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Navy Develops a Shark Drone For Surveillance

Posted by samzenpus on from the head-lasers-not-included dept.

An anonymous reader writes The Navy is testing a new underwater drone called GhostSwimmer, which is designed to a look like a shark and conduct surveillance work. It is being adapted by the chief of naval operations' Rapid Innovation Cell (CRIC) project, Silent NEMO, in Norfolk, Va.. GhostSwimmer is 5 feet long and weighs almost 100 pounds. It can operate in water depths from 10 inches to 300 feet, and is designed to operate autonomously for long periods of time, according to the Navy.

45 comments

  1. HTML by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    You made a little mistake there.

    1. Re:HTML by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 4, Funny

      I think you wanted to say: "HTML, motherfucker, do you speak it?"

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    2. Re:HTML by steelfood · · Score: 1

      Forget any real editing, the editors don't even use the "preview" button.

      --
      "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
    3. Re:HTML by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your fix is also broken.
      Original:
      "to a href=..."
      Fix:
      "to a a href=..."
      It's supposed to be:
      "to a href=..."

      Try again.

    4. Re:HTML by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why don't my 's show up, oh I have to & l t ; to get <
      I meant to say:
      Your fix is also broken.
      Original:
      "to a href=..."
      Fix:
      "to a <a href=..."
      It's supposed to be:
      "to <a href=..."

      Try again.

  2. This is useless by xevioso · · Score: 5, Funny

    unless lasers are attached.

    1. Re:This is useless by wbr1 · · Score: 2

      I came here looking for -intelligent- laser jokes. Perhaps involving some sort of conspiracy/tinfoil hattery. I am sorely disappointed.

      --
      Silence is a state of mime.
    2. Re:This is useless by anzha · · Score: 1

      They are working on it.

      --
      Do you know why the road less traveled by is littered with the bones of the unwary?
    3. Re:This is useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      great job.

    4. Re:This is useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      when the chinese cut the fins off

  3. Wow. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They've lost their minds. How sad.

  4. FFS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Can't the editors at least fix blatantly broken HTML in the summary before posting it?

    1. Re:FFS by Irate+Engineer · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You're assuming that the "editors" are actually reading this stuff before passing it on.

      --

      Left MS Windows for Linux Mint and never looked back!

      Vote for Bernie in 2016!

    2. Re:FFS by Lunix+Nutcase · · Score: 2

      samzenpus isn't even fully literate in his native language. So... probably not.

    3. Re:FFS by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      You're assuming that the "editors" are actually reading this stuff before passing it on.

      Most often, they modify it and make it worse. j/k (not really)

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  5. Just like the movies. by digsbo · · Score: 1

    Is this just an elaborate scheme to build a more convincing shark than the stuffed animal from Jaws 3-D?

    1. Re:Just like the movies. by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      It's supposed to look like a Bluefin Tuna (according to TF video). So, I guess it's designed to make Asian sailors chase it around the harbor thinking they've latched onto a sushi dinner.

      I think it looks like a giant, uncoordinated catfish.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:Just like the movies. by marcello_dl · · Score: 0

      Well It would have been pure genius to fake a shark to conduct surveillance. That must be one of the lowest attention grabbing creatures in the sea?

      - Hey Achmed, what's that dark silhouette approaching?
      - Bah, nothing, it's a shark. What were you saying about our new cell?

      --
      ---- MISSING MISCELLANEOUS DATA SEGMENT --- [sigdash] trolololol
  6. Another drone for US military, huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Having these people killed enough women and children already?

  7. Does Slashdot even have an editor anymore? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seriously

  8. GPS Sharks by darkain · · Score: 1

    So is this the GPS Shark that is searching for MH370 ????

    1. Re:GPS Sharks by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      No. These are near surface drones. They'd be crushed if they tried to go to that depth.

  9. Preview button? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the actual post submission system doesn't have a preview function at all.

  10. It's built by Boston Dynamics by Required+Snark · · Score: 2
    Given their track record, it will probably work. They did the Big Dog and Cheetah quadrupeds and the PETMAN and Atlas humanoid robots.

