Robotic Grunts Ready To Report To Duty

[Nbadan]

ORLANDO, Florida -- Hunting for guerillas, handling roadside bombs, crawling across the caves and crumbling towns of Afghanistan and Iraq -- all of that was just a start. Now, the Army is prepping its squad of robotic vehicles for a new set of assignments. And this time, they'll be carrying guns.

As early as March or April, 18 units of the Talon -- a model armed with automatic weapons -- are scheduled to report for duty in Iraq. Around the same time, the first prototypes of a new, unmanned ambulance should be ready for the Army to start testing. In a warren of hangar-sized hotel ballrooms in Orlando, military engineers this week showed off their next generation of robots, as they got the machines ready for the war zone.
Putting something like this into the field, we're about to start something that's never been done before," said Staff Sgt. Santiago Tordillos, waving to the black, 2-foot-six-inch robot rolling around the carpeted floor on twin treads, an M249 machine gun cradled in its mechanical grip.
For years, the Pentagon and defense contractors have been toying with the idea of sending armed, unmanned ground vehicles, or UGVs, into battle. Actually putting together the robots was a remarkably straightforward job, said Tordillos, who works in the Army's Armaments Engineering and Technology Center.

Wired

What's next? Arnol' for President?

[Hook Dem]

Hasta la vista Baby!!!!!!!!!!

[Drachen]

Hey I am down w/arnold for prez, fiscally conservative, socially liberal is not a bad mix for me.

[Nbadan]

Actually these sound more like the T-105's in T3

[Drachen]

Hey if this keeps ami's from being killed, go T105, as long as they are controlled, remotely, by humans.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Dan's just pissed because if we start crashing down doors with robots, that means the American military body count won't grow as fast as he wants.