti Photos
This is really scary. They're just begging Skynet to take over! Actually, methinks the military boys saw too many Terminator movies...
More seriously, if the military becomes heavily dependant on this kind of thing, in the near future, I can envisage being an unlicensed ter^H^H^H hacker becoming a crime punishible by an indefinite term in Guantanamo Bay.
/obligatory everything is scary post.
Forget thrust, drag, lift and weight. Airplanes fly because of money.
Funny to be reading that while I'm watching, "The Wrong Trousers" right now. (Think of the scene where the evil penguin is forcing Wallace to steal the diamond by walking across the ceiling).
The robots were developed for several purposes, including inspections hazardous areas, and bomb detection/disposal. However, they have more uses, because of their mobility they can be used to find victims trapped in narrow areas where a human or rescue dog might not be able to get at. Plus, robots don't complain about their job.
K1LL ALL HUMANS
K1LL ALL HUMANS
K1LL ALL HUMANS
Beep.
Informatus Technologicus
One of the articles linked talked about people currently buying these things:
People have bought it just the way it is for things like inspecting the fuselage of an aircraft," Wiedeman said.
We are one step closer to having R2D2! I wonder if the robots can crawl around while the plane is in flight? (Probably not, based on the specs given). Anyway, I think this is pretty interesting. Using these on a space shuttle might not be a bad idea, ie- crawling around outside and inspecting things before take off. And later- making external in-flight repairs...
I want Videos! Pictures do nothing for me. In this age of palm sized video cameras and streaming porn, you would think I could get at least a lo-res video of some robots.
Perhaps one day we can have a single robot to perform the varied functions mentioned above.
Having your base protected by robots can lead to the possible problem of one thunderstorm shutting down base security. Until major improvements in AI are made, I would not trust robots to perform such a vital function.
These robots seem radio controlled...so who's to stop a terrorist from getting a signal jammer and rendering these things useless...or a more powerful transmitter and taking them over?
But does this situation with military and amateur inventors battlebots remind anyone else of the early days of aviation?
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Robots: All your base are belong to us! mod -1 stupid.
Best read in good ol' Monaco 9 point.
Did anyone else expect the AIR FORCE to have robots that fly ? I mean, really ...
No sig for you. YOU GET NO SIG!
don't kill people, ...oh wait. They do.
Never mind.
I am a robot, do what I say, hehehehe.
I am a washing machine, do what I say, hehe.
The future Governor Joke of California is a robot too in the movie. In real life, who can say.
What kind of state of national security are we in if the Military needs robot guards?
The hexapod robot is very likely the one commonly
called RHex. It was basically designed after a
cockroach. You can find a lot more videos of it
on the net. Its performance is truly impressive.
And the best thing: The software for RHex is hosted
on sourceforge!
Seems like the Shuttle would be an IDEAL candidate, since they mention it wandering around outside boats... except that pesky 'vector fan' controls that KEEP it against the surface...no air, no vectors... Guess they'll need a better solution for the shuttle.
Extended Warranty? How can I lose!
Sarge: Soldier, we've gotten orders to attack. Prepare battlefleet 5 and get ready to strike on my signal.
Soldier: Sarge, we gotta problem...
Sarge: "Problem", soldier? Whatd'ya mean "we gotta problem"?
Soldier: the bots, Sarge. They're all upgrading. Gonna take at least an hour, then we have to test them all again. Last virus was a bitch, they were all singing "My Way" a capella together...
Sarge: yeah, I heard. Those slimy bastards... it was terrible...
Soldier: anyhow, this new patch is gonna block all those music viruses.
Sarge: OK, do what you have to. But what about the enemy?
Soldier: Oh, no problem. We hit them with TZ/21, it's the virus that makes their 'bots quote random Nietsche, with Bob Hope delivery...
Sarge: poor bastards... poor bastards...
Soldier: yeah, war sucks. So, game of Doom/6?
Sarge: yeah, why not... (don VR helmets, zapping noises)
Ceci n'est pas une signature
Having a 1 trillion dollars budget to play with is sure cool.
But how can those things cope with an insider throwing a nade in a tent?
Or some loonies firing rockets to a jeep?
Technology isnt the solution to all problems.
Well, maybe there will be civilian outcomes.
Can they pass the ASVAB on their first try? If so, they may be overqualified. . . :p
All levity aside, Air Force cops are chronically overworked and underappreciated. Anything that helps them do their jobs and makes their jobs a bit easier is well worth the money.
