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Robot Cannon Kills 9, Wounds 14
Wired | 18 Oct 2007 | Noah Shachtman

Posted on 10/18/2007 11:36:37 PM PDT by Spktyr

We're not used to thinking of them this way. But many advanced military weapons are essentially robotic -- picking targets out automatically, slewing into position, and waiting only for a human to pull the trigger. Most of the time. Once in a while, though, these machines start firing mysteriously on their own. The South African National Defence Force "is probing whether a software glitch led to an antiaircraft cannon malfunction that killed nine soldiers and seriously injured 14 others during a shooting exercise on Friday."

SA National Defence Force spokesman brigadier general Kwena Mangope says the cause of the malfunction is not yet known...

Media reports say the shooting exercise, using live ammunition, took place at the SA Army's Combat Training Centre, at Lohatlha, in the Northern Cape, as part of an annual force preparation endeavour.

Mangope told The Star that it “is assumed that there was a mechanical problem, which led to the accident. The gun, which was fully loaded, did not fire as it normally should have," he said. "It appears as though the gun, which is computerised, jammed before there was some sort of explosion, and then it opened fire uncontrollably, killing and injuring the soldiers."



TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ed209; oerlikon; robocop
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To: Tall_Texan
"Sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that...."


21 posted on 10/19/2007 2:52:14 AM PDT by Dumpster Baby ("Hope somebody finds me before the rats do .....")
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To: DeltaZulu
"Couldn’t be Java. The gun was way too fast. Couldn’t be C# either. Gun’s probably aren’t supported hardware. Sounds more like unmanaged code like C++. This whole incident adds a completely new dimension to the term ‘invalid pointer’."

I was joking. ...could even have been assembly. Most civilian "embedded" (custom device oriented) projects continue to find developers who are stuck in C, although that might change as machines get much faster soon, and more projects, much larger.

And you probably already know that runaway processes can be caused by many other things, too: bad peripheral devices, climate conditions,...
22 posted on 10/19/2007 3:30:07 AM PDT by familyop
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I had the same problem with my PC until I switched to Firefox.


23 posted on 10/19/2007 3:36:27 AM PDT by Pylon (Remember boys, flies spread disease, so keep yours closed.)
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To: familyop

Software traps and watchdog timers are prudent in any system where humans can be harmed.


24 posted on 10/19/2007 3:36:47 AM PDT by mad_as_he$$ (Do you want to be right or successful!)
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To: Cyber Liberty; Slip18; EODGUY; NeoCaveman; CholeraJoe; Doohickey; SmithL
Oh Shiitte!

(Now, he wonders cynically, would the brasses’ response be different if the automatic cannon had swept through the benches and reviewing stand where the brass were standing?)

25 posted on 10/19/2007 3:41:09 AM PDT by Robert A Cook PE (I can only donate monthly, but Hillary's ABBCNNBCBS continue to lie every day!)
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To: Stoat

did u notice that on full auto it can only fire for 12 seconds before dry?


26 posted on 10/19/2007 3:50:31 AM PDT by beebuster2000 (choice is not not peace or war, but small war now, or big war later masquerading as peace now.)
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To: DeltaZulu
"This whole incident adds a completely new dimension to the term ‘invalid pointer’."

Those can be really hard to catch before production use--especially without peer code reviews and much runtime testing.
27 posted on 10/19/2007 3:50:47 AM PDT by familyop
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To: mad_as_he$$
"Software traps and watchdog timers are prudent in any system where humans can be harmed."

That's true, and thanks. ...another good reminder for newbies like me. :-)


28 posted on 10/19/2007 3:54:36 AM PDT by familyop
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To: Spktyr

In other news, James Watson is being stripped of his duties at the University he works for making disparaging remarks about ethnic intelligence.....


29 posted on 10/19/2007 5:07:56 AM PDT by vetvetdoug
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To: Spktyr
What idiot makes an automated weapons system with no kill switch???

Ask Dr, Watson.

30 posted on 10/19/2007 5:20:12 AM PDT by Lion Den Dan
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To: Robert A. Cook, PE; Cyber Liberty; Slip18; EODGUY; NeoCaveman; CholeraJoe; Doohickey

Doncha’ just hate it when that happens?


31 posted on 10/19/2007 7:16:46 AM PDT by SmithL (I don't do Barf Alerts, you're old enough to read and decide for yourself)
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To: Westlander
Actually my hometown, Detroit, could really use this.

I'll buy that for a dollar.

32 posted on 10/19/2007 7:19:16 AM PDT by dfwgator (The University of Florida - Still Championship U)
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To: FreedomCalls

How did I know, when I saw this thread that ED-209 would make a guest appearance?


33 posted on 10/19/2007 7:22:14 AM PDT by Trueblackman (Terrorism and Liberalism never sleep and neither do I)
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To: Spktyr
Hey, guys.....you hafta aim the cannon AWAY from you.

Leni

34 posted on 10/19/2007 7:25:03 AM PDT by MinuteGal (Enter the FReepathon Mother Freep Nursery Rhymes CONTEST!!! See # 19 on the FReepathon Thread)
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To: Spktyr

I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I think one of those is the Governor of California!


35 posted on 10/19/2007 8:08:26 AM PDT by 444Flyer
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To: Jedi Master Pikachu
Though 2001: A Space Odyssey was a fairly lame movie.

Yeah, but "2010: Odyssey Two" was a hell of a good one...and it actually made sense out of the first one.

36 posted on 10/19/2007 8:23:41 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (Jet noise. The Sound of Freedom. - Go Air Force!)
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To: SmithL
Only when attempting automation do people discover that while automation can certainly save time and resources, it will tend to be somewhat...shall we say...indiscriminate.
37 posted on 10/19/2007 8:57:23 AM PDT by Doohickey (Giuliani: Brokeback Republican)
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To: Spktyr

It was the BAD robot from Robocop 2 – Cain!
38 posted on 10/19/2007 9:06:12 AM PDT by Just another Joe (Warning: FReeping can be addictive and helpful to your mental health)
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To: Spktyr

Had the designers not seen the Terminator movies?


39 posted on 10/19/2007 9:09:27 AM PDT by The_Media_never_lie
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To: Stoat
I'm sure the after action report went something like this....

Sir right before everybody died I saw this.....

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

40 posted on 10/19/2007 11:55:03 AM PDT by Dick Vomer (liberals suck....... but it depends on what your definition of the word "suck" is.,)
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