6 ms·

IRobot Rolls Out Pocket-Sized, One-Pound Machine, Ready to Swarm

47 points by naish 17y ago

lionheart 17y ago
Is it just me or has the military been going through a complete revolution in the last decade? Robotics, UAVs, etc. all take the human equation out of the surveillance and even the fighting. This is a completely radical departure from the past. I just wonder where it will all lead.
- ivankirigin 17y ago
  These tiny robots don't have the radio capability to operate very far from a human.
  - ph0rque 17y ago
    ...yet.
  - arad 17y ago
    Actually their usage of ad-hoc networking means that you can easily use some robots (or simpler devices) as sort of 'radio-link-stations' to extend their range.
    - Devilboy 17y ago
      In fact that's the whole point of these bots in the first place!
- TallGuyShort 17y ago
  Why it will lead to Judgement Day, of course! Looks like a pretty robust platform. Nice and small, but still usable. edit: And I wouldn't say that a lot of these technologies take the "human equation out", I would just say they take the actual human out. Most of the time, it's just a tool to aid the soldier. Humans still control most of the machines.
- ph0rque 17y ago
  What happens when two enemy countries/entities have sufficiently advanced robotic troops to have robots fighting robots?
  - ivankirigin 17y ago
    Like two robotic missiles that can attack the other country automatically? Like ICBMs? Or landmines? Automated tools of warfare aren't new. That this is brought up every fucking time a robot comes within a mile of the military is a really tired meme. Seriously. Go read every single issue of wired. I dare you to find a mention of robotics that doesn't bring up Terminator. It's just lazy thinking.
    - ph0rque 17y ago
      Wow... didn't mean to set you off like that. Can you expound on why my comment is an example of lazy thinking?
      - whacked_new 17y ago
        Probably isn't about your comment specifically but about the robots -> all-robot war connection.
      - ivankirigin 17y ago
        It was more the trend for discussions about robots in the military to degrade that annoyed me. This thread is going down that path. You specifically were lazy in that we already have automated tools of killing each other and each others automated tools. It is heavy influence of hollywood that makes us think something without a human on board is fundamentaly different. Robot armies fighting each other and super AI taking over military robots are two of the most common topics brought up in the context of military robots, and two of the least realistic or likely. It's particularly irrelevant in a story about a mini robot used as a radio relay, 100% human controlled, with no weapons. This thing is a wi-fi repeater with a camera on top of an RC car.
        17y ago
- run4yourlives 17y ago
  It ain't you. Since the mid 90's especially, most modern armies have transformed into something that wouldn't have been imagined 20 years ago. There is no intent to replace the human equation though. The human equation is what defines success or failure.
- nebula 17y ago
  http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/pw_singer_on_robots_of_war.html http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/pw_singer_on_robots_of_wa...
- noonespecial 17y ago
  Makes me want to round up a troop of roombas, add a little swarming code, and have a robotic peace march down to the capital. "Make install, not war", as they say.
ivankirigin 17y ago
I was at iRobot when this proposal was written. Very cool application for mesh networking. Radio comms are so bad when deployed. This kind of ad hoc network builder is awesome. That said, this is the first new robot that the Government & Industrial division has put out since I left. I really want to see a deployed Warrior (PackBot's big brother). iRobot is a perfect example of a company that seems to be suffering from inability to innovate as a public company. The talent is there though.
- grinich 17y ago
  Do you know if it has only one motor?
  - ivankirigin 17y ago
    As you can see from the video, it has flippers and wheel that power the treads. I don't know much about the internals.
    - grinich 17y ago
      Yeah, but I never saw the flippers running at the same time as the main treads, so it could be a possibility.
dfranke 17y ago
Reminds me of the spiders from Minority Report.
bmickler 17y ago
I just want to know how that thing got OVER the rail road track into the middle of the tracks.
iman 17y ago
This looks very similar to the "Eye Drive"[1] mini robot developed by the Israelis, and already in use by the IDF (according to an article[2] in the Jerusalem Post). The company's promotional video[3] of the robot shows it in action. [1] http://www.odfopt.com/eyedrive/Eye_Drive_home.htm http://www.odfopt.com/eyedrive/Eye_Drive_home.htm [2] http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1233304811438 http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArti... [3] http://www.odfopt.com/Movies/eyedrive_new_movie.wmv http://www.odfopt.com/Movies/eyedrive_new_movie.wmv

