Actually their usage of ad-hoc networking means that you can easily use some robots (or simpler devices) as sort of 'radio-link-stations' to extend their range.
Looks like a pretty robust platform. Nice and small, but still usable.
edit: And I wouldn't say that a lot of these technologies take the "human equation out", I would just say they take the actual human out. Most of the time, it's just a tool to aid the soldier. Humans still control most of the machines.
Like two robotic missiles that can attack the other country automatically? Like ICBMs? Or landmines?
Automated tools of warfare aren't new.
That this is brought up every fucking time a robot comes within a mile of the military is a really tired meme. Seriously. Go read every single issue of wired. I dare you to find a mention of robotics that doesn't bring up Terminator.
It was more the trend for discussions about robots in the military to degrade that annoyed me. This thread is going down that path.
You specifically were lazy in that we already have automated tools of killing each other and each others automated tools. It is heavy influence of hollywood that makes us think something without a human on board is fundamentaly different.
Robot armies fighting each other and super AI taking over military robots are two of the most common topics brought up in the context of military robots, and two of the least realistic or likely.
It's particularly irrelevant in a story about a mini robot used as a radio relay, 100% human controlled, with no weapons. This thing is a wi-fi repeater with a camera on top of an RC car.
You're not alone. The over-hyped "terminator case" is not only tiring, its also ridiculously unlikely and not even very scary. These are just wifi AP's on rc cars. With openWRT, and $40 at the Rat-Shak, you could make one too. And that's whats really scary. It only costs $40 now to make the land mines walk.
While I don't disagree with you overall (i.e. that military robots are not necessarily Skynet), there is a fundamental difference between having military decisions, even at the tactical level, being made by machines vs. having them made by humans, at least until we have AGI (and possibly even afterwards).
One combatant will circumvent the weaponry in question, as has happened throughout our existence. Our capacity to kill each other is only outweighed by our capacity to survive.
Given how close we came to killing every human on the planet during the Cold War (and avoiding it through dumb luck), I'd have to say our capacity to kill each other far outweighs our capacity to survive.
I'd have to say our capacity to kill each other far outweighs our capacity to survive
Well, we're still here aren't we? Seriously though, when push came to shove (Cuban missile crisis was the closest) we (collectively) backed down. It seems nobody really wanted to fight when it meant certain death to themselves.
[TLDR version: Stanislav Petrov prevented nuclear war by correctly guessing that the nuclear launch his station detected was a false alarm, and not a true attack on the USSR. If he had decided the other way, nuclear war may have ensued.]
I was at iRobot when this proposal was written. Very cool application for mesh networking.
Radio comms are so bad when deployed. This kind of ad hoc network builder is awesome.
That said, this is the first new robot that the Government & Industrial division has put out since I left. I really want to see a deployed Warrior (PackBot's big brother). iRobot is a perfect example of a company that seems to be suffering from inability to innovate as a public company. The talent is there though.
This looks very similar to the "Eye Drive"[1] mini robot developed by the Israelis, and already in use by the IDF (according to an article[2] in the Jerusalem Post). The company's promotional video[3] of the robot shows it in action.
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[ 4.3 ms ] story [ 68.4 ms ] threadRobotics, UAVs, etc. all take the human equation out of the surveillance and even the fighting. This is a completely radical departure from the past.
I just wonder where it will all lead.
Looks like a pretty robust platform. Nice and small, but still usable.
edit: And I wouldn't say that a lot of these technologies take the "human equation out", I would just say they take the actual human out. Most of the time, it's just a tool to aid the soldier. Humans still control most of the machines.
Automated tools of warfare aren't new.
That this is brought up every fucking time a robot comes within a mile of the military is a really tired meme. Seriously. Go read every single issue of wired. I dare you to find a mention of robotics that doesn't bring up Terminator.
It's just lazy thinking.
You specifically were lazy in that we already have automated tools of killing each other and each others automated tools. It is heavy influence of hollywood that makes us think something without a human on board is fundamentaly different.
Robot armies fighting each other and super AI taking over military robots are two of the most common topics brought up in the context of military robots, and two of the least realistic or likely.
It's particularly irrelevant in a story about a mini robot used as a radio relay, 100% human controlled, with no weapons. This thing is a wi-fi repeater with a camera on top of an RC car.
Well, we're still here aren't we? Seriously though, when push came to shove (Cuban missile crisis was the closest) we (collectively) backed down. It seems nobody really wanted to fight when it meant certain death to themselves.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/coldwar/...
[TLDR version: Stanislav Petrov prevented nuclear war by correctly guessing that the nuclear launch his station detected was a false alarm, and not a true attack on the USSR. If he had decided the other way, nuclear war may have ensued.]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuB3PyjHQFE
... for nations. But, one can only dream.
There is no intent to replace the human equation though. The human equation is what defines success or failure.
"Make install, not war", as they say.
Radio comms are so bad when deployed. This kind of ad hoc network builder is awesome.
That said, this is the first new robot that the Government & Industrial division has put out since I left. I really want to see a deployed Warrior (PackBot's big brother). iRobot is a perfect example of a company that seems to be suffering from inability to innovate as a public company. The talent is there though.
[1] http://www.odfopt.com/eyedrive/Eye_Drive_home.htm [2] http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArti... [3] http://www.odfopt.com/Movies/eyedrive_new_movie.wmv