Killer Robots: Now, I’m Really Scared
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Wednesday, 5 of December , 2007 at 4:21 am
Most of the time, armed military robots don’t phase me that much. I mean, I can understand why they’re useful and important and generally a great idea when it comes to protecting living people. But, I’m starting to wonder if I’m deluding myself after watching this video of a concept armed rover from Robotex:
The video makes it quite obvious that this robot is designed to kill people, and do it efficiently. It’s pretty scary, if you ask me. Of course, robots like TALON SWORDS are designed to do the same thing, but the designers of those robots have chosen to emphasize both versatility and safety, while the Robotex bots do only one thing. This, incidentally, makes them about 1/6 the cost of the TALON system at between $30,000 and $50,000 each. The Robotex system currently on the market (in the pics above) mounts an $8,000 Atchisson Assault-12 shotgun, which “delivers the lead equivalent of 132 M16s. … [The robot is] two feet tall, travels ten miles an hour, and spins on a dime. Remote-controlled over an encrypted frequency that jams nearby radios and cellphones, it’ll blow a ten-inch hole through a steel door with deadly accuracy from 400 meters.”
As if that wasn’t enough, part of the system includes semi-autonomous Neural Robotics miniature helicopters, also outfitted with automatic shotguns:
I think what bothers me about all this is not the robots themselves; rather, it’s the fact that the people marketing these robots have one thing on their minds: selling armed robots to kill people and make money. Whether or not this is (in general) a good thing or not is debatable, and whether or not other companies developing armed robots are doing effectively the same thing (just less bluntly) is also debatable.
Like it or not, I can’t help but be certain that this is the future of the military.
[ Robotex and Neural Robotics ] VIA [ CNN / Fortune ]
Comments (13)
Category: Military
- Add this post to
- Del.icio.us -
- Digg
Comment by Phyreblade
Made Wednesday, 5 of December , 2007 at 10:58 pm
These are absolutely awesome. The catchphrases “Mobile Autonomous Sword”, and, of course “Hunter Killer” come to mind…
Let’s really hope we don’t make a big mess out of the final missing component, the AI, ’cause that could really ruin mankinds millennium…
Comment by chainsaw
Made Tuesday, 11 of December , 2007 at 1:40 pm
One of the things the robot army does is either – eliminate any amount of human dedication/inspiration/fanaticism from the equation, producing a “the most wealthy warrior wins” system – or – it forces defenders to attack the infrastructure PRODUCING the robots, i.e. terrorism and sabotage.
Comment by Eric Ivers
Made Wednesday, 18 of February , 2009 at 12:48 pm
Armed robots save the lives of our soldiers. Making them efficient only makes sense. In the end, there will be less lives lost on each side. The “heat of battle” and the need to shoot anything that moves are removed. The person (and there is a person) pulling the trigger does so without fear of being shot himself, and can take the extra second or three to make a better decision as to whether to shoot or not. Also, the fear of being killed by a robot will make people much more wary of arraying themselves against us.
As to making money, a company can’t stay in business through good intentions. Of course RoboteX intends to make money selling these.
Comment by me
Made Tuesday, 14 of July , 2009 at 1:09 am
On the more fun side: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxBa5bQfTGc
Auto-targeting paintball gun!
Comment by Zara Robertson
Made Tuesday, 5 of October , 2010 at 12:40 am
Paintball guns are sometimes painfull when you are hit by a paintball;*,
Comment by Headboard Light
Made Wednesday, 20 of October , 2010 at 1:05 am
my paintball gun is made in germany and it is very good”`.
Comment by Martha Ragon
Made Tuesday, 2 of August , 2011 at 3:32 pm
Lots of thanks for posting this, I’ve been looking into this on bing. I’ve been comparing opinions from different people, rather than an organization web page, that’s why I like blogs so much. Many thanks!
Comment by amish attractions lancaster pa
Made Monday, 8 of August , 2011 at 2:55 pm
Wow, I enjoyed your neat post.
Comment by Edwin Sobeck
Made Monday, 7 of November , 2011 at 1:51 am
I like Facebook, but I hate that their notes section isn’t as appealing as MySpace’s blogs. I’ve recently transferred a blog from MySpace to Facebook using the “share” icon located beneath each blog.. . However, I do not like the way it appears on my Facebook page. Are there any better ways to import my blogs?.
Comment by ugg boots r us
Made Wednesday, 23 of November , 2011 at 2:08 pm
strongzz Normally I do not read post on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up very forced me to try and do it! Your writing style has been amazed me. Thanks, quite nice article.
Comment by canada goose danmark
Made Monday, 5 of December , 2011 at 2:11 am
Let us not forget that Reagan’s future vp (Bush) and cia chief (Casey) met with the Ayatolla Khomeini behind the back of the then-current Carter administration (treason) and arranged for Iran to keep the American hostages until after the election. In return Iran got, at the very least, a conduit thru which to illegally receive missiles and other armaments–which came to light when traitor Ollie North got busted taking the missile $$$ and giving it to friends in Central America who turned out, naturally enough, to be drug smugglers USA-bound. Ah, the good old days…
Comment by canada goose norge
Made Monday, 5 of December , 2011 at 5:56 pm
I and also my pals were looking through the best things on your website while unexpectedly I had a horrible feeling I never thanked the web site owner for them. All the boys became consequently joyful to read all of them and already have really been having fun with these things. Many thanks for really being so accommodating as well as for opting for such quality issues most people are really desirous to understand about. Our own honest apologies for not expressing appreciation to you sooner.
Comment by Retirement Communities in Delaware
Made Monday, 16 of January , 2012 at 3:08 pm
You could definitely see your skills within the work you write. The sector hopes for even more passionate writers like you who are not afraid to say how they believe. At all times follow your heart. “We may pass violets looking for roses. We may pass contentment looking for victory.” by Bern Williams.
