'Robot soldiers' bound for Iraq

Keevan_Colton · Post by **Keevan_Colton** » 2005-01-23 12:33pm

The US military is planning to deploy robots armed with machine-guns to wage war against insurgents in Iraq.

Eighteen of the 1m-high robots, equipped with cameras and operated by remote control, are going to Iraq this spring, the Associated Press reports.

The machine is based on a robot already used by the military to disable bombs.

Officials say the robot warrior is fast, accurate and will track and attack the enemy with relatively little risk to the lives of US soldiers.

Unlike its human counterparts, the armed robot does not require food, clothing, training, motivation or a pension.

When not needed in war, it can be mothballed in a warehouse.

However, the robot will rely on its human operator, remotely studying footage from its cameras, for the order to open fire.

According to Bob Quinn, a manager with Foster-Miller, the US-based company which worked with the military to develop the robot, the only difference for a soldier is that "his weapon is not at his shoulder, it's up to half a mile away".

Test of metal

The robot fighter has been christened Swords, after the acronym for Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection Systems.

It is based on the Talon robot, which is widely used by the military to disarm bombs.

A US officer who helped test the robot said it was a more accurate shot than the average soldier because it is mounted on a stable platform and takes aim electronically.

"It eliminates the majority of shooting errors you have," said Staff Sgt Santiago Tordillos.

Mr Quinn says there are plans to replace the computer screen, joysticks and keypad in the remote-control unit with a Gameboy-style controller and virtual-reality goggles.

The Foster-Miller company is owned by the QinetiQ Group, a joint venture between the UK's Ministry of Defence and US-based holding company, Carlyle Group.

BBC

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2005-01-23 12:41pm

What happens when that thing rolls over a landmine or gets hit by an RPG?

I'm no military expert, but even I see exposed that thing is. Worse than T-1 in Terminator, at least that had armor in the front, this looks like it has no armor.

Brian

Chmee · Post by **Chmee** » 2005-01-23 12:44pm

In an unrelated and surprising move, Michael Biehn has joined the Iraqi insurgency ......

Robert Walper · Post by **Robert Walper** » 2005-01-23 12:51pm

Shit.

And I was really hoping too...

Iceberg · Post by **Iceberg** » 2005-01-23 12:59pm

brianeyci wrote:What happens when that thing rolls over a landmine or gets hit by an RPG?

Then it's done its job and saved a soldier's life.

Julhelm · Post by **Julhelm** » 2005-01-23 01:01pm

Sounds like an aimbot cheat.

Post by **Coyote** » 2005-01-23 01:01pm

What happens if it runs over a mine?

It blows up, and the operators get another one out of storage.

The robot gets shipped to the dump in a pail. No word yet on if it is flag-draped.

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2005-01-23 01:07pm

brianeyci wrote:What happens when that thing rolls over a landmine or gets hit by an RPG?

I'm no military expert, but even I see exposed that thing is. Worse than T-1 in Terminator, at least that had armor in the front, this looks like it has no armor.

Brian

It's meant to be cheap and disposable, and it's not supposed to replace the soldiers or take any glory and kickassery away from them.

Besides, it's got a small target profile, more concealable, and they say its more accurate than a real soldier. If it rolls over a landmine (which can happen to any guy) or gets hit by an RPG (which is rather inaccurate and could just as well hit a person too), then you can just buy another one. And that's the point.

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2005-01-23 01:42pm

cheap articul.

Is Far Superior

Army to send robot fighters to help in Iraq
Published January 23, 2005

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. (AP) -- The rain is turning to snow on a blustery January morning, and all the men gathered in a parking lot surely would prefer to be inside.

But the weather couldn't matter less to the robotic sharpshooter they are here to watch as it splashes through puddles, the barrel of its machine gun leading the way.

The Army is preparing to send 18 of these remote-controlled robotic warriors to fight in Iraq beginning in March or April.

Made by a small Massachusetts company, the Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection Systems (SWORDS) will be the first armed robotic vehicles to see combat.

Military officials like to compare the roughly 3-foot-high robots favorably to human soldiers: They don't need to be trained, fed or clothed. They can be boxed up and warehoused between wars. They never complain. And there are no letters to write home if they meet their demise in battle.

But officials are quick to point out that these are not the autonomous killer robots of science fiction. A SWORDS robot fires only when its human operator presses a button after identifying a target on video shot by the robot's cameras.

"The only difference is that [the human operator's] weapon is not at his shoulder, it's up to half a mile a way," said Bob Quinn, general manager of Talon robots for Foster-Miller Inc., the Waltham, Mass., company that makes the SWORDS. As one Marine fresh out of boot camp told Mr. Quinn upon seeing the robot: "This is my invisibility cloak."

