Posted on 08/16/2006 7:23:57 PM PDT by annie laurie
Q. You recently won some big contracts with the United States military and the German military for your PackBot robots, which can be used to dispose of improvised explosive devices.
A. The use of I.E.D.’s by the enemy, specifically in Iraq, is driving this interest. Locating these bombs is extremely threatening and then to defuse them is an incredibly challenging job. Robots are proving to be highly effective to address this. Now, rather than put a soldier at risk, you can put a robot at risk.
Q. Where are those robots being used now?
A. We have over 500 PackBot robots that we have sold, and the vast majority of them are in the greater Baghdad area being used daily to address the I.E.D. threat.
We are also very excited about a variant of the PackBot, called Fido. It has just been tested in Iraq as a bomb-sniffing device.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I wanna a defense one for the house. My cat is a BED (butt explosive device).
The Robotics industry needs to take a clue from the PC industry.
If you want home robotics to take off, you have to develop an inexpensive general model with open architecture that is easily modified with attachments and that is easily programmed. And they have to come up with two or three home applications.
One you have that, hobbyists will begin buying them and developing addtional applications, additional attachments, and refining the programming. That will drive the cost down even as it drives the utility up.
Not only are they awesome in a warzone, but they can vacuum and mop your floors too!
Germans used a robot tank in WWII, called Goliath. Small, mobile, packed with explosives. Radio controlled.
If memory serves, they tried to use them at Normandy and they did not work.
Anyone else remember this?
They also used them on the Russian front. The problem was the operator had to stay put to guide the robot to the target. Meanwhile the enemy could follow the dust from the robot back to the operator's position and shoot them.
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