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New Robots Hunt Pirates by Sea
mattnyc99 writes "PopularMechanics.com takes a peek into the growing world of high-tech piracy on the open seas, which the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard are looking to cut off by investing in a new fleet of superfast, gun-mounted unmanned surface vessels (USVs). From the article: "The Interceptor is available now. But the USV market is just getting started: Two months ago, British defense firm Qinetiq debuted its own robotic vessel, the jetski-size Sentry. Among its potential duties is intruder investigation, which could include scouting out unidentified boats, along the lines of the raft that detonated alongside the USS Cole in Yemen, as well as offering a first look at a possible pirate-controlled vessel.""
Remember, it's not piracy, it's "unauthorized copying". Oh, wait...
All hail our robotic sea ninja overlords!
Ooh arrr, what be a Jetski anyway? Russian Hanna-Barbera futurist?
Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
"We are the Dread Pirate Robots. There will be no survivors."
If only we had a remotely-operated wheelbarrow... That would be something!
Who hunts down pirates on the high seas?
ROBOT GUNBOATS!
Dangerous and deadly and fatal they be!
ROBOT GUNBOATS!
If nautical mercy is something you wish,
ROBOT GUNBOATS!
Then put up your hands or sleep with the fish!
ROBOT GUNBOATS!
I noticed they were talking some about possibly making them autonomous. That just seems like a really bad idea. What you would have is a weapon system disconnected from command. The enemy could set up a trap for these machines, capture them and then have some high-tech stuff at their disposal. Unlike a UAV, it seems like it would be pretty easy to catch one of these surface machines using any number of methods even if they normally can protect themselves with weapon systems. If they can't protect themselves then it would be even easier to capture them.
The ratio of people to cake is too big
because the main point of a deterrent is to be a deterrent. For example, while cops do have unmarked cars the vast majority are pretty gaudily painted. Police uniforms are designed to make them look larger and more imposing. The idea, at least in most cases, is not to get someone to commit the crime so you can catch him, but to deter them from attempting it in the first place.
... my first thought is, "The RIAA is going too far this time."
...it's fundamentally unethical, illegal and immoral (depending on your particular morality, I suppose) to allow an autonomous machine to roam free with the capability (and intent) to kill human beings.
For one thing, we read here every day about the endless ways in which software farks up.
Furthermore, I find the whole notion of armed robots cruising around freely in any kind of environment - war zone or not - extremely disturbing. How do we ensure they only kill what we want them to kill? Who is accountable when they do kill things? Does the extra layer of separation between commanding officer and 'target' make it more likely that decision makers will authorise killing?
These toys are very neat from a tech perspective, but they create a perception that killing human beings is like a video game of some description.
Read Pynchon.
Hmm... a jet ski sized robot attempting to observe and engage in the open ocean.. I wonder if any of these guys have actually been in the open ocean?
The sea is big people. The waves are big, the wind is big and the ships are big. A really small boat just barely big enough to manage to stay afloat semi-reliably in open ocean is generally 30 feet long or more. They do make them shorter, but generally only as a stunt. What is a four foot tall vehicle going to do against a vessel with steel and concrete sides that reach probably at least 10-15 feet up? These things are going to present about as much threat to the average ocean going vessel as a chihuahua attempting to pee on one's foot.
We also mentioned the sea is big. Average swell depending on area can be 8 feet on a calm day. this means a jet ski about 4 feet high is going to either spend 75% of its time inside the trough of a swell unable to see squat, or skipping along the swell tops in a way that is going to strongly resemble video froma a surfboard cam. Very splashy but not too useful.
As a harbor or shore defense weapon I can see these being possibly quite useful against similarly sized vessels like dinghies and maybe cigarette boats, but anything offshore is unrealistic.
Ironically yes.
They have done tests using examples of police uniforms and asking citizens what type of uniform made them feel most secure. They ranged from the wildly florid with knee high leather boots and helmets and epaulets and whatnot, to guys in blue blazers with all their gear hidden under the coats.
The overwhelming winner were the uniforms with as much testosterone laced leather froo-froo as could be sewn to them.
It's time. The days of zombie PCs are numbered. The future is...
Zombie robot pirates!
Do you realise just how much more awesome the world is about to become?
Excellent, my stocks in testosterone laced leather froo-froos are going to go thru the roof!
Control is an illusion, order our comforting lie. From chaos, through chaos, into chaos we fly