Begun The Robot Wars Have...?

[Exposer]

The X-45 successfuly dropped precision ordnance last week.

A Boeing unmanned X-45 aircraft releases a guided bomb during a test in China Lake, California April 18, 2004.

Is this the beginning of the end?

With mounting casualties in Iraq, and knowing how Rumsfeld and that gang think, I would not be surprised at all if they began rushing lethal robot technolgy into service. How soon will robots be doing the fighting in troubled urban areas, and how soon before the skies are ruled by super-nimbled, 10-G-pulling robot raptors?

 

[Wrath of the Swarm]

We aRe SKyNet. rEsistAncE iS FuTIle.

 

[Matabiri]

Robots are our friends.

Robots will keep us safe from poor people:
http://www.theembassyvfx.com/tetra_w_movie.html

 

[Tony]

Robots are our friends.

Robots will keep us safe from poor people:
http://www.theembassyvfx.com/tetra_w_movie.html

Whoa!! That's badass.

 

[Exposer]

Robots are our friends.

Robots will keep us safe from poor people:
http://www.theembassyvfx.com/tetra_w_movie.html

Whoa! That was great. Who made that?

 

[Hexxenhammer]

Whoa!! That's badass.

Totally! Robot asswhuppery! Like a freakin' William Gibson novel.

 

[Matabiri]

Whoa! That was great. Who made that?

You know all that I know. I'd guess these people, seeing as it's their website.

Edit to add: Some more cool robots here: http://www.theembassyvfx.com/portfolio_reel4.html

 

[Tony]

So that's not some high-tech research program? Damn!!

 

[Matabiri]

So that's not some high-tech research program? Damn!!

I'm afraid all I can offer you in high-tech research programs is this. Not exactly a ninja...

 

[Reginald]

I love all that stuff.

I like the robot bugs too. Not in the same league but I enjoyed modeling this one.

 

[Exposer]

http://www.theembassyvfx.com/tetra_w_movie.html

Just as a little side issue, how far do you think we are from being able to build something just like this? What are the main hurdles? Power supply?

 

[Wrath of the Swarm]

Um, a processor that can keep the thing standing upright would be a good start.

 

[Exposer]

Um, a processor that can keep the thing standing upright would be a good start.

That's not a problem. Honda's Asimo can walk, and even dance, just fine. One of these robots, either Asimo or the new Sony one, can even run/jog.

I don't think processor power will be the prohibitive technology.

 

[SquishyDave]

From what I understand, the limits are power supply and strength, we just can't build em as strong as humans yet, and to power them is stupidly hard. Also it could walk, jog and dance, but not currently leap from kombi to kombi, or even identify a target it should shoot at.

But give us 25 years, and then see what we can do.

 

[Earthborn]

Just as a little side issue, how far do you think we are from being able to build something just like this?

Depends on how you interprete the video. If you assume these are fully autonomous robots, then technology is not even close yet. However, it does seem to suggest that these are remote controlled ("It gives me live video feed") and then such technology is basically around the corner. Well, maybe not the cool ninja jumps

Those Honda robots Exposer mentioned are not autonomous, even though they are made to appear to be. They look pretty fancy, but their brainpower is not much more of that of a thing from RobotWars.

Power supply?

I would think the power supply is still a huge hurdle. IIRC, Asimo can only work half an hour on its batteries. Good enough to present itself in a show, but not for actual workdays. For things presented in the video, it probably needs to run on petrol or something, which causes a few obvious problems when being shot at.

And there is of course the problem of making it cheap enough to be used in developing countries. I'm afraid you will find that human lives will be considered cheaper.

 

[Exposer]

I agree that in terms of a robot like that being fully autonomous (especially armed to the teeth), that would be far in the future, if for no other reason than safety concerns (see Robocop )

Let me redesign the question though.... just for fun.....

What if humankind made a massive and unprecedented effort to build that exact police robot from the video, with the same capabilities? Could it be done? I'm talking about a scientific project on a scale bigger and more urgent than even the Manhattan Project.

What if the world was willing to spend trillions of dollars to make this robot -- something like "The Machine" project in CONTACT?

Or maybe let's say that an alien race came down one day and said, "Weaklings of Planet Earth, you have 3 years to build this robot or your planet will be blown to smithereens... get busy!"

Could we do it?

 

[Reginald]

Keep as much of the software off the machine as possible. If we are looking at that model and making some assumptions based on it's appearance as a thought experiment, then It looks to have two rather large "ear" type things. Antennae? Earthborn says remote and I would agree. Keep the thing simple and get a remote computer to transmit all the really smart stuff.

You could then commit your on-board space to the essential tasks of standing up and other motor function, some provision for immediate requirement like "Where should foot go next" etc.

If you look at the advances in wireless technology in just the last few years then these things don't look as way out as they might.

The biggest drawback (As has been pointed out) is power. If you consider changing some of the movement options from electrical to say pneumatic or hydraulic then you give yourself a few more options (Bottled gasses for example).

The strange thing to me is that it is easier to make something fly on it own than walk on its own, hence the advances in the opening post (Good thread by the way Exposer).

 

[Matabiri]

At least we've got a starting point.

When Skynet takes over, all the roads will be blocked. Forever.

(Yes. Good thread.)

 

[Jon_in_london]

That vid-clip is shot in South Africa. By the way.

 

[Hexxenhammer]

That vid-clip is shot in South Africa. By the way.

Robotic road cones are taking over South Africa?!?!? We better send in that bad-@$$ robot cop!