6 ms·
What reason would there be to disallow it?
by nwsm 6y ago
What reason would there be to disallow it?
- lemax 6y agoNational security, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (Cfius), has gone as far as requiring the repatriation of Grindr after it approved a deal for it to go to a Chinese company. https://www.ft.com/content/30408b0e-50e2-11e9-b401-8d9ef1626294 https://www.ft.com/content/30408b0e-50e2-11e9-b401-8d9ef1626... edit: not the FTC, it was Cfius
- rdsubhas 6y agoHyundai is South Korean
- kevin_thibedeau 6y agoThey've been kept afloat with a lot of DARPA funding. Not a good ROI for the taxpayer.
- souprock 6y agoITAR or even classified The robots are practically weapons. Imagine the 4-legged one chasing you down like a large cat could, then pouncing on you. Imagine the 2-legged one with armor, relentlessly stalking you like Terminator.
- formerly_proven 6y agoImagine getting blown up by a guided missile launched from a largely automated aircraft.
- _jal 6y agoOr become a reporter and experience it for yourself. https://blogs.findlaw.com/dc_circuit/2020/11/doj-argues-us-can-kill-citizens-at-its-discretion-under-state-secrets-privilege.html https://blogs.findlaw.com/dc_circuit/2020/11/doj-argues-us-c...
- magicsmoke 6y agoMore likely to be a flying guillotine. https://www.wsj.com/articles/secret-u-s-missile-aims-to-kill-only-terrorists-not-nearby-civilians-11557403411 https://www.wsj.com/articles/secret-u-s-missile-aims-to-kill...
- qchris 6y agoIn my (somewhat limited) experience, I'd be surprised is Boston Dynamics robots are, wholesale, on the list of export control. ITAR classification isn't usually an arbitrary designation, there's typically some aspect in particular that falls under the designation. For example, non-binary source code in the robots could have the potential for export control, but almost certainly not the physical robot itself. As an example of this, many autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are subject to export control laws. This isn't just because they can be used in an explicitly military manner (one of the most common uses is minesweeping), but because the Inertial Navigation System they use while submerged has enough sensitivity to be export controlled, since that tech can be adapted to be used in missiles. So it's not the robot that's export controlled, but the INS system inside the robot. If you took that out, most of them could be sold wherever. I believe the same thing goes for a lot of satellite technology that's export controlled. The robots Boston Dynamics build seem to be solving a different problem, the (very hard) one of physical adaptive control in real-world environments, but imho what I've seen doesn't line up with what often seems to the reasoning for assigning an export control label, whether ITAR, EAR, or even CUI, to most of the technology.
- salty_biscuits 6y ago"... the Inertial Navigation System they use while submerged has enough sensitivity to be export controlled." To further your point, if the inertial navigation system has low limits for max acceleration and angular velocity (i.e. can't be put in a missile) then it can still be accurate enough for this task without ITAR restrictions.
- vaughnegut 6y agoI'm not sure if this is what you're alluding to, but that's literally the plot to an episode of Black Mirror. The robots are even clearly inspired by Boston Dyanmics
- ogre_codes 6y agoI'm far more worried about kamikaze drones with machine guns than I am about robot dogs. You can crank out 100 cheap and deadly flying drones for the cost of the smallest robot dog. The dog might be tougher, but it's much slower and easier to stop. I imagine in the not-so-near future there will be fleets of mini drones seeking out soft targets.
- zxcvbn4038 6y agoMachine guns are overly elaborate. A bunch of < $20 drones from Ali express with an explosive tied on would do it. You would not even need elaborate radio-jamming defeating control systems, they just need to fly straight until they hit something then a tilt sensor or timer detonates them. If it’s one thing we learned from myth busters, it’s how much damage the concussion wave from a surprisingly small blast can do to anyone nearby.
- ogre_codes 6y agoLots of variations of cheap drones are orders of magnitude more deadly per $$ than robodog.
- mycall 6y ago> they just need to fly straight until they hit something then a tilt sensor or timer detonates them. or go to the correct lat/long, given wind and temperature, they can just drop from the sky
- dreamcompiler 6y agoBD robots could be easily defeated by a 50-cal bullet or an EMP or a sandstorm or merely by preventing them from recharging their batteries. Reality is not like the movies.
- mordymoop 6y agoUh oh. I don’t have access to any of those options. Where can I buy an EMP? Amazon?
- dreamcompiler 6y agoEMP weapons are quite difficult to build unless you have $100 and a modicum of engineering skill. And no, I won't google it for you because I like not being on the no-fly list.
- jamiek88 6y agoI bet they are quite difficult to build when an armed robot is running at you.
- mNovak 6y agoHint, you've got one in your kitchen
- souprock 6y agoReality is that adding armor is trivial, but hitting critical components (small parts) is not. EMP protection is standard for military systems. The military already deals with the logistics problems related to batteries and fuel. The preferred energy choice might not be a battery. Consistent usage of dumb tactics is unlikely. The robots aren't going to just run across a huge open field, straight toward the enemy, with plenty of warning to set up a defensive 50-cal gun. They could leap through a window or low-quality wall, in complete darkness, while the target is sleeping. Enjoy your nightmare. :-)
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- Cactus2018 6y agoYou should see what Robomasters is cooking up - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrhvZhPaxQ4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrhvZhPaxQ4 2019 Finals -https://youtu.be/-o_WYEoxWGY?t=438 https://youtu.be/-o_WYEoxWGY?t=438
- sjg007 6y agoWe are allies with Korea. But that Black Mirror episode gave me chills.
- ngcc_hk 6y agoWhich one? Seems everyone mentioned it. The 2020 BD spot mentioned it https://youtu.be/s6_azdBnAlU https://youtu.be/s6_azdBnAlU And guess is explained here : https://youtu.be/iX0wuY0rOvs https://youtu.be/iX0wuY0rOvs
- birktj 6y agoMetalhead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalhead_(Black_Mirror) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalhead_(Black_Mirror)
- sneak 6y agoNah, I think the worry from those is like 500 of them chasing you, each with a kilo of c4 in a little backpack. Only one needs to get through.
- _iyig 6y agoSounds like the slamhound from William Gibson's "Count Zero." https://williamgibson.fandom.com/wiki/Slamhound https://williamgibson.fandom.com/wiki/Slamhound
- sailfast 6y agoThey tried to sell that to DoD already and obviously did not meet their needs in this way. If they had, they would not be looking for a sale, I’d imagine.
- souprock 6y agoIt's interesting to question the presumption that it is acceptable to sell a company in a way that gives foreign control. Not every country allows this. China is growing very well with it restricted.