CMU's Snooping Robot Headed for Iraq

Posted by CowboyNeal on Saturday May 22, 2004 @05:43AM from the listening-devices-on-wheels dept.

mike_the_kid writes "Here's an interesting article about a robot near the end of development at CMU. It's a four-wheeler called the Dragon Runner. This robot has no 'right side up,' so no matter which way it lands, its ready to go. The user (currently projected to be a US Marine) throws the robot over a fence or up a flight of stairs. The robot has cameras that send live video back to the operator, and directional microphones that can relay as well. A cool feature is that it can tell the operator where there is movement (via audio or tactile feedback)." We first mentioned the Dragon Runner a while back, but the previous article was more about the Dragon Eye, a small remote-controlled airplane.

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Minority Report by ninejaguar · 2004-05-22 05:45 · Score: 5, Funny

In a few years, it'll have spider legs, climb on your face, and poke you in the eye.
= 9J =
like a blackbox... by slashrogue · 2004-05-22 05:45 · Score: 5, Funny

"We've thrown it out of second- and third-story windows," said Capt. Dave Moreau, project officer for Dragon Runner at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory in Quantico, Va. "We've thrown it off the back of a moving vehicle at 45 miles an hour."

If they can make the robot out of this stuff, why not make the whole Marine out of it?
Right Side Up! by yintercept · 2004-05-22 07:20 · Score: 5, Funny

This robot has no 'right side up,' so no matter which way it lands, its ready to go.

Personally, I don't know if sending more things that don't know "right side up" to Iraq is a good decision at this point.