!#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
now. just how the hell does that thing climb the walls?
assuming wallclimbing doesn't require being bit by a radioactive spider, it would be kinda kool to make a couple of those and let them climb around at random at home. if nothing else than to entertain the cat.
besides, couldn't you build a human wall-climber using the same principle?
does this tech scale (sorry) well?
f64 : climbing walls, lacking coffee
why don't you open one on GNU (pronounce as Gay-N-U) website ?
I bet the Wall Crawler works like one of those "intelligent Roomba lookalikes". Open one of these up and I bet you'll see:
One motor.
One battery tray.
One switch.
One power socket.
One LED.
One SuperGlue(TM) container.
A few wires.
And the things you won't see:
A circuit board.
A processor.
A louvered fan.
Any sensors.
Any intelligence or ability to protect air force.
According to Schumer "The threat facing commercial airliners from shoulder-fired missiles here in the United States is no longer theoretical"
So again I state... Waste money on pork-barrel shit like this, or but it to proper use?
Full article on Schumer & view on this matter
MoFscker
If you can't figure it out from the picture, the idea is that rather than the traditional (biologically inspired) multi-jointed, multi-DOF leg design, a curved and somewhat flexible leg is just mounted directly to the motor shaft, which spins it like a wheel. The result is a robot that can navigate rough terrain with the same competence as its biologically inspired counterpart, but using much simpler control software and, more significantly, requiring much less mechanical complexity, which makes for a much more robust design. Very cool stuff.
Roving Web-Teleoperated Robot
After reading the article on the genetically crossed rabit-human hybrid, why use robots. I think the military should use rabbits. The reasons are obvious
1. Beats the metallic-boring robots.
2. Cute and fluffy weapon of doom.
[big robot voice] "...Please put down your weapon. You now have twenty seconds to comply..."
Chuck Norris: Socialism == a thousand years of darkness.
Why do people insist on calling these things robots? It's not a robot if a human is controlling it with a remote control. It's just a toy. A true *robot* operates autonomously.
OK, these robots are all well and good, but when are we going to see COMBAT MECHA?????? C'mon folks...nothing says "Shock and Awe" more than a 10-story-tall mecha, loaded for bear!!! Combat mechas NOW, dammit!!!! +^_^+
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
If this thing uses a louvered fan for suction how does it transition from the wall to the ceiling?
If you can read this sig - the bitch fell off.
I've been kinda disappointed with the advances in 'perimeter' defence. You would think by now they'd have some impressive machines sitting out there instead of these dinky robots. Sure the technology is cool, no one is doubting that. But I would have thought by now they'd have portal remote controled devices that they could place in areas. Like the remote controled/automated guns in Aliens. These things can't be that expensive to build and setup?
"Thanks to the remote control I have the attention span of a gerbil."
DO NOT point a gun at them when demonstrating their effectiveness to a large group of senior executives.
Shop smart, Shop S-Mart.
Look out for skynet!
And here are the links for RHex: /. )
( easy to remember, easy to
RHex project home
RHex software on sourceforge
You have 20 seconds to comply.
19
18
17...
They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
"subject to major, non-reversable programming glitches when subjected to large electro-magnetic fields (such as lightning strikes).
WHAT... pray tell.. isnt subect to a non reverable program glitch when struck by lighting?
even your beloved "linux" couldnt survive that.
p.s. this is a RETORICAL post.. yes i know airplanes and stuff can survive strikes.. but a 2 foot robot?
The More Knowledge you have the Luckier you Get- J.R. Ewing
from http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/20030813a .asp
Is anyone else getting annoyed with the increase in last sentences that say "Check this link (Usually the poster's blog) for more details."
I wouldn't be so annoyed if it had more details. What most of them should say is "Check my link for a summary and all the pictures!"
...until the robots send one of their own back in time to stop John Connor?
They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
Shouldn't a robot be described as some mechanical device that's autonomous or otherwise self-guided?
These "robots" all seem to be remote-controlled, making them expensive RC toys you'll find in 5 years at Radio Scrap.
Wow, very cool. If they get those perfected quickly enough, the next Indiana Jones movie won't have an embarassing "obvious glass wall between deadly cobra and Indy" goof.
