Re:IRobot Rolls Out Pocket-Sized, One-Pound Machine, Ready t...
by ivankirigin on Tuesday May 19, 2009 @02:39PM
(#617345)
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.
Re:IRobot Rolls Out Pocket-Sized, One-Pound Machine, Ready t...
by ivankirigin on Tuesday May 19, 2009 @02:56PM
(#617369)
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.
Re:IRobot Rolls Out Pocket-Sized, One-Pound Machine, Ready t...
by ivankirigin on Tuesday May 19, 2009 @03:11PM
(#617419)
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.
Re:IRobot Rolls Out Pocket-Sized, One-Pound Machine, Ready t...
by noonespecial on Tuesday May 19, 2009 @04:30PM
(#617560)
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.
Re:IRobot Rolls Out Pocket-Sized, One-Pound Machine, Ready t...
by endtime on Tuesday May 19, 2009 @09:38PM
(#617948)
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).
Re:IRobot Rolls Out Pocket-Sized, One-Pound Machine, Ready t...
by run4yourlives on Tuesday May 19, 2009 @02:58PM
(#617377)
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.
Re:IRobot Rolls Out Pocket-Sized, One-Pound Machine, Ready t...
by ivankirigin on Tuesday May 19, 2009 @03:01PM
(#617383)
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.
Re:IRobot Rolls Out Pocket-Sized, One-Pound Machine, Ready t...
by run4yourlives on Tuesday May 19, 2009 @03:16PM
(#617427)
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.]
Re:IRobot Rolls Out Pocket-Sized, One-Pound Machine, Ready t...
by TallGuyShort on Tuesday May 19, 2009 @02:36PM
(#617340)
Why it will lead to Judgement Day, of course!
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.
Re:IRobot Rolls Out Pocket-Sized, One-Pound Machine, Ready t...
by arad on Tuesday May 19, 2009 @03:45PM
(#617477)
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.
Re:IRobot Rolls Out Pocket-Sized, One-Pound Machine, Ready t...
by iman on Tuesday May 19, 2009 @08:40PM
(#617891)
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.
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.
Robotics, 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.
"Make install, not war", as they say.
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.]
... for nations. But, one can only dream.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuB3PyjHQFE
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.
There is no intent to replace the human equation though. The human equation is what defines success or failure.
[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