

Darpa stops trying not to be terrifying. - knieveltech
http://www.switched.com/2009/07/09/the-matrix-fulfilled-eatr-military-robots-to-use-biomatter-a/

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philwelch
Article describes a DARPA robot that powers itself by gathering and fueling
itself from biomass. This is apparently an approach to energy-autonomous recon
robots (harvest grasses and plants where it goes) that has amusingly
terrifying connotations when you consider the mental image of a chainsaw-
wielding robot capturing and devouring, say, people.

It seems that DARPA, which once built things that seemed like the fevered
imaginations of a 14 year old boy, is now building things that seem like the
fevered imaginations of a 7 year old boy.

~~~
BrentRitterbeck
<sarcasm> Surely any robot built by the U.S. government will be bound by
Asimov's three laws of robotics. </sarcasm>

~~~
arakyd
From the RTI website, a presentation they supposedly gave to the Army War
College Strategic Studies Institute in April:

 _A code of moral behavior for intelligent robots will be developed. Isaac
Asimov’s Three Laws are insufficient (especially for military)._

~~~
BrentRitterbeck
I understand that. My sarcasm was apparently a failed attempt at being
somewhat humorous after a long week.

~~~
arakyd
Both of our posts would be funnier if the project was anything other than
vaporware.

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tptacek
This massively improves my opinion of what DARPA is spending my money on.

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digitallogic
Getting worked up over the potential of a DARPA research project is like
getting yourself worked up over a popular girl when you were in high school.
There's almost no chance those ideas will come to fruition, and on the slim
chance something does, it will be in the far off future and nothing like you
initially thought.

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raffi
And this my friends is why government research is awesome. DARPA and crackpot
scientists--coming to a future near you.

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ivankirigin
This is linkbait. Biomass can mean plant matter. I've worked on DARPA funded
robots.

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chadgeidel
From The Register... I'm not holding my breath.

~~~
arakyd
They cite their sources - just follow the trail a few more steps.

<http://www.robotictechnologyinc.com/index.php/EATR>:

 _At the sixth (System of Systems) level, which has not yet been implemented,
the 4D/RCS serves as an overarching intelligent control and decision system
for (all or part of) a manifold of distributed unmanned and manned platforms,
unattended sensors and weapons, and control centers._

Ambitious!

~~~
moe
SkyNet, here we come.

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lispm
is there any non-military research left in the US?

~~~
digitallogic
There's plenty, but in pales in both breadth and depth (number of sources and
amount of money offered) compared to DOD funding.

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4chan4ever
I thought DARPA ceased to exist when they moved the island.

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onreact-com
Seems to be inspired by the latest Terminator movie. Why do we need more
killer machines, are the people in charge afraid that some day humans will
refuse to fight for the "just causes" they are presented?