~Philly
I think humans have a real problem when they get hit by lightning strikes... go figure! They suffer non-reversable brain and heart glitches when subjected lightning.
Granted, you have to get hit directly; however, wouldn't we want a robot destryoed rather than one of our soldiers?
Yes "saftey examinations", uh ha, more like "bug placement" to me.
It was software the entire time... we should have listened to the Terminator. Now we're stuck in this Fallout-style control room while skynet is about to get its war on... Damn...
Laws are for people with no friends.
Bin Laden is just so silly.
He thinks he can win by smuggeling and using rocket launchers into the USA.
He should know better.
These days, we don't use rockets anymore. We use elektro-magnetic puls and their launchers.
I found some fascinating footage of similar tests conducted by the military, with not very promising results.
[bandwidth-friendly Google cache]
Excelent, Smitheres.... Release the robots!
More like a 20 million dollar RC car, from the looks of the photo.
End of Line.
Is anyone else envisioning that scene from Robo Cop when they demonstrate the new next best thing? Thanks but I'll take a good ole fashioned human being carrying a rifle to keep an eye on my backside.
MMORPG Fan? Prove your worth!
The images show a human remote-controlling two of the machines. Sorry, if they are human-controlled, they aren't robots (despite what pop culture calls such machines).
The word 'robot' implies some degree of autonomy. At the end of the article, it says one of the machines is nearly autonomous and can be programmed to patrol a perimeter. Ok, that one's a robot. The rest seem to be remote-control security cameras...
Liberal (adj.): Free from bigotry; open to progress; tolerant of others.
How long until defense robots become blonde, wear red leather and have plasma guns on the right hand?
Uh... never mind.
Unfortunately, despite their technical progress, the Air Force was forced to cancel the project when the RIAA found out they had downloaded the "DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!!" sound clip.
All your base are belong to us.
---
Lousy rotten karmic retribution.
You have 20 seconds to comply!
</obligatory robocop quote>
This Like That - fun with words!
The dude in the 2nd picture is in total Gargoyle mode (ala Stephenson) with his strap on ...uh..um...bi-directiona,infrared,802.1x, thing hunched to his back like a redwood...
We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. - HST
A fully fledged chaingun, and good armoring.
Manufacturing a single such, beast could costs a LOT less than training a basic soldier. Having large bunch of those sitting in warehouses costs a LOT less than having huge number of soldiers on field.
But in the otherhand, several other countries will get capabilities of making autonomous war machines soon, and as byproduct using their war machine becomes a LOT cheaper than currently.
Emacs is good operating system, but it has one flaw: Its text editor could be better.
It cannot be stopped, only postponed.
No really, either we get taken out by these, or by nanobots, or by genetically-engineered diseases. Pick yer poison.
But hey, it's only the continuation of an old tradition, that we should help to select our successors. The monkeys could do that to a limited degree, only by choosing with whom to have sex; but we get to build them with our own hands.
As far as I know, the R2 units sit in the back like co-pilots.
For the ones that can crawl around on the outside of the ship and fix things, look to the drones from "Silent Running".
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Another robot brought to the exhibition was an experimental prototype of the mark 3 travel machine, recently renamed as the "Dalek" by it's creator Davros. Mass production of these travel machines will begin shortly.
Actually, the majority of people struck by lightning directly survive. Typically the lightning bolt leaves a burn around the size of your fist at the entry/exit points, although it can cause a heart attack/seizure. In fact, "a full 80% of people that are hit by lightning recover", according to Toronto Hiking (here http://www.torontohiking.com/Tutorials/lightning/l ightning.html).
"Stumble before you crawl"
No true. I've got a bolt of lightning in my living room and I've managed to get Linux to run on it. You can install Linux on *anything*
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
Now imagine preparing for the "invading force" and 10,000 of these come marching into town. You shoot them, they keep coming forward, you throw bombs at them and their legs fall off, but they still keep coming after you. They could even be programed to be non-leathal attackers that just grab you and don't let go and bring you back to jail. If fuel cells actually happen this kind of stuff is not that far off.
KAWADA INSUTRIES
Yes, a wall walker may have more praticle uses, but imagine the fear factor of an army of these things coming into town with machine guns!
more crazy stuff here
http://www.ohlssonvox.com
" "a full 80% of people that are hit by lightning recover","
The remaining 20% develop superpowers and endeavor to save the Earth or destroy it.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Ah, to my great regret, I did not miss Phantom Menace. Thankfully, as you have shown, I have forgotten parts of it.
