Robotics

As more and more law enforcement agencies bring police robots into service, it was bound to happen.  As the Florida case notes below, a police robot was shot “in the line of duty.”  The good news is that no deputies were injured and the robot, whose video camera was shot and destroyed, took the brunt of the attack. This case raises a number of interesting questions, such as “is shooting a police robot the same as shooting a human police officer?” While most would agree there is a difference, the case is not crystal clear.  Many other non-human police employees are protected by special laws.  For example, in California it is a felony to attack either a police dog or horse in the course of its official duty. California Penal Code Section 600 (a) Any person who willfully and maliciously and with no legal justification strikes beats, kicks, cuts, stabs, [...]

Armed Battle Field Robot: Photo courtesy QinetiQ. The Maars system robot (above) can be equipped with four grenade launchers and a machine gun that packs 400 rounds of 7.62 caliber ammunition. Increasingly robots are being used in warfare and many new efforts have been undertaken in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere to try to limit human casualties among soldiers through the use of robotic substitutes.  While the use of predator missile drones has been widely reported, another class of ground-based robots is being deployed to engage with the enemy on the ground.  Think of these devices as being just like R2D2  or C3PO of Star Wars fame–with one major difference.  Rather than running at the site of danger, these robots are designed to engage a dangerous enemy head on.  Capable of firing hundreds of rounds of automatic gunfire per minute, they represent the latest in military technology and their use will [...]

What happens when computer viruses attack the common house hold robot that will surely be coming in the near future?

By Noah Shactman, Wired Magazine, August 16, 2007 Armed robots — similar to the ones now on patrol in Iraq — are being marketed to domestic police forces, according to the machines’ manufacturer and law enforcement officers.  None of the gun-toting ‘bots appear to have been deployed domestically,  yet.  Both cops and company officials say it’s only a matter of time, however. “Other than some R&D with the shotgun mount, we haven’t used it operationally,”  Massachusetts State Police Trooper Mike Rogowski tells DANGER ROOM.  “But they’re on the way.  They’re coming,” Foster-Miller, maker of the armed SWORDS robot for military use, is also actively promoting a similar model to domestic, civilian police forces.  The Talon SWAT/MP is a “robot specifically equipped for scenarios frequently encountered by police SWAT [special weapon and tactics] units and MPs [military police],” a company fact sheet announces.  It “can be configured with the following equipment: [...]