Robots to race in suburbia

steve smyth lynn mass — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 00:23:23 GMT

Does the goal of 33 percent of 'on ground' rolling weaponry being robotic within 15 years mean we expect to still be in Baghdad 15 years from now?
It's all charmingly geeky...but planning robotic soldiers just means we have zero plans to stop this foolishness.
Will killed robots get full military funerals?
We are depending upon Crazed Geeks, willing to develop weapons in order to continue playing with their toys well into adulthood...that's some twisted caca, Kids!
But, it's all par for the current course.
Carry on!

Robots to race in suburbia

Jim McCoy, Harper Woods MI — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 03:58:28 GMT

The reasons for this program are simple: It will save lives. Having this program doesn't guarantee that we will still be in Iraq when it's finished, but the one thing that you CAN count on is that there will be another war somewhere before too long. Urban areas are where most modern day combat takes place. That won't change when we leave Iraq. With more of humanity moving to urban environments all the time, it's best to be prepared for it.

Robots to race in suburbia

Charles Buchanan, Lipan, Texas — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 05:50:56 GMT

It is a shame we don't have robotic trucks for convoys, with autonomous (armed) drones protecting them on the supply routes in Iraq.

You would think we would have unmanned dirigibles and spy satellites stationary over our supply routes right now doing constant observation and interdicting any suspicious activity like placing IEDs. Technology can make a real impact here. Remote sensors, high altitude stationary observation platforms, drone fighters and bombers, and soon robotic convoys, tanks, and ambulances.

Robots to race in suburbia

CM modesto — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 06:06:51 GMT

Interesting to compare this to the Automotive X Prize. The X Prize seems simpler, just design and build an automobile that is suitable for mass production and gets 100 mpg or more - equivalent, for alternative fueled vehicles.

Ironically, in the long run the X prize will prove to be far more important.

Robots to race in suburbia

Mike Perry — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 09:48:58 GMT

Does anyone remember a trilogy of movies named the Terminator? It seems to an educated person that the sci-fi of yesterday becomes the technology (vice) of the next generation. The tank and submarine were fantasies of the 19th century, which are now every day equiptment of the 20th and 21st, do you want killer robots walking around your neighborhood killing indiscriminantly because we programmed them to? I doubt anyone in Iran or Serbia or Pakistan look foward to this nightmare.

Robots to race in suburbia

Mark — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 11:35:04 GMT

No one is talking about automating tanks here. Vehicle weapon systems are a very small percentage of the Army rolling stock. The logistics tail required to support a modern fighting force is huge, many times the number of fighting vehicles and personel. Like somebody said, 'amateurs discuss tactics, professionals discuss logistics'.

I hope there is a lot more television coverage of this event than the previous one. It should also be billed as something to promote science and technology to todays students, imo.

Robots to race in suburbia

Charles, Dallas, Tx — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 12:23:04 GMT

This is said somewhat tongue in cheek, but...

If we end up creating machines that enslave us, well, we can't say that we were not warned! ( With what seems like a quarter of all science fiction movies ever made dealing with this... )

Although, the push for autonomous weapondry will obviously save lives in battle, I have to wonder if it is not something philosophically similar to Rome's use of mercenaries to fight wars. Creating an automonous fighting force will have such an appeal that I can imagine that by 2050 there will be few human foot soldiers left. With little human death involved, does this make it more likely to go to war? Can that be a good thing?

Maybe citizens of a nation should have to die in war, so that it's people and leaders keep in mind that true costs of such an endeavor.

Robots to race in suburbia

kv — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 13:48:55 GMT

It's money well spent, please stop the bleeding heart bit of no war. I read recently that 17,000 people were killed in homicides this year, does the war zone seem a healthier place to be, now as a taxpayer i would rather see a robotic vehicle take the heat than a live soldier, don't you.

Robots to race in suburbia

Doesn't matter does it?, anytown USA — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:42:22 GMT

Isn't anyone concerned that once you remove the last moral decision from behind the trigger and allow these things to be controlled from a computer ANYWHERE in the world, that we might be headed in a really bad direction?

I mean hell, blackwater, triple canopy, dyncorp, etc... are all just really nice guys, and we shouldn't worry about what might happen here.

Yeah, Right!

Robots to race in suburbia

Tim, Claremont CA — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 17:26:50 GMT

I thought this might actually be a challenge until I read:

"The vehicles must perform as well as someone with a California driver's license," Tether said.

Robots to race in suburbia

Tim, Claremont CA — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 17:30:02 GMT

CM: Actually, if every car on the road drove itself, we'd save loads in gas -- imagine smart intersections and no more stop-and-go traffic!

