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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
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.
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.
...a device that runs around in circles shooting randomly.
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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."