From Pack Mule To Automated Killing Machine - Can You Say Skynet?

Defense contractor Northrop Grumman claims that the .50-caliber M2 machine gun it mounted on it's CaMEL, Carry-all Mechanized Equipment Landrover, for the Association of the U.S. Army’s Washington conference was for impact only. "Quite frankly, a weapon on a robot brings people into the booth" says Jon Aderson.

The company has sold 60 CaMEL units to the Isreali military, which traditionally carry up to 1200 pounds of equipment at up to 7 miles per hour. The US military also is said to be interested in the device, which version of the device is not really clear... Anderson calls the gun mounted one on display at the conference a "new application".

I love robots but I believe this breaks at least one of Asimov's three laws of robotics! 

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/what-robo-haulers-need-now-big-guns/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher#ixzz13eDOrLQ3

Is Skynet Closer Than We Think?

In a Globe and Mail article today entitled One robot, one vote? Neil Reynolds brings attention to the fact that robotics has progressed beyond what most of us are aware and that as the result Asimov's 3 laws of robotics will not suffice, it's not 1942 after all... and the lawyers might be pushing the agenda here, but Reynolds raises some interesting questions. Did you know that South Korea currently has robots patrolling it's border with Kim Jong Il's North Korea? or that the South Korean government is aiming to have a robot in each household by 2020? There has been much press about Japan's aging population and a thriving robotics industry working on machines to assist the elderly, but who will be responsible for decisions made by these machines or for their expensive upkeep? 

"The American Bar Association runs a permanent expert committee on artificial intelligence and robotics. In April, the committee published a number of special reports – on the state of AI in telemedicine, on advanced wiretapping and on military drones. In the May issue of The ABA Journal, the association will publish “Robot Rules” – an analysis of pending U.S. legislation that will, for the first time, assign liability for the actions of robots."

Have a read, it's rather thought provoking.

Tiny Robot Handles Tough Terrain

From the folks at iRobot comes a little device that deploys from your pocket and is capable of handling itself over rough terrain. I envision a mounted/embedded camera for surveillance, though the video makes no mention of it's intended uses.

Unmanned Patrols Via Golfcart Sized Robotic Rover

Crave blog has spotted an interesting robotic vehicle designed to provide perimeter patrolling capabilities in a small footprint unmanned vehicle. "The Guardium UGV (unmanned ground system) employs state-of-the-art technologies and any number of payloads to guard places like airports, energy plants and military bases-24/7".

The Guardium employs an autonomous decision-making system and persistent navigation to overcome poor GPS conditions, deal with obstacles and other variables as well as to plan and replan routes in real time, according to Crave.

Guardium is a joint venture of G-NUIS Unmanned Ground Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Elbit Systems Ltd.

Robotic Insects On Horizon For Military?

British Weapons giant BAE Systems is creating an army of tiny robotic spiders, insects and snakes that potentially could become the eyes and ears of soldiers on the battlefield. The UK's Daily Mail is reporting that prototypes of the tiny robots could be deployed into action by the years end. BAE has secured a £19million contract to develop the robots for the US Army and have ambitions to equip every front-line soldier with them enabling the boots on the ground to detect danger from insurgent fighters, chemical, biological or radioactive weapons. Check out this animated scenario. As the Daily Mail points out its reminiscent of Minority Report.

Military Gives Praise To Robots In The Field

The U.S. Army's civilian director of ground combat systems, Kevin Fahey kicked off the fifth annual RoboBusiness conference in Pittsburgh, PA. The gathering of robotics company insiders heard praise during Fahey's keynote address. "Any time you can get out of harm's way, you're interested," he said. "Even though I'm trained to go into that cave, I'd much rather have that robot go in." In 2004 the army was using 162 robots, the number grew to 5,000 in 2007 and will be up to 6,000 in total this year. iRobot's Chief Executive says "We really don't have the killer application yet to drive things," he said. "There is obviously the opportunity here to do more." As a very satisfied owner of an iRobot Roomba I'll add that "Even though I'm trained to vacuum the living room floor, I'd much rather have the robot go in" Now when is iRobot going to release a lawn mowing robot? CBC story here.