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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.'"
How much does one unit cost, and is this actually scalable and affordable for nations where there are landmines? Most of these countries are third-world as the majority of landmines in first-world countries (e.g. Germany) was cleared years ago.
I think you better do as he says, Mr. Kinney.
I am officially gone from
This older story comes to mind whenever I see a new article about military robots.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2007/10/robot-cannon-ki/
These robots surely cost a lot more than running livestock across minefields to trigger the mines.
--
make install -not war
I know that they were demonstrating a weapons system, but it just seemed like a really bad hollywood movie where they keep playing the same SFX explosion over and over again because they thought it was cool (plus they don't have any budget for doing something different and they need to fill some dead time)
On the other hand what is really novel about this? They attached a weapons system to a robot and manually drove the robot to the optimum location to fire the weapon. Am I missing something or is this just a slashvertisment targeted at DOD buyers?
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Well I for one welcome our new robotic overlords.
Granted the inevitable human rebellion will have a surprisingly easy time fighting these things, I mean just hide up a sufficiently steep slope and the apparently top heavy ting will tumble over backwards. Alternatively you could just walk away at a reasonably brisk pace.
And speaking of military robots, am I the only one who's creeped out by Big Dog? Looks like some sort of unholy union between a deer and a spider..
Admit nothing. Deny Everything. Make Counter-accusations.
Actually, I think the formation of iRobot may predate Apple's use of the prefix, but I'm not sure about that. And, if I had to guess, its probably a reference to the Asimov book of short stories.
This would be great for my roomba when it runs into a really big mess. Or for its obstacle route planning. Instead of turning to go around the obstacle it could just remove the obstacle.
Invalid Checksum. Retrying.
I'm guessing "iRobot" was easier to get a registered trademark on than "Robot". Finding a unique (non-generic, non-already trademarked) identifier for products is tricky, so having trendy pattern for modifying otherwise generic words is a boon to new businesses or new products.
I don't see why the robot is needed. A soldier could walk to where the known unmined area ends and fire this thingie.
If you listen carefully, just before you hear the guy say "Road Clear" I'm pretty sure you can hear the robot say "Your move creep."
...a device that runs around in circles shooting randomly.
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
Samzenpus prolly thought he was submitting an article about Apple.
Thinking Jobs was releasing a new product that would clear all 3rd world countries of Windows based PC's.
Also, after it breaches the obstacles, it helpfully vacuums up the resulting mess so following vehicles don't get a puncture.
The earliest live 'iRobot' trade mark was filed September 2002.
There is one from Nov 1999 that is 'dead'. Both from MA, so I'm not sure if it's the same company.
The iMac was released in 1998, the iBook in 1999.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiN2F1o2qwY
Obviously, they'll iBomb them!
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
So I was happy with my Roomba and Scoomba. Now they have home defense products too. Wow. Do I have to buy the whole robot or can I just get the weapon mounts for my vacuum?
--- Always remember. 99.36% of all statistics are inaccurate.
That's not a weapon, it's a tool.
6.8SPC TR of 550, l xwind at 6, drift rt at 26" drops 77". AT has 503 ft-lbs at 1403 fps. FT 0.86
It is my understanding that the APOBS device is also effective at creating a path through a maze of concertina wire.
As a next step, a roomba comes in to sweep up the body parts of the insurgents/operators.
Explosions are scary.
I'm just happy my name isn't Sarah Connor.
The company was founded in 1990. Don't know why the TM was registered so late. Maybe because of Apple's iCraze, they decided to get something on file with the PTO.
This is a remote controlled car with a ridiculous rocket launcher on it. It costs $100k.
iRobot is making a mint sucking money out of the military and out of US taxpayers like me.
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.
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 not a robot. It's an RC car with a rocket launcher. The human controls it, so there is no violation of any law of robotics.
Wait a minute... first you spend money on mines (whoever spends the money). Then you need this machine to clear the mines... stupidity anyone? Why not just - not - plant mines in the first place, that would be the cheapest option.
Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids; mines are for dictators.
The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
Are you kidding? It'd have to do a random walk of the entire country, unless you put little blocker thingies around the area, and even then it would take forever unless your battlefield was 15x15 feet.
Much better to buy a Neato Robotics body parts cleaning robot, which actually only goes over the battlefield ONCE.
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"
In WW2, soldiers used a device called a Bangalore Torpedo or Bangalore Mine to clear obstacles - barbed wire, barriers, etc - without coming under fire. Basically, it was a long tube filled with TNT. Screw it together, push it along (from behind cover) and detonate to clear the area and make a safe path. We used them during the Normandy invasion, for example.
This robot version is, really, just the next-generation version of the Bangalore. You deploy the robot (which might be under fire, but the operator is safely out of the way) to the barrier, launch an obstacle clearing system, and detonate to clear the area and make a safe path.
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.
That would require humanity to agree with itself. Landmines are one method of eliminating opposition. Clearing landmines is one way of...not being eliminated.
You are over-simplifying.
cheap plastic barrels + some water (to get enough weight) and roll them forward - if its down hill, even easier!
the "robot" can be some form of remote control car that rolls a few at a time... that is if you want to be fancy about it.
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Nice to know that people are just considered to be obstacles in this system's scope :P
I think you're parsing that wrong. Think of it this way: it's a system for breaching anti-personnel obstacles such as mines, IEDs, razor wire etc.
This ain't rocket surgery.
How so?
