CMU's snooping robot going to Iraq - Democratic Underground

Lori Price CLG

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Fri May-21-04 09:56 AM
Original message

CMU's snooping robot going to Iraq

Edited on Fri May-21-04 10:06 AM by Lori Price CLG

CMU's snooping robot going to Iraq

A robot designed for urban warfare will soon be on its way to assist U.S. Marines in Iraq, where the scrappy machine can peer around corners and snoop in areas too dangerous or inaccessible for human soldiers.

Called Dragon Runner, the four-wheeled device is small and light enough to be carried in a soldier's backpack and rugged enough to be tossed over fences and up or down stairwells...

The flat, squarish robot can operate whichever way it lands. "There's no right side up," (Capt. Dave) Moreau said. The robot is steered by a soldier, who can see where it is going via its onboard video camera. It has infrared capabilities for operating at night.

Dragon Runner was developed by Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute and the National Robotics Engineering Consortium under contract to the Marines. Twelve prototypes have been built by the CMU spinoff Automatika Inc. and are being delivered to the Marines.

<snip>

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TahitiNut

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Fri May-21-04 10:38 AM
Response to Original message

1. I'd give odds that one of the first uses of this 'bot ...

.... will be in the women's showers. :grr:

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bemildred

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Fri May-21-04 12:32 PM
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2. Does it have armor?

Just wondering.

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daleo

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Fri May-21-04 12:40 PM
Response to Reply #2

3. Or weapons?

Kill-bots seem like the ultimate PNAC fantasy if you read their report "Rebuilding America's Defenses".

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bemildred

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Fri May-21-04 12:45 PM
Response to Reply #3

4. Well, there is that.

I was just wondering how long these toys will last?
I would expect that one RPG would do the job.

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demdave

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Fri May-21-04 03:30 PM
Response to Reply #3

9. It can be armed with an explosive package.

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Lori Price CLG

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Fri May-21-04 12:47 PM
Response to Reply #2

5. LOL, I am curious how the resistance (in *any* country that it is used)

...can get rid of it. :)

The 'Dragon Runner' spying robot appears to be an annoying little terrorist tool that needs to go 'bye-bye.' If the 'Dragon Runner' rears its ugly little head at Ground Zero during the Republican National Convention, people should squash it.

-Lori Price

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muriel_volestrangler

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Fri May-21-04 01:37 PM
Response to Reply #5

6. Putting a hood over it would have a certain poetic justice (nt)

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Voltaire99

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Fri May-21-04 01:57 PM
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7. Turn it loose in the American torture camps

Oh, wait. The torturers have their own cameras.

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Hand

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Fri May-21-04 03:12 PM
Response to Original message

8. Three words...

Ball peen hammer.

:evilgrin:

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