Four-legged bot with a 6.5mm SNIPER RIFLE on its back is unveiled at the US Army trade show and can precisely fire at targets 3/4 of a mile away

Daily Mail ^

[algore]

A robot dog design armed with a 6.5 mm Creedmoor sniper rifle capable of precisely hitting targets from 3,940 feet away has been unveiled at the US Army trade show.

The 'Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle' (SPUR) is the brainchild of Philadelphia-based Ghost Robotics and arms manufacturer SWORD International of Sparks, Nevada.

Placed on top of one of Ghost Robotics' existing 'quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicle' designs, SPUR can be remotely instructed to load, unload and fire its rifle.

The firms have yet to reveal the exact configuration of the weapon, nor how much ammunition the machine is capable of carrying or its reload rate.

However, tests have shown that the 6.5mm rounds used in the Creedmoor rifle offer an increase in range over the 7.62x51mm cartridges currently used by US forces.

It is also presently unclear how much each robot unit and SPUR attachment will cost to purchase and maintain.

The arming of robots with SPUR — while arguably an inevitable development not that distinct from other unmanned ground weapons — is still likely to stir up controversy.

In contrast, for example, competitor Boston Dynamics — known for their oft-dancing robot dog 'Spot' — have committed to never arming any of their bots with weapons.

And the prospect of weaponised robot dogs turning on and killings humans was brought to discomforting life in the 2017 Black Mirror episode 'Metalhead'.

[gundog]

I doubt it can go through brush. Seems like it’s only good for urban combat.

[JoSixChip]

Have we given it to the taliban yet?

[JoSixChip]

I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

[zeestephen]

Re: Robot dog

From 1300 yards, his bite is bigger than his bark.

[Viking2002]

Well, it’ll keep the neighbors’ kids out of your yard.

[Larry Lucido]

[Covenantor]

About 30 years ago Neal Stephenson envisioned a semi autonomous robotic/biological hybrid killer guard dog in “Snow Crash”.

Not there yet but the gap seems to be narrowing rapidly.

[A Formerly Proud Canadian]

Designed to remove the unvaxxed.

[Bobalu]

The counter to this is obviously a large robotic cat.

[null and void]

Tadrian makes batteries with 40 year life, and that’s without a solar charger!

[Bikkuri]

The first thought that popped into my mind was Metalhead, which it mentions above.

[TChad]

This comes in three models, the “Detroit,” the “Baltimore,” and the “St. Louis.”

[LegendHasIt]

Great.

How long before it is hacked and turned against our side.

[ebshumidors]

It reminds me of the robot machine guns in Aliens.

[doorgunner69]

” How do you counter them at that distance?”

Air stikes and artillery, of course.

[cld51860]

Gee, can’t wait until they deploy them against us! Should be fun!

[Army Air Corps]

I think that I have seen this movie.

[algore]

Someone has disregarded the laws of robotics..

[Magnum44]

[MrLucky1966]

This is a problem. How do you counter them at that distance?

The M1891 Carcano in 6.5mm Carcano with magic bullets? B-)



Seriously, I wonder how the 6.5mm Creedmoor compares to the 6.5mm Carcano or even 6.5mm Japanese Arisaka. Even more serious, I do find it troubling like you do. I know it can be defeated but I guess the best answer is not to present yourself as a target and if you take a shot at it with a Carcano or whatever you have, shoot and scoot and hope you hit it in its camera or a vital spot.