If you think that fully autonomous killing robots are a decade away, take a look at a home-brew device that really does pick out a target and shoot to kill all by itself; see the Robotic Sentry Gun from USMechatronics.
For me, the bottom line on this article is that SWORDS is a machine that is sent to stand in the place of a man and kill people.
Next month [February, 2005], the US Army will be putting robot soldiers in the field in Iraq. The SWORDS (Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection Systems) robots are fully armed; when the human operator verifies that a suitable target is within sight, it fires. They are equipped with either the M249 (which fires 5.56-millimeter rounds at 750 rounds per minute) or the M240 (which fires 7.62-millimeter rounds at up to 1,000 per minute).
These robots are poised be the first working robots that are actually designed to break Isaac Asimov's First Law of Robotics:
"A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm."
The three-foot tall bots are not autonomous killing machines; they are modified Talon robots that have been used by the military for at least four years. SWORD robots are more accurate than human soldiers; the gun is mounted on a stable platform and fired electronically, eliminating trigger recoil, anticipation problems and timing the breathing cycle when firing. At present, the SWORD robot is operated with a thirty-pound control unit with two joysticks, buttons and a video screen.
For me, the bottom line on this article is that SWORDS is a machine that is sent to stand in the place of a man and kill people.
Next month [February, 2005], the US Army will be putting robot soldiers in the field in Iraq. The SWORDS (Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection Systems) robots are fully armed; when the human operator verifies that a suitable target is within sight, it fires. They are equipped with either the M249 (which fires 5.56-millimeter rounds at 750 rounds per minute) or the M240 (which fires 7.62-millimeter rounds at up to 1,000 per minute).
These robots are poised be the first working robots that are actually designed to break Isaac Asimov's First Law of Robotics:
"A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm."
The three-foot tall bots are not autonomous killing machines; they are modified Talon robots that have been used by the military for at least four years. SWORD robots are more accurate than human soldiers; the gun is mounted on a stable platform and fired electronically, eliminating trigger recoil, anticipation problems and timing the breathing cycle when firing. At present, the SWORD robot is operated with a thirty-pound control unit with two joysticks, buttons and a video screen.