US Army speeds fielding of armed robots to Iraq

On Jane's website today

The US Army is working to quickly field an armed robot to Iraq, even before mid-2005, to patrol dangerous areas.

The Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection System (SWORDS) is based on the Foster-Miller Talon robot, which is already used in Iraq and Afghanistan for explosive ordnance removal.

The SWORDS version incorporates either an M249 5.56 mm light machine gun, an M240 7.62 mm medium machine gun or an M107 .50 cal Barrett sniper rifle. It uses the Telepresent Rapid Aiming Platform (TRAP), manufactured by Precision Remotes, to remotely interface with the guns.

The army is interested in fielding 18 units initially, said Anthony Sebasto, an engineer who helped develop SWORDS at Picatinny Arsenal. Picatinny officials told JDW that a final decision has not been made as to when the systems might be fielded, but there have been reports in the press that it could be March or April.

Although the US Department of Defense has experimented with armed robots for some years, this is believed to be the first time it has moved to field one. "This is just the beginning of what will be a growing initiative," Sebasto said.

If anyone has full access to Janes Defence Weekly I would not mind a copy of the rest of the article

Will be interst to wee how successful they are.

EDIT

This thread already mentions these robot
Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots





Check out TALON






[edit on 31-1-2005 by Popeye]

Pretty cool. It might just work out. You know? Plus, it's a robot, so if it gets destroyed, we won't really care because it's not a human, right (or at least not a robot with emotions, which I'm not even sure exist yet)?

To quote Will Smith from I, Robot: " I miss the good old days when people were killed by other people"

[edit on 4-2-2005 by beyondSciFi]

Doesnt look very battlehardened.

you have to be joking right?

these "battle robots" don't stand a chance in urban street fight in iraq.

few rpg's and ak47 fire and they are gone.

Originally posted by Souljah
you have to be joking right?

these "battle robots" don't stand a chance in urban street fight in iraq.

Soon tho, soon. We're in a transition here.


Good find and comments.

...Here are some links from my "New Military" news article - they fit here too.


2005 - Two robotics projects in the USA and Korea announced stunning breakthroughs this week. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contracted Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to build a computer that can read documents and learn from them, for $1.2 million. Korea's Advanced Institute of Science and Technology created software to install 14 artificial chromosomes in a robot within three months. The software code is modelled on human DNA.

The New Military: Robots with Human DNA



2005 - New micro-robots called microbots grow their own muscles from living animals. The microbots are grown on silicon chips, using the same principles and similar technologies as those used to make integrated circuits. "I can make hundreds of thousands as easily as I can make one," says nanotechnologist Carlo Montemagno. Blending biological and mechanical parts with phenomenal precision, microbots are a fully integrated system, blurring the lines between men and machines.

Microbots: Towards the New Military


2000 - "One of the projects DARPA is currently supporting is work by a team at Michigan State University's College of Engineering, who are developing reconfigurable micro-robots for use in military, intelligence and law enforcement ...."

DARPA Works to Replace Soldiers, Police with Robots


2005 - "Scientists at the University of California Los Angeles have successfully bonded flesh to silicon to create what they claim is world's first muscled robot. ..."They have a maximum moving speed of 40 micrometres per second and can work for more than four hours, although not continuously." "

It needs your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle


Also see:

The Talon Robot: Ready for Iraq

Fly-eating robot powers itself



So just put everything together with AI, self-powered microbots, human DNA and all the other latest innovations...



How International Corporations Take Money Out of Troops Mouths


Outsourcing the Pentagon

Privatizing War - How affairs of state are outsourced to corporations beyond public control

Mercenary Firms and War Profiteers 1
Mercenary Firms and War Profiteers 2

Executive Outcomes: A new kind of army for privatized global warfare

Dogs Of War Inc. - A $300 Billion Dollar Business




For those who wonder where all the money is going:

What's Happening to America?

Where is the Money?




[edit on 8-2-2005 by soficrow]