ED-209's to be deployed in Iraq
Readers may recall my post last spring regarding SUGV's, remote controlled robots employed in the GWOT for reconnaisance and bomb demolition (See "Second Variety").
SUGV's were not weaponized because of the risks it would pose for civilians:
Robot vision systems have serious limitations, and the risk that a robot might kill an innocent civilian is too great, said iRobot CEO Colin Angle.
But Angle did not rule out the eventual use of weapons on robots, and noted that Raytheon is developing a targeting system for the SUGV.
"We're not using these robots to hand out flowers," Angle said.
Well, time to uncork the champagne, because it seems our robot engineering experts have solved the problem.
The BBC (via AP) reports that the US will be deploying weaponized "robot troops" in Iraq starting this spring.
SWORDS (an acronym for "Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection Systems) are equipped with night vision, zoom lenses, and machine guns.
["Observation," "reconnaissance," and "detection" ... with machine guns.]
They offer many advantages over human troops:
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.
[snip]
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.
The remote-control unit currently works by computer screen, joystick and keypad, but designers hope to replace these with a "Gameboy-style controller and virtual-reality goggles."
Sounds like a lot of fun. I look forward to the day when average American citizens can participate directly in the GWOT by signing up to learn how to control SWORDS from their very own home computer.
[Via Cursor]
3:03:54 PM 
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