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Battle Roomba Tractor
jazzstep writes "This article on MSNBC introduces an interesting new duo on the robotics front. iRobot and John Deere have teamed up to create a new battle-ready robot for the Pentagon."
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They better hope that the battlefield doesn't have any corners for the "battle roomba" to get stuck in...
"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true." - Homer Simpson
"All your dust bunnies are belong to us."
Okay, works for me.
http://www.busyweather.com/
...They definitely need a strobing set of red lights that goes from side to side at the front of the car.
Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
Why does it takes so much money to make a remote control car? Don't we have those for kids like ages ago for less then $100? Scales it up, still doesn't justify the high price.
it would transform too! Room-bots, roll out!
Does the idea of putting artifical intelligence into a killing machine make anyone else a little nervous?
There is a drivers seat because one of the three modes of operation is "manual," with the other two being remote control and autonomous.
http://www.busyweather.com/
Asimov will twist and turn in his grave, what about the Laws of Robotics?!
BattleBot and Robot.. they don't mix!
Online backup with Mozy, sounds like Ozzie, but more!
"You can't fight in here, this is the War Room!"
That's the obligatory response to any robot battles in the Pentagon.
RC would be more fitting than robot status. This one will be controlled via human interface remotely whereas a robot having AI enough to maneuver on its own making decisions doesnt need a human at least for periods of time.
Welcome back to 82'!
Reminds me of a bad film I once saw. Short Circuit had the cuteness that iRobots have... with John Deere traction! Maybe it'll evolve this way?
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
So the John Deere part chops the enemies up into little pieces, and the roomba part vacuums them up?
Stupid sexy Flanders.
I'm surprised the military hasn't done this before. We already have drone planes that fly via remote. Granted, they have very little AI and only perform one task (reconaissance), but I would have thought that the military would have started off with a land robot/roomba/automated car. I can certainly see more uses for one, like if troops are pinned down in a dangerous environment, etc.
Two old farmers, one chewing a stalk of wheat.
"Abe, you gettin some new equipment for the next harvest?"
"Yep, I was gonna get me one of them Aytonomous Assault Vehicles to help in the south field."
"the 312?"
"nah, the 412, it's got the bailer attachment on the rear gun deck."
"John Deer always did make good AAV's"
"hell it'll get rid of the varmints too"
Think of all the time it will waste killing people over and over again.
If moderation could change anything, it would be illegal.
Features
And in other news, North Korea has just started work on its new defense -- fringed rugs!
What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
"My killbot has lotus notes and a machine gun."
Will it be in Miltary green, or John Deere green?
I wonder what OS that thing runs on and if it has wireless networking.
You dont want the "enemy" to hack into the robots and send them back to attack the creators ?
The ED209 was a bouncer at one of our shows last year.
Man, no one would piss with that dude!
Ascalante: Your bride is over 3,000 years old.
Kull: She told me she was 19!
The drone planes can also attack remotely now (hellfire missiles).
Flying is actually easier than driving because you don't have to worry about terrain and collisions as much. Take something as simple as a hill. The calculations and sensors to figure out that it's a hill, not a curb or other blockage, then figure out whether the slope is within climbing margins, etc, is actualy quite difficult. We're getting there, but people and animals have the equivalent of a supercomputer neural net trained for years just for processing visual information for this.
I don't read AC A human right
welcome our autonomous dust-sucking made-in-the-USA robot tractor overlords.
Tragedy strikes as the military's "seek, locate, EXTERMINATE!" commands are accidently downloaded into every combine and tractor in North America.
Maximum Overdrive, indeed.
"Nothing kills like a Deere"
Windows XP SP2 told me to install third-party software that prevents viruses and protects stability... I chose Ubuntu
Yes this is a huge "wheel" forward for the military. But I understand that for safety reasons (running over of friendly troops) the spec still calls for a soldier to walk in front of the machine waving a red Flag to warn our troops. If, however, he sees the enemy he switches immediately to waving a Green Flag to crush our enemies.
Apparently the DOD has put a high priority on frightening the enemy's pets.
-B
"Depending on battlefield circumstances, the vehicle could be controlled remotely, freeing up the soldiers inside it for other tasks, Greiner said." ;)
So you're putting your driver in a box somewhere behind the frontlines and letting him drive a vehicle full of people into what may be a dangerous battlezone, and without the full feedback of actually being there. Sounds like a bad idea to me, but if I get drafted I want that job.
Of course it will be small - don't you remember?
The wars of the future will not be fought on the battlefield or at sea. They will be fought in space, or possibly on top of a very tall mountain. In either case, most of the actual fighting will be done by small robots. And as you go forth today remember always your duty is clear: To build and maintain those robots. Thank you. -- Military school Commandant's graduation address, "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson"
In response to this recent product announcement several middle eastern countries have purchased large quantities of the Roomba Virtual Wall accessories and it is rumored that these are being installed along territory borders.
Magic Eight Ball: Outlook not so good., Hmmm, how about Excel and Word?
/me decides to wait for robotic appliances not produced by a company making military gear.
Great idea.
Don't forget to not use GPS.
Oh, and don't forget that you can't get on a plane manufactured by Boeing. Or any airplane manufacturer...
Or buy a Jeep (or any car, for that matter)...
Or buy office furniture of any type (or even shop at Staples, Office Depot, etc.)...
Or buy a computer from Dell, IBM, HP...
Because Lord knows we can't support the evil corporations who sell things to willing customers with lots of money. How dare they!
When I need a navigation system I will use GPS as there is no choice.
When I fly, I can select what plane I go on; again, little choice.
Cars: actually, most car companies are not in the business of weapon systems.
Office furniture and so on: again, they aren't creating weapon systems or weapon platforms.
When I have no choice, I have no choice. Often, however, I do - as in this case. At that point I take my right to use my money as I see fit. That would include not using it for products from companies that are active in developing weapon systems or platforms. I see that as a pretty big (though not all-encompassing) misfeature of their products and I act accordingly. It's called capitalism; you may have heard of it?
Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
Just so you know, iRobot was making robots for the military long before it came up with the Roomba. URBIE, the testbed that eventually led to the PackBot, was built under a DARPA grant in '97, fivr years before Roomba. If you're going to avoid a company for doing business with the military, you need to research more thoroughly. Otherwise, it's just posturing.
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.