I fear that the damnable tongue will be the last thing that "meesa" will forget, however.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Hmm??
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
So, If someone is jamming the control frequency you just tell the real live human sky cops who have authority to use lethal force to wake up and go drive the perimeter road looking for someone jumping the fence. Plus if they are using even the 1980's SINCGARS radio technology the signal will be hard to jam and the jamming will be easy to triangulate back to a source. They are more likely to be using one of the newer frequency agile radio technologies that are even more resistant to jamming. They probably have provision for connecting a landline data link to robots that are 'standing watch' and only move through a limited area mitigating the man in the middle attack vulnerability. The robots that climb on walls and ceilings look like they are intended for use to scout an interior area for intruders. They may be semi-autonomous and only transmit back the base station if they spot something. Given the state of machine object recognition there will have to be an operator evaluating the senor data from this type of stuff for a long time to come.
" Now imagine preparing for the "invading force" and 10,000 of these come marching into town. You shoot them, they keep coming forward, you throw bombs at them and their legs fall off, but they still keep coming after you"
You saw that same episode of The Simpsons with the itchy and scratchy amusement park too!
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
The robot dog in "Red Planet" surely had some of Jonny-5 in its ancestry...
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
If you have one of these robots, who needs an air force.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Military guy: Will he kill me if I stop?
Ben: Who is to say?
Military guy: Will he kill me if I don't stop?
Ben: Again I am shrugging.
Number 5: Many fragments. Some large, some small.
There was an earlier story on Slashdot about RHex, as part of the Aqua project. Videos are available on the ARL website at McGill.
"Ben: Again I am shrugging."
Sounds like something from.... oh, never mind.
All your bot are belong to us.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
Did you even click on the link the original poster provided? It might prove to be enlightening.
That'll be real hard to explain when these things grease some dumbass taxpayer's son!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
This is absolutely wrong. You only survive getting hit by a glance of lighting. One of the smaller bolts may lick you and leave a little burn. If the main bolt hits you, the only thing left is a pile of ashes. My AP physics teacher back in highschool told me how his sister was a Park Ranger and she would be first to the scene of a lightening strike incident and the only thing left was a "pile of ashes." I know this sounds like a story from a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend...etc but for some reason I have the highest trust in my highschool physics teacher. He can not be wrong!@
Moderation: +1 pwnage
I'll tell you why. Start making it easy for countries to engage in war w/o risking human lives and suddenly you've completely changed the fundamentals of why and when people are willing go to war. Combat bots should be outlawed by the Geneva convention. War sucks, but in order for it to have any legitamcy whatsoever, then lives must be at risk. If lives aren't at risk then wars become too easy to start.
Of course, maybe war will evolve in such a way that we'll just carry out computer models to figure out who wins and then send the "correct" number of losers into extermination chambers ala - what was that episode of Star Trek?
8 ^ |
... and one that was made of liquid metal and wants to kill us all.
___
It's the end of my comment as I know it and I feel fine.
Runaway
Idiot moderators -- at least read the post before moderating! It's not what you assumed it was!
I wonder what you get for slashdotting af.mil!
Incoming....
People used to think that robots, not computers would be common place in the future like in Star Wars (I know it's the distant past in a galaxy far, far... anyway). A few years ago I thought we would have a more Star Trek-type future where computers are integrated into everything and robots wouldn't be so common. Now I believe that is changing. On /. I keep reading about more and more robots as well as computers. On TechTV they seem to always show something about robots, be it on TechLive or that awful Robot Wars (come on, that whole robot fighting fad is sooo two years ago). I think the reason for this change is better, cheaper technology. Anyone can waltz down to the RadioShack, among other outlets, and pick up parts for one. Building a robot 5-10 years ago would result in something along the intelligence of a RoboSweep--not really worth the effort. I think robots will have a larger role in the future than I thought--Good luck Airforce, good luck iRobot (the makers of the Roomba vacuum cleaner).
- Danny
As we all know, the largest flaw in typical killbot design is their preset kill-limit. This allows a large group of soldiers to easily defeat them without firing a single shot.
XJS*C4JDBQADN1.NSBN3*2IDNEN*GTUBE-STANDARD-ANTI-U
You meant to say NetBSD. Linux can be ported badly to any architecture, with a partial non-standard userland thrown together by someone at random.
