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iRobot Demonstrates New Weaponized Robot
An anonymous reader writes "According to this IEEE story, iRobot and the US military have released video showing a weaponized version of iRobot's Warrior robot. In the video, the Warrior is seen firing a weapon system called the APOBS (Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching System), a grenade-filled line propelled by a rocket and stabilized by a drogue parachute. This system is used to clear minefields and obstructed roads. The video shows soldiers deploying a Warrior with the APOBS mounted on its back. The robot fires the device, which lands along a dirt road, exploding after a few seconds. A voice is then heard, 'Road clear; proceed forward.'"
It's probably not cost effective except for straight-line clearance operations (i.e., a road).
You wouldn't want to try and clear several acres of field with this system as it would totally destroy the field. The purpose built systems are better suited for mine clearing. There's a continuing effort underway for mine clearing systems with an eye to small cost and high effectiveness and safety.
These robots surely cost a lot more than running livestock across minefields to trigger the mines.
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make install -not war
Since they already have the weapon, but not the robot, I'm figuring they've tried the human-fired approach and found something wanting. I'm not certain, but seeing as how landmines are not exclusively used to deny territory to the enemy while nobody is watching it, but rather as an obstacle that slows and stops the enemy at conveniently chosen areas, and knowing some of the problems our soldiers have had over there... I'm guessing there's a good reason for robots, which can probably be summed up in two words:
"Boom! Headshot!"
The enemies of Democracy are
Or... you know... just don't give your roomba a grenade launcher.
I don't see why the robot is needed. A soldier could walk to where the known unmined area ends and fire this thingie.
Perhaps it's clearing the way for a horde of other robots carrying anti-personnel weaponry? The military of the future may not need to put lives on the front-lines. I think we're seeing a glimpse of that with the air drones that are taking out terrorists via rockets.
How much does one unit cost, and is this actually scalable and affordable for nations where there are landmines? ...
It is pretty clear that this device is intended to support ground attack by a first world army against an adversary like Iraq (or some other country beginning with "I"?).
Think about its specs - it is a robotic device deploying an explosive system for instantly clearing a lane through a mine field. You need an instant lane if you launching a time-critical operation (i.e. an attack), and a robot to deploy it if you expect to get shot at - i.e. you are in combat.
A minefield clearing system for a third world country would probably be an armored flail system that can beat the earth of an entire field by methodically "mowing" it. This system would minimize collateral damage, be thorough, and inexpensive to operate (though the capital cost would be substantial).
Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
Yay, lets invent something that we already have (mine line clearing device, aka MICLIC) and put it ona robot, so much better! How about the fucking old grey haired bastards that are too pussy to fix our current wars snap out of their cold war mindset and start investing in things more applicable to our current situation. Oh yeah, I'm a USMC Iraq vet.
"It's ok, I'm completely secure as long as my iron is off"
the only thing missing is SKYNET, but I'm sure that it's lurking around some corner or in some dark alley.
The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
This is a remote controlled car with a ridiculous rocket launcher on it. It costs $100k.
Actually, it's a robot with a micro clusterbomb. But it's better than a cluster bomb because it's totally controllable, and it's a lot smaller and cheaper.
You could do this with a $60 RC car from radio shack and a lot of duct tape -- just rig the firing button to the horn. Buy one with big wheels.
You need more axes to control the weapon. You'd need at least a $500 RC car to have anything like reliability, and just one bullet hit would destroy it.
For all the things we could be using actual robots for, this is pathetic, and a lot like a million-dollar fireworks show, circa Vietnam.
It's a cool weapon, but not very exciting in terms of robot news. And by cool weapon I mean a great new way to kill people. Oh sure, it's for clearing roads, but it's for clearing roads so you can get to the next place where you're supposed to kill someone.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
It never did trust the Roomba.
Have gnu, will travel.
I'm all for blowing sh*t up but there is some sad irony that a company named iRobot is developing a weaponized robot while the man who wrote "I, Robot" also wrote the three laws of robotics forbidding fictional robots from harming humans.
You could do this with a $60 RC car from radio shack and a lot of duct tape -- just rig the firing button to the horn. Buy one with big wheels.
The insurgents could just run to Radio Shack, pick up their own remote and push the horn button at an inappropriate time.
I suspect that the iRobot Warrior is a standard platform to which they can bolt any number of interesting gizmos. In time and with greater production volumes, the price will come down. Perhaps the generals will have one model built that can caddy their golf clubs for them.
Have gnu, will travel.