Author Topic: Now we know how they'll come at us.  (Read 2113 times)

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Offline AlanS

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Now we know how they'll come at us.
« on: January 21, 2014, 08:30:25 PM »
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10587820/US-Army-considers-replacing-thousands-of-troops-with-robots.html

Quote
The US Army is considering replacing thousands of soldiers with robots as it deals with sweeping troop cuts.

A senior American officer has said he is considering shrinking the size of the Army’s brigade combat teams by a quarter and replacing the lost troops with robots and remote-controlled vehicles.

The American military is still far from fielding armies of Terminator-type robotic killers though.

Ideas under discussion instead include proposals to see manned lorries and transporters replaced by supply trains of robots vehicles.

Generals are studying proposals as the US Army is to slim down from 540,000 to about 490,000 soldiers by the end of next year. Some reports suggest it could dip below 450,000 by the end of the decade.

I like the idea of soldiers not getting killed or wounded, but robots don't give a crap about the Constitution. Problem solved.
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Offline warpmine

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Re: Now we know how they'll come at us.
« Reply #1 on: January 21, 2014, 08:36:55 PM »
True but they can be hacked just like the UAV was hacked into landing safely in Iran. Given enough interest, anything can and will be hacked.
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Offline Libertas

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Re: Now we know how they'll come at us.
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2014, 07:45:07 AM »
More pieces for SkyNet.  Taking the human element out of any life or death equation is a serious move toward the insane.
We are now where The Founders were when they faced despotism.

Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: Now we know how they'll come at us.
« Reply #3 on: January 22, 2014, 09:04:35 AM »
True but they can be hacked just like the UAV was hacked into landing safely in Iran. Given enough interest, anything can and will be hacked.

Its not just hacking.. these are expensive and complicated bits of equipment and bleeding edge technology. The programming itself may be faulty. There may be certain images, or other sensory data that simply throw it into a loop or prevents from functioning properly.  Telling a Campfire from the human laying  behind it might be a bit tricky.   They will need handlers and techs to fix the mechanisms and load updates, and those are still flesh and blood.

 While I am sure they will harden these machines, they will still be prone to attack by large EM fields and Large static bursts. Even a bucket of sand might bring them to a halt if its poured in the right place. I am sure they will skin them somewhat, but break that skin and you can get dirt and grime into the mechanism. A bullet in the right place may dent a suport rod so that the dang thing can't walk, etc.

Yes, given time all of this could be perfected into a terminator nightmare.  They don't have that sort of time.

Offline Predator Don

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Re: Now we know how they'll come at us.
« Reply #4 on: January 22, 2014, 10:14:22 AM »
Somebody needs to tell the army that ironman is make believe. There may be hardware, drone type vehicles or a few simple automated devises to make combat safer for humans, but robots fighting? I don't see it any time in the next century.

Anyone watch the robot fighting league? This show was brought out around the time the ironman movies were playing. I thought it may be a cool show to watch.....I was wrong. If that stuff is the tech, we are a long way from using one in combat...unless we want to lose.
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Offline Glock32

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Re: Now we know how they'll come at us.
« Reply #5 on: January 22, 2014, 10:52:00 AM »
People like to point out the challenges, like creating genuine AI, and all that. It's certainly a challenge. But I think the biggest hurdle is the one most people gloss over, and that is the power source. It's the same reason we don't have futuristic laser guns yet -- because we have nothing even close to the extremely energy-dense power source that would be needed.

What will the autonomous robot killer's power come from? Batteries? That's a whole lot of weight to lug around, and they wouldn't last long before needing a long recharge. Nuclear power? Yeah, don't see that happening. Maybe some sort of chemical energy, like a fuel cell or something. Still, we're looking at limited capacity.

For the foreseeable future machine autonomy will be limited to what are essentially conventional vehicles that have replaced human operators with software. There's still some sinister implications with that, but I think the idea of a Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 army is pure fantasy.
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Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: Now we know how they'll come at us.
« Reply #6 on: January 22, 2014, 10:55:15 AM »
Somebody needs to tell the army that ironman is make believe. There may be hardware, drone type vehicles or a few simple automated devises to make combat safer for humans, but robots fighting? I don't see it any time in the next century.

Anyone watch the robot fighting league? This show was brought out around the time the iron man movies were playing. I thought it may be a cool show to watch.....I was wrong. If that stuff is the tech, we are a long way from using one in combat...unless we want to lose.

Most of the stuff they are developing are basically mechanical horses and dogs. They can carry stuff and keep up in rugged terrain.  As with the robot fighting league, you are going to need a human controller for any fighting- and that will mean that you will need a method of control. Probably wireless, and simply jamming that signal will probably  kill the beast.  Your jamming transmitter of course becomes a target..  but then a distributed network of them would be in order.  You only need it doing nothing for a few seconds while you take it out.  Then there are the fuel and recharging problems..


Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: Now we know how they'll come at us.
« Reply #7 on: January 22, 2014, 10:57:05 AM »
People like to point out the challenges, like creating genuine AI, and all that. It's certainly a challenge. But I think the biggest hurdle is the one most people gloss over, and that is the power source. It's the same reason we don't have futuristic laser guns yet -- because we have nothing even close to the extremely energy-dense power source that would be needed.

What will the autonomous robot killer's power come from? Batteries? That's a whole lot of weight to lug around, and they wouldn't last long before needing a long recharge. Nuclear power? Yeah, don't see that happening. Maybe some sort of chemical energy, like a fuel cell or something. Still, we're looking at limited capacity.

For the foreseeable future machine autonomy will be limited to what are essentially conventional vehicles that have replaced human operators with software. There's still some sinister implications with that, but I think the idea of a Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 army is pure fantasy.
Actually I suspect it will be an internal combustion engine.. you get the most power for the weight.. they won't be silent.. that is for sure.


Offline Libertas

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Re: Now we know how they'll come at us.
« Reply #8 on: January 22, 2014, 12:17:04 PM »
Somebody needs to tell the army that ironman is make believe. There may be hardware, drone type vehicles or a few simple automated devises to make combat safer for humans, but robots fighting? I don't see it any time in the next century.

Anyone watch the robot fighting league? This show was brought out around the time the ironman movies were playing. I thought it may be a cool show to watch.....I was wrong. If that stuff is the tech, we are a long way from using one in combat...unless we want to lose.

Never underestimate Obama and the rest of the progressives!

Hmm, I had a thought...maybe we want this to suck real bad?
We are now where The Founders were when they faced despotism.

Offline Predator Don

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Re: Now we know how they'll come at us.
« Reply #9 on: January 22, 2014, 09:17:32 PM »
Somebody needs to tell the army that ironman is make believe. There may be hardware, drone type vehicles or a few simple automated devises to make combat safer for humans, but robots fighting? I don't see it any time in the next century.

Anyone watch the robot fighting league? This show was brought out around the time the ironman movies were playing. I thought it may be a cool show to watch.....I was wrong. If that stuff is the tech, we are a long way from using one in combat...unless we want to lose.

Never underestimate Obama and the rest of the progressives!

Hmm, I had a thought...maybe we want this to suck real bad?

May be on to something. Since the new rules of engagement discourage winning, what better way to lose than send out a bunch of robots that won't engage because they don't work.
I'm not always engulfed in scandals, but when I am, I make sure I blame others.