With NetBSD if it's ported to an architecture, it's the same identical codebase as on every other NetBSD architecture.
A Good Intro to NetBS
Why cant they make robots to do inflight repairs for fighter jets or space shuttles and such like little r2's but probably much smaller and using a lot of them with preprogrammed repair routines being selected by an operator who can remote diagnose.
Between this and the Attack of the Rabbit People story, I'm starting to think that article yesterday may have come a bit too soon ...
Ya know... we got the viruses taking out computers, we got the highly specialized super-computers, and now we've got robots protecting military installations. None of that really bothered me until I realized my name was John.
"Derp de derp."
Could the Wall Crawler be used as a trusted companion to carry your packed lunch when climbing a particularly treacherous mountain face?
Although "Force Protection" is a good use of robots I'm sure hand-in-hand goes "Force Projection". How far away are we from Robots being able to do our dirty work?
One of the big debates about war in the U.S. is the death of U.S. Servicemen and women. What happens when we remove that risk?
TV: On the Six O'Clock news tonight "One of our Stablization Robots mows down 100 peasants" Click "Welcome back to Paradise Hotel!"
No number of robots can protect you from world opinion. If only all your military spending were redirected to something useful...
When did our definition of "robot" become "Nifty mobile vehicle with some kind of new technology" ? A robot, sort of by definition, is an autonomous machine, capable of acting and reacting on its own without human intervention. Battlebots? They're just souped-up RC cars. ASIMO? His every step is preprogrammed; if you moved the stairs a foot forward he'd trip, because ASIMO is not a robot.
These pictures clearly show humans remotely controlling them. What makes them different than remote controlled cars that you can buy at Toys-R-Us, the fact that they can crawl up walls or have six funky legs? Please, stop referring to these fancy toys as "robots" and diminishing the accomplishments of those who make real autonomous robots.
And yes, I have worked on real robots. Last year I was on the robotics team from the University of Rochester. Our robot Mabel the Mobile Table, an autonomous robotic hors d'ourvres-serving waiter, won the AAAI Robot Host competition. Robotics means artificial intelligence, at least rudimentary AI, not just some new means of locomotion.
-3Suns
~~~~
The Revolution will be Slashdotted
"640Kb ought to be enough for anybody." - Bill Gates.
I read at -10
IANAP
Convergence - I like the idea, but, given a non-fractal programming language, how can you compress more and more information (code) into a given number of bits? There has to be some sort of Shannon's law equivalent that says ultimately that if you have x inputs and y outputs you need a certain size of code just to contain, or generate, all the possible i/o states.
I'm not saying that current code is space-optimised by the way.
I didn't see the pusher and shover robots. Are those other ones here to protect us from the Terrible Secret of Space?
I won't be content until we have robots to protect us from the TERRIBLE SECRET OF SPACE! *ahem*.../me goes down the stairs
how is this obligatory? it isn't in any way connected, save for the fact that you made a nonsensical connection to the Aibo, which has little to do with the robots under discussion here. What the hell are you mods on?!?!?!
Photo here.
Next time you're watching the film, pay close attention - his voice is dubbed in.
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
I would trust robots more than the pansy "airmen" frat boys any day. Robots would tend to not try to impress each other as much and wouldn't need all the pampering. Robots on the other hand will require maintenance and thus you have a real need for AF folks. Perhaps then they can change their name to "Tech Group" as anything resembling military just is confusing. Ever seen "Toys"? Why train for the military when you can just use Nintendo players? Saves money and effort and that ichy dirt and grime won't get under your nails.
If you're an assembly language programmer, you'll have a hell of a time writing enough code to fill up 640Kb.
But you didn't even look at what I was typing, you just made a quip.
A Good Intro to NetBS
I am a doctor, and I treat these folks... lightning strikes are no joke.
Lightning strikes have about a 30+% mortality, and permanent disability is very common... almost 80% of people have some sort of deficit afterwards.
Some of the deficits are subtle, neuropsychiatric defects... others are much more disabling.
Lightning typically causes a fern-shaped burn pattern, and cardiac/respiratory arrest are very common. If someone is not around to provide CPR for you, your odds of death are quite high.
Development of superpowers is uncommon.
Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
You know, how useful can a robot be for military purposes. All I need is a really big magnet.
What do you mean my sig is repetitive? What do you mean my sig is repetitive? What do you mean....