The $200,000 SWORDS will carry standard-issue squad automatic weapons, either the M249, which fires 5.56 mm rounds at a rate of 750 per minute, or the M240, which can fire about 700 to 1,000 7.62 mm rounds per minute. The SWORDS can fire about 300 rounds using the M240 and about 350 rounds using the M249 before needing to reload.

All its optics equipment -- the four cameras, night vision and zoom lenses -- were already in the Army's inventory.

Its developers say its tracks, like those on a tank, can overcome rock piles and barbed wire, though it needs a ride to travel faster than 4 mph.

Running on lithium ion batteries, it can operate for one to four hours at a time, depending on the mission. Operators work the robot using a 30-pound control unit that has two joysticks, a handful of buttons and a video screen. Mr. Quinn says that configuration eventually may be replaced by a "Gameboy"-type of controller hooked up to virtual reality goggles.

The Army has been testing it over the past year at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey and the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland to ensure it won't malfunction and can stand up to radio jammers and other countermeasures.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2005-01-23 01:58pm

They're using a "Game-boy" style controller? I guess there isn't much it can do if it isn't using something like a Playstation or Xbox controller.

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2005-01-23 02:01pm

I sure those things are being sent in for testing purposes, ie to see what the technology can and can't do in order facilitate new design ideas.

Chmee · Post by **Chmee** » 2005-01-23 02:05pm

brianeyci wrote:What happens when that thing rolls over a landmine or gets hit by an RPG?

Then Bechtel gets a multibillion dollar contract to repair them ... and when I say 'repair' I mean scrap them and sell the metal to their own subsidiaries at $350 a pound ...

Pint0 Xtreme · Post by **Pint0 Xtreme** » 2005-01-23 02:13pm

Ah yes, the United States droid army.

Post by **Coyote** » 2005-01-23 02:16pm

"But if even if we kill the infidels, they will just come back with another droid army!"

Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba · Post by **Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba** » 2005-01-23 02:37pm

In other news, several Iraqi insurgents recently killed bear a striking resemblance to Temurra Morrison...

salm · Post by **salm** » 2005-01-23 02:40pm

maybe the fidels will counter with suicide robots?

jegs2 · Post by **jegs2** » 2005-01-23 02:42pm

So basically it's an armed UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle). If the things can be effective while soldiers' lives are saved, then I'm for it.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2005-01-23 02:43pm

So when does the R2-D2 model come out?

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-01-23 02:55pm

Darth Wong wrote:So when does the R2-D2 model come out?

In a millenium or so. Artoo is amazingly versatile and has character shields up the wazoo, there's no way we could make something that good (besides, Kenny Baker won't reprise the role for all the money in the world if it means taking an RPG in the process).

I expect Nova S.A.I.N.T. and T-1s instead.

No disassemble!

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2005-01-23 03:17pm

The Iraqis are gonna send wave after wave of men so these killbots will reach their preset kill limits

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-01-23 03:21pm

Shroom Man 777 wrote:The Iraqis are gonna send wave after wave of men so these killbots will reach their preset kill limits

I can see their meetings now...

Abdul: The infidels, they use a new type of weapon. A tin man with a gun! How do they expect to die in glory... and, uh, pain?

Abdullah: Never fear. These robots have a weak spot, they're not human or praised by Allah. We'll hit the bullseye and the dominos will fall like a deck of cards. Checkmate!

*Random chantings of the Qu'ran and firing of weapons aimlessly into the air*

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2005-01-23 09:00pm

Darth Wong wrote:So when does the R2-D2 model come out?

They're already out. They were about a hundred bucks last Christmas I believe.

And really, this is a stupid idea. Clones are much better.

Chmee · Post by **Chmee** » 2005-01-23 09:04pm

I see a boom in the black market for paintball guns ..... once you coat the camera 'eyes' of these things, they're harmless, right?

New standard mujahadeen issue: water balloons and dark paint.

Lord Zentei · Post by **Lord Zentei** » 2005-01-23 09:10pm

Chmee wrote:I see a boom in the black market for paintball guns ..... once you coat the camera 'eyes' of these things, they're harmless, right?

New standard mujahadeen issue: water balloons and dark paint.

Those paintguns are less accurate than lethal weapons. And if you replace the robot with a human, you would have had yet another casualty.

bohemianfey · Post by **bohemianfey** » 2005-01-23 09:28pm

**Shudders** I hate robots. Give me the heebie jeebies.

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'Robot soldiers' bound for Iraq

'Robot soldiers' bound for Iraq

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