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Wi-Fi Security Robots?
John Hering writes "It was bound to happen.... Security Robots that are "Wi-Fi" enabled and capable of enterprise-grade tasks. Details have emerged about a robotics platform that combines cutting edge security and wireless technologies and is capable of integration with buildings' central heating and cooling systems, security systems, air quality controls, wi-fi networks, and even lighting and power systems to provide valuable building services and emergency back-up. It can even greet guests, guide them to their destinations or lead building tours! Similar projects in the past have pushed these robotics technologies forward and spawned numerous new projects , especially amongst the linux community."
If you had read the article, you would have realized that they do not carry arms themselves - they merely assist the guards by carrying equipment and the like into dark and unsafe places. They're primarily built to be surveillance robots, that is all!
It's not just the software being Windows or Linux or whatever - its the hardware too. There is a reason NASA had chosen x86 for a lot of its missions - reliability and hardware dependability.
And quite honestly, I find it really unlikely for any of these things to be running anything close to Windows (if they ever wanted, it would be CE, which again is not really a good option). These things would have to be built for realtime apps, coupled with networking capabilitis and the like and would perhaps be happier running something like QNX.
Or ofcourse, customized Linux/*BSD kernels.
And oh, Naval ships do run Windows within the ship - perhaps not the control centers, but still, a significant chunk of the (active and on-duty) Navy does use Windows.