    Boston Dynamics is now owned by Google, so Google is now a direct provider of equipment to the US military. Maybe this means their motto has been modified from "Don't do evil" to "Don't avoid evil."

    --
    Why is Snark Required?
    1. Re:It's built by Boston Dynamics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The US military also disarms bombs. Bomb disposal equipment manufacturers are "doing evil" because they provide equipment to the US military?

      This whole 'Google abandoning their "Do no evil"' meme is tiresome.

    2. Re:It's built by Boston Dynamics by stjobe · · Score: 2

      It's built by Boston Engineering, not Boston Dynamics.

      Also, it was developed as BIOSwimmer for the DHS orignially, the GhostSwimmer (PDF warning) for the navy is just a modified version.

      Oh, and it's designed to resemble a tuna, not a shark.

      --
      "Total destruction the only solution" - Bob Marley
    3. Re:It's built by Boston Dynamics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah but Big Dog and Cheetah actually appeared to function better, this thing will probably end up being scrapped judging by the way it moves (like a fish in distress) and unlike a real fish. I'm sure there are many species of shark that will gladly take a bite of it.

  11. OMG by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Sharks, like, totally bite people. They're like totally mean. Like I had this friend once and she, like, went swimming, and she was all like, totally freaked out.

  12. Hope they didn't pay money for that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Festo was doing this, like, 8 years ago.

  13. None of us are reading it. by hessian · · Score: 1

    What matters are our reactions, not reasoned responses to facts in the article. What do you think this is, the pre-1996 internet?

    --
    Futurist Traditionalism
  14. Nearly there! by Kryptonut · · Score: 1

    1. Create laser system for Navy
    2. Create robotic shark army
    3. Combine 1 & 2
    4. ?????????????
    5. Profit!!

    1. Re:Nearly there! by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      Except that lasers don't do so well under water. Which means that they should make a shark that actually bites instead.

      Can you imagine a gigantic mecha shark ship biting smaller gunboats in two? Now THAT would be hilarious.
      Probably won't be done because it's too Japanese though :D

    2. Re:Nearly there! by funwithBSD · · Score: 1

      We are going to need a bigger boat.

      --
      Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra
    3. Re:Nearly there! by CSG_SurferDude · · Score: 2

      been there, done that. Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      --

      LongTail SSH Brute Force analysis tool is here!

    4. Re:Nearly there! by Kryptonut · · Score: 1

      How about a compromise....LASER TEETH!! :D

    5. Re:Nearly there! by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      Jedi shark with lightsabers for teeth?

  15. See, I told you! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wait till they start sporting lasers!

  16. Only eventuality out of this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Only eventuality out of this for other countries military, is to shoot down all suspicious sharks around their vessel's vicinity.

    1. Re: Only eventuality out of this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or in the case of certain countries, the locals are likely to try to catch it seeing as shark is a delicacy in several cultures.

  17. We are going to need by funwithBSD · · Score: 2

    a bigger boat.

    --
    Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra
  18. 10 inches of water? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the enemy has subs that can operate in 10 inches of water? Jeez. No more baths for me.

  19. The army will develop their own model by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Setting: the residence of Abu Fahim Zakir, western commander of ISIS and terrist.

    DING-DONG

    Fatima: Abu darling, someone range the doorbell.

    Abu: (Muttering under his breath he wonders into the foyer) Who is it?

    Drone: Mr. Fahim Zakir?

    Abu: Who wants to know?

    Drone: Candygram!

  20. America is not the world. by kamathln · · Score: 1

    Dear American Slashdot (and other) reporters,

    When you talk about stuff specifically related to America, please do mention that it is American. There are slashdot readers from rest of the world too.
    For example: This summary talked about "The Navy" . Nowhere in the summary is it mentioned as "The *US* Navy". I had to go RTFA before I realized that! I have come across this "frog in the well" syndromes in many other summaries problem before too. It makes Americans look bad

    Thanks and regards,
    Sincerely,
    kamathln

  21. Kill decision by afranke · · Score: 1

    Drone sharks? That sounds a lot like some of the ones in Kill decision by Daniel Suarez and it's really creepy if the rest of the book becomes reality as well.