47 points by naish 17y ago

Is it just me or has the military been going through a complete revolution in the last decade? Robotics, UAVs, etc. all take the human equation out of the surveillance and even the fighting. This is a completely radical departure from the past. I just wonder where it will all lead.

ivankirigin 17y ago
These tiny robots don't have the radio capability to operate very far from a human.
- ph0rque 17y ago
  ...yet.
- arad 17y ago
  Actually their usage of ad-hoc networking means that you can easily use some robots (or simpler devices) as sort of 'radio-link-stations' to extend their range.
  - Devilboy 17y ago
    In fact that's the whole point of these bots in the first place!
TallGuyShort 17y ago
Why it will lead to Judgement Day, of course! Looks like a pretty robust platform. Nice and small, but still usable. edit: And I wouldn't say that a lot of these technologies take the "human equation out", I would just say they take the actual human out. Most of the time, it's just a tool to aid the soldier. Humans still control most of the machines.
ph0rque 17y ago
What happens when two enemy countries/entities have sufficiently advanced robotic troops to have robots fighting robots?
- ivankirigin 17y ago
  Like two robotic missiles that can attack the other country automatically? Like ICBMs? Or landmines? Automated tools of warfare aren't new. That this is brought up every fucking time a robot comes within a mile of the military is a really tired meme. Seriously. Go read every single issue of wired. I dare you to find a mention of robotics that doesn't bring up Terminator. It's just lazy thinking.
  - ph0rque 17y ago
    Wow... didn't mean to set you off like that. Can you expound on why my comment is an example of lazy thinking?
    - whacked_new 17y ago
      Probably isn't about your comment specifically but about the robots -> all-robot war connection.
    - ivankirigin 17y ago
      It was more the trend for discussions about robots in the military to degrade that annoyed me. This thread is going down that path. You specifically were lazy in that we already have automated tools of killing each other and each others automated tools. It is heavy influence of hollywood that makes us think something without a human on board is fundamentaly different. Robot armies fighting each other and super AI taking over military robots are two of the most common topics brought up in the context of military robots, and two of the least realistic or likely. It's particularly irrelevant in a story about a mini robot used as a radio relay, 100% human controlled, with no weapons. This thing is a wi-fi repeater with a camera on top of an RC car.
      - 17y ago
run4yourlives 17y ago
It ain't you. Since the mid 90's especially, most modern armies have transformed into something that wouldn't have been imagined 20 years ago. There is no intent to replace the human equation though. The human equation is what defines success or failure.
nebula 17y ago
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/pw_singer_on_robots_of_war.html http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/pw_singer_on_robots_of_wa...
noonespecial 17y ago
Makes me want to round up a troop of roombas, add a little swarming code, and have a robotic peace march down to the capital. "Make install, not war", as they say.

ivankirigin 17y ago

I was at iRobot when this proposal was written. Very cool application for mesh networking. Radio comms are so bad when deployed. This kind of ad hoc network builder is awesome. That said, this is the first new robot that the Government & Industrial division has put out since I left. I really want to see a deployed Warrior (PackBot's big brother). iRobot is a perfect example of a company that seems to be suffering from inability to innovate as a public company. The talent is there though.

grinich 17y ago
Do you know if it has only one motor?
- ivankirigin 17y ago
  As you can see from the video, it has flippers and wheel that power the treads. I don't know much about the internals.
  - grinich 17y ago
    Yeah, but I never saw the flippers running at the same time as the main treads, so it could be a possibility.

dfranke 17y ago

Reminds me of the spiders from Minority Report.

bmickler 17y ago

I just want to know how that thing got OVER the rail road track into the middle of the tracks.

iman 17y ago

This looks very similar to the "Eye Drive"[1] mini robot developed by the Israelis, and already in use by the IDF (according to an article[2] in the Jerusalem Post). The company's promotional video[3] of the robot shows it in action. [1] http://www.odfopt.com/eyedrive/Eye_Drive_home.htm http://www.odfopt.com/eyedrive/Eye_Drive_home.htm [2] http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1233304811438 http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArti... [3] http://www.odfopt.com/Movies/eyedrive_new_movie.wmv http://www.odfopt.com/Movies/eyedrive_new_movie.wmv