Robot Soldiers Are Already Being Deployed

destinyland writes "As a Rutgers philosopher discusses robot war scenarios, one science magazine counts the ways robots are already being used in warfare, including YouTube videos of six military robots in action. There are up to 12,000 'robotic units' on the ground in Iraq, some dismantling landmines and roadside bombs, but 'a new generation of bots are designed to be fighting machines.' One bot can operate an M-16 rifle, a machine gun, and a rocket launcher — and 250 people have already been killed by unmanned drones in Pakistan. He also tells the story of a berserk robot explosives gun that killed nine people in South Africa due to a 'software glitch.'"

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[spacefiddle]

He also tells the story of a berserk robot explosives gun that killed nine people in South Africa due to a 'software glitch.'

"You call that a GLITCH?!"

Re:Still got glitches

[pig_eye_jackson]

There is a good story about the only armed ground robot ever used "in theater" being pulled from Iraq at Popular Mechanics. This robot made the cover of Popular Mechanics in March 2008. Some details about the robot, SWORDS, and other versions of military robots in production can be found at Foster-Miller's website.

Re:Waldos

[geobeck]

The US Army predator drones are able to land on their own with no operator input and as such definitely count as robots.

In that respect, every large airliner manufactured since the 767 qualifies as a robot. On an average flight, the human pilot serves two purposes: Taxi driver to drive the plane from the terminal to the runway, and second redundant backup system. The autopilot does everything else.

Of course, in non-average circumstances, the pilot is called on to make decisions too complex for the 'robot' to handle.