>before we realize that we're kind of stupid and need to knock it the hell off for a while.
There's nothing stupid about mechanized warfare. Why waste soldiers when cheap robotic soldiers are feasible? If anything, its just a natural advancement of warfare. If we don't do it, the Chinese and Russians will and that will give them an advantage over the democratic nations of the world, and as we have seen both nations are either in the middle of annexations or seem to be planning more.
The real question, to me, is why are we bothering with the human form-factor? A insect-like robot or something with wheels or tank treads would outperform legs. Ideally, a robot soldier should be able to move in a way that outperforms people easily. A bit like how the robots in Elysium are so much stronger and faster than humans.
it's a human world. doorways, windows, cars, sidewalks, elevators
> A insect-like robot or something with wheels or tank treads would outperform legs
task specific robots will exist and outperform for the predetermined task, but the focus is on replacing humans and being able to complete human tasks, whatever the future task may be.
open doors designed for a human? open a window like a human? climb a tree like a human? Check the mailbox like a human? burn a grilled cheese like a human? Do ______ like a human? rather than build for a task, build to match the form that we know can complete these tasks, and viola! you've replaced the need for a human without designing for and testing all tasks that could ever be requested of it
I understand your point, but a spider-like robot could run up stairs and go through windows and doors better than a human-like one. Or a four legged robot with a lot center of gravity and twice the traction. Or novel designs like the robots from Interstellar.
I mean, our drones aren't in the shape of men using gliders.
> I mean, our drones aren't in the shape of men using gliders.
They are in the shape of manned aeroplanes, though -- they need to land on carriers and runways, they need to refuel, and they sometimes need to have weapons mounted on them.
I agree that we can generally improve on the human form in some cases -- "eyes at the front of a head with limited rotation" is an easy fix, for example -- but most things are going to be loaded with tradeoffs, not just functionally but in how their public use might become accepted.
What's the best form factor to be able to go up stairs, or places humans typically go, and to then recover a body from a building or similar?
That seems like it would be legs + arms in some arrangement.
Powerful wheels could perhaps get you up the stairs (arms + legs can scale and climb, wheels don't do so well there), but legs can fold, and a robot could in theory fold its legs to a significantly smaller size to fit through various spaces. You can't fold large'ish wheels very well without completely disassembling the structure.
Probably a spider-like robot, with 8 arms/legs would be the ideal. I could also see a dog-like robot with four legs which give twice the traction with a low center of gravity as well. Or novel designs, like what we saw in the Interstellar movie.
Agreed on form factor. But I struggle with the idea that making kill bots are going to a) save lives and/or b) be seen as a positive advance by any one in le future.
Drones make us far more enemies than they kill. US soldiers have gone the way of the US cop (all utility belt; no substance) and the casualty counts being low is a bad thing. It is the equivalent of a person to high to receive signal from the nerves in their extremities telling them to quit whatever activity is causing the pain.
There's nothing stupid about mechanized warfare. Why waste soldiers when cheap robotic soldiers are feasible? If anything, its just a natural advancement of warfare. If we don't do it, the Chinese and Russians will and that will give them an advantage over the democratic nations of the world, and as we have seen both nations are either in the middle of annexations or seem to be planning more.
The real question, to me, is why are we bothering with the human form-factor? A insect-like robot or something with wheels or tank treads would outperform legs. Ideally, a robot soldier should be able to move in a way that outperforms people easily. A bit like how the robots in Elysium are so much stronger and faster than humans.