U.S. Army plans next generation of military robots
Robots are currently used to control unmanned vehicles on land, in the air and under the sea.
Crusher, a six-wheeled robot, rolls through ditches, walls, streams, other vehicles and almost anything else that gets in its way.
Owners of the Volkswagen Jetta will be proud to know that they share the same engine as the Crusher, a seven-ton, completely autonomous robot. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will soon set these robots rolling over, under and through anything in their path, and hope they have the same impact as their last big project: the Internet.
By 2015, the Pentagon hopes to have a third of its combat vehicles piloted by robots, with soldiers able to take over controls from a remote location at any time.
Robots are also used to disarm improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the cause of death for a vast majority of soldiers. Since the war began, 1,720 soldiers have been killed by IEDs according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count.
However, the thousands of explosives-detecting robots currently in Iraq and Afghanistan have reportedly found and prevented the detonation of 10,000 IEDs.
An original, unarmed Talon robot nicknamed "Gordon" discovered eight deeply buried IEDs, 18 landmines and 300 pounds of home made explosives before it was destroyed by gunfire.
Because of this, the number of robots used in Iraq and Afghanistan has more than tripled in the past three years, and the Pentagon plans to add 3,000 more by the end of this year.
After messy negotiations and legal issues, iRobot swept away the competition in its quest to become the company responsible for producing these robots. iRobot plans to soon unveil Warrior, a 250-pound robot with .30 caliber machine gun - big changes for a company best known for producing the robotic vacuum Roomba.
The military already uses Hellfire missiles - which need no guidance after being launched - and remote controlled, unmanned planes called Predators, another Schwarzenegger movie reference.
Some have argued that this boom in autonomic weaponry will lead to a competition between countries as to who can stockpile the most autonomic technology.
But while a robot-race sounds much more exciting than an arms-race or a three-legged-race, the idea of programming robots with their own Jiminy Cricket for moral guidance might get lost along the way.
Crusher, a six-wheeled robot, rolls through ditches, walls, streams, other vehicles and almost anything else that gets in its way.
Owners of the Volkswagen Jetta will be proud to know that they share the same engine as the Crusher, a seven-ton, completely autonomous robot. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will soon set these robots rolling over, under and through anything in their path, and hope they have the same impact as their last big project: the Internet.
By 2015, the Pentagon hopes to have a third of its combat vehicles piloted by robots, with soldiers able to take over controls from a remote location at any time.
Robots are also used to disarm improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the cause of death for a vast majority of soldiers. Since the war began, 1,720 soldiers have been killed by IEDs according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count.
However, the thousands of explosives-detecting robots currently in Iraq and Afghanistan have reportedly found and prevented the detonation of 10,000 IEDs.
An original, unarmed Talon robot nicknamed "Gordon" discovered eight deeply buried IEDs, 18 landmines and 300 pounds of home made explosives before it was destroyed by gunfire.
Because of this, the number of robots used in Iraq and Afghanistan has more than tripled in the past three years, and the Pentagon plans to add 3,000 more by the end of this year.
After messy negotiations and legal issues, iRobot swept away the competition in its quest to become the company responsible for producing these robots. iRobot plans to soon unveil Warrior, a 250-pound robot with .30 caliber machine gun - big changes for a company best known for producing the robotic vacuum Roomba.
The military already uses Hellfire missiles - which need no guidance after being launched - and remote controlled, unmanned planes called Predators, another Schwarzenegger movie reference.
Some have argued that this boom in autonomic weaponry will lead to a competition between countries as to who can stockpile the most autonomic technology.
But while a robot-race sounds much more exciting than an arms-race or a three-legged-race, the idea of programming robots with their own Jiminy Cricket for moral guidance might get lost along the way.
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