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ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. - The rain is turning to snow on a blustery January morning, and all the men gathered in a parking lot here 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 pointing the way like Pinocchio's nose. The Army is preparing to send 18 of these remote-controlled robotic warriors to fight in Iraq (news - web sites) beginning in March or April.
Made by a small Massachusetts company, the SWORDS, short for Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection Systems, will be the first armed robotic vehicles to see combat, years ahead of the larger Future Combat System vehicles currently under development by big defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics Corp.

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Edit: Oops, thought I had posted link:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050122/ap_on_hi_te/gunslinging_robot

[ January 22, 2005, 07:50 PM: Message edited by: Elizabeth ]
 

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Posted by Desdemona (Member # 7100) on :
 

 

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Posted by James Tiberius Kirk (Member # 2832) on :
 
a link with a pic

I heard about this somewhere; Discovery or History channel probably. Technology is an interesting thing...

--j_k
 

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Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
 
You have fifteen seconds to comply.
 

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Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
 
What is that from, Papa Moose? (I feel like I should know)

[ January 22, 2005, 07:46 PM: Message edited by: Elizabeth ]
 

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Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
 
Frightening, I suppose. Especially when they get to the point where they can match real soldiers, because these don't really need loyalty or suchlike. Just someone with a remote.
 

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Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
 
Elizabeth -- RoboCop.
 

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Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
 
Thanks. I actually didn't see that one. It sounded Borg-like.
 

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