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Soldiers Bond with Bomb-Defusing Robots
hdtv writes "Reuters is running a story that talks about the emotional bonds that US soldiers develop with the robots in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. The company, most famous on the US market for its Roomba vacuum cleaner, provided '300 PackBot Tactical Mobile Robots deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan to open doors in urban combat, lay fiber-optic cable, defuse bombs and perform other hazardous duties previously done by humans alone.'"
Read Simak's "City," although you left out the role of dogs.
KFG
The article is interesting, but I don't think it's particularly novel. Consider the way some guys treat their cars. Add in the psychological effect of the battlefield and some degree of attachment is not surprising. Plus, we've long had a tendency to personalize our creations. From naming ships to creating flashy avatars like "Clippy" that wonderful Word assistant that everyone wants to twist into a pretzel and toss into a furnace.
I've also read that some police officers in K-9 units take counseling when their dog dies in the line of duty, because they worked so closely together. The bond between dogs and humans is much more obvious, but I think related.
Doesn't suffer much, but I've still had my M-16 jam or otherwise malfunction a few times.
Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to conviction
To all the responders asking "how can this be" -Anthropomorphism.
People act that way towards their cars, too. At least, the dumber (jock type;) ones do.
You did not say "all" people anthropomorphize. It is possible that all soldiers are from a subset of people which is has a null intersection with the subset of people who anthropomorphize. You are now officially banned from using the letters "QED."
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
Powder: The DOD wanted the powder to be made from recycled artillery propellant from stocks left over from WW II. And so it was. Literally a cheap and dirty solution
Spin: The twist was increased after Arctic testing showed the colder, denser air caused the bullet to tumble too early. Some potential combatants in the 60s did have Arctic winters.
I thank my stars that I left Nam 2 months before my infantry company (Charlie, 1st Marines) had to trade in their M-14s.
Hey, Mom! Is it beer, yet?
Not necessarily the same use however. Canadian doctrine tells you that you can engage the enemy effectively at 400 meters with the C7 (M16 variant) with section strength. You can't do that with an AK-47.
In Vietnam sure this was not an advantage, but imagine those few times when your section can mow down oncoming enemy from a comfortable distance. Because what you have is essentially a precision rifle with the ability to fire in repetition.
There are other advantages to the M16, the ammunition is far lighter. That means you can carry a lot more of it, the more you have, the longer you can typically last in a conflict. Assuming you have a cleaning kit with you to prevent jams.
That's nothing. I often liked getting a small house built at first, then trapping the person in a room that was two-by-two tiles across with no door or windows and just let them stay there just to create a tormented enough ghost to scare the hell out of the rest of the family. Then of course, was the people I made try to cook on the stove with absolutely no skills and ended up setting themselves on fire.
The British have been using remote control bomb disposal "robots" since 1972 (more like a giant tracked RC car with an assortment of tools). Of course this was due to the situation in Northern Ireland and the high number of bombs there.
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The US suffered less from terrorist threats during this period so there was not such a need - as far as bean counters are concerned that is - go tell that to the poor guy who has to decide which wire to cut.
Some details about the British "Wheel Barrow" machine in the link below (sorry no pictures). Check out the rest of the article too.
http://www.nlectc.org/jpsg/robotassessment/histor