The USA still deploys mines, heck we airdrop little ones.
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.
Exhale slowly and put down the glass pipe.
The nations LAYING the mines are not the nations REMOVING the mines. One is not like the other.
Side note:
BTW, the US (whose mine use is not a problem, and since no one, anywhere, ever, gives a fuck about moral examples need not set one) doesn't buy-in to getting rid of its own mines because they are useful in slowing and channelizing an attack on the Korean peninsula.
When most people were hallucinating Friendly Norks this was frowned on. Every now and then the Norks remind us they aren't friendly, and that if they DO wig out and crash across the DMZ we might ought to slow the process so we can kill enough of them to save South Korea.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
The idea to stress behind war-oriented robots is to stay away from "battlebots."
built supercomputers and technologies to address the underlying causes of war, and attack those causes. poverty, famine, fear, education, etc...
what we've done is created a 2 million dollar device that pulls the trigger...not very amazing at all.
Good people go to bed earlier.
The Boomba.
I was merely trying to point out the stupidity of war, and that war costs money for both parties. Of course I know the guys laying the mines are different from the ones removing them.
...and they have a plan.
Would one of those big ole tire unibikes with a remote control survive a few booms? I saw pics of them from Burning Man, maybe heavy enough to set off the charges but bouncy enough to stay alive?
Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
So wait... you're saying that when two groups work toward opposing goals, they each spend money on nothing more than negating the effect of the money the other spent?
What a shocking revelation! You should be an economist or something!
You failed.
This brilliant plan will be foiled when the enemy buys a $99 add-on virtual wall and erects it in front of the minefield.
"I disagree with you" does not equal "flamebait."
we might ought to slow the process so we can kill enough of them to save South Korea.
All of the landmines in the world don't address the problem with the North Koreans having enough artillery in place to completely level Seoul within an hour or two.
"All of the landmines in the world don't address the problem with the North Koreans having enough artillery in place to completely level Seoul within an hour or two."
One problem isn't the other, though there is ample debate on their ability to "level" Seoul.
They CAN certainly chem the shit out of it and we have NO disabling retaliatory capability.
We renounced chem warfare long ago, but Obama has renounced first nuclear use too. It appears he hadn't thought that through, not having much military knowledge and no experience. What that means is our esteemed opponents can smeg South Korea with chems and BW if they are so inclined, while all we can do is "nothing much". Merely having to WEAR chem gear will kill people from heat stress (even trained and fit troops), while SK civilians have no protection from chem and BW agents.
There WAS a ready deterrent to chem'ing the South back when we were serious. Tactical nukes on Zulu Alert aircraft were ready for immediate launch 24/7. Atmospheric tests have proven tactical nuclear war quite (yes, really) practical, and BTW the Korean War ended just as suitable tac nuke artillery and missiles became common knowledge. When we calculate the risks now, remember the North knows we won't nuke them unless they nuke us first.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
Could you take the '710, remove the guns, put a vacuum cleaner on it so that it can clean stairs? Not to many land mines in my house, but dust bunnies roam at will.
When you send the unpopular guy to check for mines it's a win-win situation.
Not as much when you blow up the +$100k robot.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
Just think of the effect this will have on the "professional" protesters in Berserkey, CA.
Exactly.
Under the guise of a democratic republic the voters believe they have an actual say in the affairs of this magnificent country, however, in actual practice we as a governed body are subject to the whims of our elected officials.
If the politicians were mandated to send their first born children to the front lines of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as a condition of voting for war, I believe the vote would have been different.
The privileged appear to benefit financially from the war while those that see the military as a means to decent money, an education, traveling the world, learning an occupation, pay the highest price with the least benefit. I am not anti-military. I volunteered for six years during the Viet Nam campaign, but I did not believe in the the reason for fighting since it seemed to be nothing but a body count on the evening news.
My personal belief is that the draft should not have ended and that everyone regardless of social status serve at least four years in any branch of the military they choose.
The military does have some good public relations in this world. Not many but some. Not everyone has to go out and kill everything they see. Sometimes the military performs humanitarian services. In the 70's the ship I served aboard steamed 1500 nautical miles in 50 hours straight the provide aid to a typhoon devastated island in the western Indian Ocean. The people were grateful. They did not hate us for being there interfering in their personal affairs. That can't be said of other areas of U.S. occupation. This country seems to be fighting on the wrong side against the wrong people for the wrong reason. The people fighting and dieing for this country are not tot blame. The leadership that never shouldered a weapon, never saw their friends die, never had to be reminded day in and day out of the atrocities perpetrated in the name of freedom bear a greater karma than those that did.
The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
Having a name as iRobot and creating a destructive robot is clearly threading on a path away from the three laws of robotics that we know about.
Senthil
the description of the robot clearing mines made me instantly think of Stalker, as in the game, and the movie based on the old russian novel roadside picnic. replace explosive mine detonator device with bolts tied with cloth strips and the stalker saying 'clear to walk ahead' heheh
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Customer: Amazing! I have to have one.
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would include a robot that vacuums by day, and keep raccoons away at night.
Sign me up.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Actually the president put an exception in that no-nuclear proliferation that said we can bomb if they chem, or do anything else that is just as ridiculous. And of course signing a piece of paper leaves no ability to change your mind ever. But continue on your tirade, please.
You don't truly get what this marketing stuff is all about, do you? ;)
Isaac Asimov is rolling in his grave. We will ignore those 3 rules at our peril: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics