Developing Robots For War

An armed robot called MAARS is seen during a recent demonstration at the Robotics Rodeo at Fort Benning, Ga., last month. New robots — none of them very human-looking — are being designed to handle a broad range of tasks, despite controversy about the impact on future warfare. (DAVID WALTER BAN)

Robots, The Military’s Newest Forces -- Chronicle Herald/New York Times

Unmanned machines save soldiers’ lives, but some fear artificial intelligence.

FORT BENNING, Ga. — War would be a lot safer, the U.S. army says, if only more of it were fought by robots.

And while smart machines are already very much a part of modern warfare, the army and its contractors are eager to add more. New robots — none of them particularly human-looking — are being designed to handle a broader range of tasks, from picking off snipers to serving as indefatigable night sentries.

In a mock city here used by army rangers for urban combat training, a 15-inch robot with a video camera scuttles around a bomb factory on a spying mission. Overhead an almost silent drone aircraft with a four-foot wingspan transmits images of the buildings below. Onto the scene rolls a sinister-looking vehicle on tank treads, about the size of a riding lawn mower, equipped with a machine gun and a grenade launcher.

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Update: Pentagon Recruits Robots for War -- Dallas Blog

My Comment: It appears that we are slowly approaching the world that the Terminator movies inspire.