Posted on 03/29/2007 9:52:29 PM PDT by jmc1969
The military - increasing its reliance on robots in war - soon will use explosive-sniffing versions to better detect roadside bombs accounting for more than 70 percent of the U.S. casualties in Iraq.
Fido is the first robot with an explosives sensor integrated into its body. iRobot Corp. is filling the military's first order of 100 in this southwest Ohio city and will begin shipping the robots over the next few months.
There are nearly 5,000 robots in Iraq and Afghanistan, up from about 150 in 2004. Soldiers use them to search caves and buildings for insurgents, detect mines and ferret out roadside and car bombs.
As the war in Iraq enters its fifth year, the federal government is spending more money on military robots and the two major U.S. robot-makers have increased production.
(Excerpt) Read more at ohio.com ...
ping
By the way that is K9 from Doctor Who.
IOW if the tool is looking for Dog P***, then saturate the entire area with Dog P***
I am not saying 'toss it all out' but rather be aware of the limitations, and incorporate that into the the thinking.
An advanced robotics industry might be a nice spin off from this war.
Well... we do have the technology for walking robots. So - scale up to 8ft tall, strap a V8 or a turbine engine on its back, and liberally place machine guns and rocket launchers, and let it go for a stroll where folks are burying road side bombs. Lean back and watch the fireworks. :)
Moving ahead with new force multipliers.
Cute little b*stard. Heheh. Here fido, fetch your bone. Glad to see these units in the field. Sure hope they work at saving our guys' lives and limbs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.