Robots to race in suburbia

Frank C, Seattle WA — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 17:45:49 GMT

I agree with the first few posts that it's a shame we're still in Iraq and this type of technology could certainly save lives. But let's look at the bigger picture: many technological advancements that we enjoy today got off the ground with military funding and later found thier way into the public sector. Satelites, fax machines, interstate highways, Kevlar, Goretex, nuclear energy, and of course the Hummer (okay that last one kind of suck but hopefully you get my point).

Robots to race in suburbia

pmpope — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 19:24:18 GMT

Hey, What's next? Robot Bill Collectors? Robot Prostitutes? Robot Politicians? Amen & Hallelujia!

Robots to race in suburbia

new yorker — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 20:30:14 GMT

I bet Carnegie Mellon will have 2 entries this time too and they'll bag the 1st and 2nd prize!

Robots to race in suburbia

red pill junkie, Mexico city — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 02:33:27 GMT

"Thus, it's possible for a reckless Bender to finish the race first but still lose out to a safe-driving C3-PO."

Yeah... But then Bender would go out and STEAL the prize money and then hit it to Vegas yelling "ADIOS SUCKERS!!!" :-)

Robots to race in suburbia

C Wallace, Kalamazoo, MI — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 16:57:11 GMT

"The vehicles must perform as well as someone with a California driver's license," Tether said.

Tether should specify who that someone is. Doesn't Hilton, Lohan, and a few other recently in the news for DUIs celebrities have California Licenses?

Robots to race in suburbia

Frank, Dallas, TX — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 19:16:50 GMT

Autonomous vehicles and autonomous weapons are not the same thing, and I am not convinced that there is a so-called slippery slope to worry about either.

I suspect that the real problem people have with systems like this is that they fear the United States will acquire the ability to wage war while not putting its own people at risk. Guess what? We already have that ability. We can drop bombs from aircraft all day long without losses. But being on the ground will let us minimize civilian casualties.

Robots to race in suburbia

Aaron, New Orleans, LA — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:40:13 GMT

Why does everyone assume the only result of this competition will be military applications? Wouldn't perfect ambulance drivers be nice? How about long-haul trucks that can draft centimeters behind each other without worry of a crash? The DoD has already spent large amounts of money on specific autonomous vehicle projects( > $200 million for FC.S. alone ), while the relativity small prize offered for this challenge is going advance the entire field of autonomous ground vehicles. Several products have already come out of the 2005 Grand Challenge( i.e. http://www.velodyne.com/lidar and http://www.graymatterinc.com/avs.shtml ) and much more will be coming from the Urban Challenge.

Robots to race in suburbia

Ben, Surprise, Arizona — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 19:57:25 GMT

"Operate as well as a person with a California Drivers license?" Thats funny!! . . . . .

Robots to race in suburbia

James from Oglesby, IL — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:33:12 GMT

One thing I wonder: if the automated vehicle causes an accident, who gets the blame? I mean, lets say (theoretically) that someone gets in a crash with an automated car. If the auto-car hits that person, who has to go and pay the ticket? Who gets blamed for the accident? I bet none of you war people considered the aspect of these cars driving people around who don't like driving.

Robots to race in suburbia

Jim Avichouser — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 02:38:00 GMT

We are so removed from the soldiers that daily give their lives and human futures for us that it seems given that we will eventually transfer our confidence and hopes to robotic contructs of ourselves. We may even gift them with the same emotional value that we currenly endow our soldiers with. There seems little difference, so long as we continue the lifestyle we embue with such value!

Robots to race in suburbia

Jason Goatcher, Conway, AR — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:21:04 GMT

"I bet none of you war people considered the aspect of these cars driving people around who don't like driving."

lol, THAT'S the reason I'm so interested in this stuff. I let most people assume I don't drive because my mental illness keeps me from earning enough money for a car. The truth is that I zone out, but where most people can continue driving when they zone out, the same doesn't happen for me.

I'll be glad when I can buy a car and know that the odds of me killing somebody have been drastically reduced. Heck, autonomous driving might end up being safer than 90% of the drivers out there.

Robots to race in suburbia

Michael, Jacksonville, FL — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 12:39:31 GMT

Can you hear the drumming? Why does almost every blog that offers a response end up as a debate between hawks and doves about the war in Iraq?

43000 lives in the U.S. were lost in just the year 2000 as a result of motor vehicle deaths. Walking through Anytown, Irag is inherently safer than driving on U.S. streets.

I agree that there are concerns about A.I. that will need to be addressed as it develops. I also have to agree that despite military applications, there will be spin-offs to the public sector, much like the developments from our space programs.

I don't know that putting autonomous soldiers in battle will necessarily reduce human losses. After all, is it not the intent of the aggressor to seek the loss of human life? This is why 9/11 struck such a nerve with us. It was in our own backyard! Not a foreign land where we can reach them with our advanced tech from 100's of miles away.

If this tech reduces our battlefied losses by as much as 1 life, then I am for it. If the spin-offs enrich our peacetime lives, I am for it.