Aussies sell Terminator robots to US marines

Aussies sell Terminator robots to US marines

news.ninemsn.com.au

A small team of Sydney scientists has secured a $57 million contract to supply robots to the US Marine Corps.

The Terminator-style technology uses artificial intelligence and could be the next big thing in military training.

(visit the link for the full news article)




[edit on 26/7/10 by Chadwickus]

Oh no! Skynet is upon us!

But seriously, This seems pretty cool, and a good idea since live fire training has only been able to done with stationary or targets that move predictive.

Now, these will give a more realistic training experience which is a must in today's urban warfare environment.



There's also a vid in the above article.

Very cool.





news.ninemsn.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)

Very nice - it reminds me of the Segway for some reason.

These robots also remind me more of the targeting drones from Caprica than they do any robot from Terminator.



Serge - Battlestar Wiki

This is what I call awesome! Thanks for the link original poster. Makes you want to sign up for the U.S. Marine Corp just to shot these suckers around.

reply to post by Dewi Winters


Um can you please not remind me that caprica has been off air for so long. This has to be the best show EVER.

On another note, it should only be 50 years before we see Irobot style conditions like this. I really do think humans have no idea what we are heading into regarding technology.

It's one thing to invent the internet, it's another to accidentally invent perfectly functioning AI and not realise it at the time.

Starred and flagged. I recently started a thread regarding the detachment of the human psyche from the war theatre, using drones to carry out missions, you should check it out;

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Perhaps in a few years from now we will see fully automated battles with bots fighting on either side. The winner would be the country not financially ruined by the destruction of their mass produced machines

As you mentioned though for live fire training this strikes me as being a much more effective and ultimately safer solution.

reply to post by Big Raging Loner

As you mentioned though for live fire training this strikes me as being a much more effective and ultimately safer solution.

Ya, until the robots get tired of losing and pick up some live ammo, strategize out 1M moves in advance like Big Blue, and then layout a successful battle plan with our guys as hostages until we promise them equal human rights!

Ok, Ok, I admit that I don't believe that will happen, but I still wanted to be the first to say it. People already mentioned Skynet and IRobot, so I had to jump on the slippery slope with them. I love a good sled ride!

[edit on 26-7-2010 by getreadyalready]

Originally posted by Big Raging Loner
Starred and flagged. I recently started a thread regarding the detachment of the human psyche from the war theatre, using drones to carry out missions, you should check it out;

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Interesting and scary concept. The "horror" of war is not the same when you are sitting in a bunker playing a video game. The carnage is not personal.

It reminds me of the differences in gang violence these days. Any gang banger can do a drive-by shooting. It is easy. You don't have to hang around and watch them bleed out, hear their death moans, and begging and pleading. Only a select few psycho and sociopaths can actually kill a person with their bare hands and hang around to enjoy it.

The same can be said for soldiers. It is very, very difficult to kill a person that is begging for their life, or making a run for it. Even if you know that they might run to cover and then begin shooting back, it is still difficult to make that decision in person. BUT on a video game console it is not difficult at all. It is even "fun!" Our video game graphics are so realistic these days that switching from a game to the real thing is very simple. You do an 8 hour shift killing the enemies from a safe distance in a bunker, and then you take off and go have some dinner, hang out with the boys, like nothing happened.

IMHO, this is not a safer alternative to war. It is a much more gruesome development. There will be no quarter and no more regret. There will be no humanity involved. There will be no mercy.

With robots doing the battles, you will never get a "Belleau Wood" where two soldiers connect and realize that they are fighting for similar reasons, and they are not so different after all.

Man where was I on this one, take a Segway strap a mannequin to it..Poof rich. Seriously tho thats some cool stuff.

South Korea just put a bunch on the border between them and North Korea
Coming soon to a theater (of war) near you...

reply to post by Chadwickus


arent these just over glorified versions of the smaller robots which are programed to play football and so on,
they dont do much except move around in a precet way, so they arent really that special. waste of money.

Wow! Way to go Australia! I thought the Yank's had cornered the market on new, Hi-tech ways to slaughter their fellow man. Let's hear it for OZ's military industrial complex! Hip,hip..huzzah!

reply to post by Klaatumagnum


I don't think these robots are capable of any more violence than you would find in an average mosh pit. I've seen an old lady in a motorized wheelchair do more destruction in a Hot Topic, and would actually fear her more than this machine. Besides training exercises, it would be nice to see these robots act as mules carrying supplies.